If you are trying to open a PDF file on Ubuntu 22.04, you will need some extra software in order to view the document. Since Ubuntu does not have a native way to open PDF documents by default, users will need to install a PDF viewer. In this tutorial, you will see several different options for software that can be downloaded and installed to open PDF documents on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish.
In this tutorial you will learn:
- Evince PDF Viewer
- Okular PDF Viewer
- Atril PDF Viewer
- Adobe Acrobat Reader PDF Viewer
- MuPDF PDF Viewer
- Zathura PDF viewer
- GNU gv PDF Viewer
| Category | Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used |
|---|---|
| System | Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish |
| Software | N/A |
| Other | Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command. |
| Conventions |
# – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user |
PDF viewer alternatives on Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish Linux
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Evince PDF Viewer
Evince (also known as Document Viewer) is the default PDF viewer on Ubuntu 22.04 GNOME Desktop. If you are using GNOME, then this application should already be installed on your system.
Evince (Document Viewer) on Ubuntu 22.04 Command to install Evince on Ubuntu 22.04:
$ sudo apt install evince
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Atril PDF Viewer
Atril is the default PDF viewer on Ubuntu 22.04 MATE desktop. Even if you are not using MATE, this is a good choice for a PDF viewer.
Atril PDF Viewer on Ubuntu 22.04 Command to install Atril on Ubuntu 22.04:
$ sudo apt install atril
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Okular PDF Viewer
Okular is the default PDF viewer on Ubuntu 22.04 KDE Plasma Desktop. KDE users will already have it available, and you can still install the application regardless of which desktop environment you currently use.
Okular PDF Viewer on Ubuntu 22.04 Command to install Okular on Ubuntu 22.04:
$ sudo apt install okular
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Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe Acrobat Reader might be the first choice people think of when it comes to opening PDF documents. Although there is a Linux version of Adobe Reader available, it no longer receives updates on the Linux platform hence is obsolete and not recommended for the installation.
Adobe Acrobat Reader on Ubuntu 22.04 Adobe Reader is a proprietary PDF viewer available via external 3rd party package. For installation instructions, follow our guide on how to install Adobe Reader on Ubuntu 22.04 Linux.
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MuPDF PDF Viewer
MuPDF is an extremely lightweight PDF viewer for Linux that supports a PDF, XPS, and EPUB formats. Use this software if want a very small install and a PDF viewer with no extra features.
MuPDF PDF Viewer on Ubuntu 22.04 Command to install MuPDF on Ubuntu 22.04:
$ sudo apt install mupdf
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Zathura PDF Viewer
Zathura is a free, plugin-based document viewer application. Available plugins include PDF, PostScript and DjVu. Use this software if you would like to extend the functionalities of your PDF viewer.
Zathura PDF Viewer on Ubuntu 22.04 Command to install Zathura on Ubuntu 22.04:
$ sudo apt install zathura
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GNU gv PDF Viewer
GNU gv is a powerful PostScript and PDF document viewer developed by the GNU Project. This one is always a safe choice to make, considering a huge amount of other software on Ubuntu 22.04 is also developed by GNU.
GNU gv PDF viewer on Ubuntu 22.04 Command to install GNU gv on Ubuntu 22.04:
$ sudo apt install gv
Closing Thoughts
In this tutorial, we went over the installation instructions of multiple PDF viewer software options for Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish. Each of them have their pros and cons, and the best one for you will depend on your situation, whether you want a beefy program, lightweight viewer, or want to stick with one of the default viewers.