Reading PDF files on CS/Unix machines

Reading PDF files requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. There is a full version of Adobe Acrobat, including Acrobat Reader, installed on the CS Sparcs (Acrobat Reader is /lusr/bin/acroread). Acrobat Reader is also available for linux machines (as /public/linux/bin/acroread).

The other machines on the CS/unix network cannot run Acrobat themselves, but can be used to run Acrobat Reader remotely on a Sparc.

Here's how to get Adobe Acrobat Reader working from one of the other machines.
 1. Start Xwindows on your machine.
 2. Telnet (rlogin doesn't work) to the Sparc machine of your choice (wakko, yakko, dot, mr-skullhead, katie-kaboom, bark, etc...)
 3.

On the Sparc, set the DISPLAY environment variable to be
(machine-you're-telnetting-from:0.0); for example,

DISPLAY=doffer.cs.utexas.edu:0.0
export DISPLAY

Note: in some shells you'll have to do this instead:

/usr/oasys/bin/setenv DISPLAY=doffer.cs.utexas.edu:0.0
export DISPLAY

 4.

In your telnet window to the Sparc:

/lusr/bin/acroread

 5. Do whatever you need to do with acroread.
 6. When you are done with acroread, simply quit the program.

This procedure will also work for other programs that are available only on the Sparcs.

Thanks to Skip Duckwall for the explanation above.

Last modified 16 January 2000.