EPDFView vs Evince

Last updated: July 10, 2023
EPDFView and Evince are both popular document viewers used for viewing and managing PDF files, but they have distinct differences in terms of their features, interface, and platform compatibility.

1. Features: Evince is a feature-rich document viewer that supports various file formats, including PDF, PostScript, DjVu, and more. It offers a range of features for viewing and navigating through documents, such as page zooming, searching for text, and thumbnail previews. Evince also provides options for adding annotations and bookmarks to PDF files, making it suitable for basic document management tasks. On the other hand, EPDFView is a lightweight and minimalistic PDF viewer that focuses on providing a fast and efficient viewing experience. EPDFView is designed to be simple and lightweight, lacking some of the advanced features found in Evince. It is primarily focused on providing a clean and clutter-free reading environment for PDF files.

2. User Interface: Evince provides a user-friendly interface with a clean layout and intuitive controls. It offers a range of options for navigating through pages, adjusting zoom levels, and accessing additional tools. Evince's interface is designed to be accessible to users of all levels of experience, with easily recognizable icons and straightforward menu options. On the other hand, EPDFView offers a minimalistic interface with a focus on simplicity and speed. It provides a clean and uncluttered reading environment, allowing users to focus solely on the document without distractions. EPDFView's interface is lightweight and straightforward, making it a suitable choice for users who prefer a no-frills PDF viewing experience.

3. Platform Compatibility: Evince is primarily developed for Linux-based systems and is the default document viewer for several Linux distributions. It is also available for Windows and can be installed separately. EPDFView, on the other hand, is specifically designed for Linux systems and does not have official support for other platforms. EPDFView integrates well with Linux environments, utilizing the GTK+ toolkit for its user interface. While it may be possible to run EPDFView on other platforms through third-party software or emulation, its primary compatibility lies within Linux-based systems.
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EPDFView
ePDFView is a lightweight PDF document viewer that only uses the GTK+ and Poppler libraries. It is currently under development, but already opens most PDF files (even encrypted), save copies of documents, and has support for printing using CUPS.
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Evince
Evince is a document viewer for multiple document formats. The goal of evince is to replace the multiple document viewers that exist on the GNOME Desktop with a single simple application.