Other Useful Productivity Software
The office suites already discussed in this chapter are ideal for typical office-
focused file interactions: creating basic documents, spreadsheets, and so on.
However, some users have more complex or precise needs. This section
covers some of the options available to help you be productive in those
instances.
Working with PDFs
Reading a PDF in Ubuntu is simple. The functionality is available by default,
thanks to an installed program called Evince. If you open a PDF, it opens in
Evince, where you can read the document. Sometimes filling out forms is less
straightforward as the form might have been created using functionality
available only with Adobe. You can install Adobe Reader from the Ubuntu
Software Center from the Canonical Partners section. Adobe Reader should
work with any PDF form created using Adobe software, whether it was
created on Windows, macOS, or Linux.
On occasion, you may have a PDF file that you want to edit. That is a little
more complex than reading PDFs, but it’s not as difficult as it used to be.
There is a program created just for editing PDF files: PDF Editor
(pdfedit).
Install pdfedit from the Ubuntu Software Center. On the surface, this
program seems simple, but it has great power that is not immediately obvious.
Advanced users can learn to use pdfedit in scripts to make sweeping
changes quickly. Of course, as with most other powerful tools, it comes with
the cost of complexity and a learning curve.
Working with XML and DocBook
Like its ancestor SGML and cousin HTML, XML is a markup language. It is
designed for use in a plain-text document. Tags surround specific sections of
the text to denote how those sections are to be displayed. Listing 5.1 contains
a short example.
LISTING 5.1 Sample XML Excerpt
Click here to view code image
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<xml-stylesheet type="text/css" href="book.css"?>