Kai,
Your reload approach could be implemented in Perl using:
#! /usr/bin/env perl
my @ACROREAD = ('acroread',@ARGV);
my $wfile = $ACROREAD[$#ACROREAD];
my $wdelay = 1;
my $otime = 0;
my $kid;
while(1) {
my $ntime = (stat($wfile))[9];
if($ntime != $otime) {
$otime = $ntime;
kill 9, $kid if($kid);
unless(($kid = fork)) {
exec @ACROREAD;
}
}
select(undef, undef, undef, $wdelay);
}
and so there's no need for external third-party software, and no need
to use a configuration file. Just save the above in a file myacroread
and invoke as:
myacroread my.pdf
assuming, said file is in your path and marked with chmod +x .
Note that this is a barebone script with no error checking, and it also assumes
the watched file is the last argument. But it could easily be embelished
to provide a more robust solution. And for those who don't like Perl,
it could easily be translated into Python or Ruby.
Now, for the interesting bit. After installing a package such as xdotool, see:
http://www.semicomplete.com/projects/xdotool
once could modify the above to be:
#! /usr/bin/env perl
my @ACROREAD = ('acroread',@ARGV);
my $wfile = $ACROREAD[$#ACROREAD];
my $wdelay = 1;
my $otime = (stat($wfile))[9];
unless((my $kid = fork)) {
exec @ACROREAD;
}
while(1) {
my $ntime = (stat($wfile))[9];
if($ntime != $otime) {
$otime = $ntime;
chomp(my $wid= (qx{xdotool search --title "Adobe Reader"})[0]);
system("xdotool windowactivate $wid");
system("xdotool key ctrl+r");
}
select(undef, undef, undef, $wdelay);
}
which uses Linux/AR's native Reload facility in an automated fashion.
Neither of the above is presented as the last word in wrapping acroread,
but some people might find them useful.
James
