Viewing and Printing Specific Types of File

This page is intended to help you to view and print documents sent to you in a format which you may not normally use. They are written from the point of view that you are using the UNIX system.

If you use the GNOME file manager to browse you files then you can double click a file to open it in a default application appropriate to that format. If you wish to change the default application associated with that file type right click sucha file and choose properties. This will bring up a new dialog window with various tabs across the top. From the `Open with' tab you can set the default application.

Similarly most email clients and web browsers will `know' which application to use if you choose to open an attachment/link.

Note from the Applications -> Debian Menu -> Apps -> Viewers you can find a list of most common viewer and start them.

• Postscript (.ps) - you can view them using gv. You can print from this applications or directly using lpr. (On a Microsoft Windows system you can use the package GSView.)
• Encapsulated postscript (.eps) - these are intended for inclusion in another document. They can be viewed in the same way as ps files. However, they will not print (if they are true eps files) as they do not contain a showpage line. One way to print them out is to include them in a short latex document, another is to add the line showpage to the end of the file.
• dvi files (.dvi) - you can view these with xdvi. To print them use dvips.
• pdf files (.pdf) - view and print these using acroread, xpdf or gpdf.
• Word documents (.doc) - to quickly extract the text content of such a file you can try one of antiword catdoc or strings.

  OpenOffice and abiwordcan view and print most Word documents Openoffice is run with the command ooffice. The first time you run it it will go through a setup procedure (all the default options should be correct, you only need to change your personal details). After that running ooffice will start openoffice.

  There are public Windows machines in each building, these machine have Word installed and thus can also be used for viewing and printing Word documents. This could be said to be the only method which one can expect to work every time since it is the package for which Word documents are initially intended.

  WV provides a set of commands for converting Microsoft Word documents to other formats , e.g. LaTeX, HTML.

• Excel spreadsheets (.xls) - use openoffice, as described above, gnumeric or Word on the Windows NT machines.
• Powerpoint presentations (.ppt) - use openoffice. See above for details.
• Rich Text Format documents (.rft) - use openoffice as described above or Word on the Windows NT machines.
• Graphics files (.gif, .jpg, .tiff etc). These can be viewed using ImageMagick (use the display command), xv, gimp, eog and many other applications.