GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 708273
It is impossible to display the same document twice
Last modified: 2013-09-19 07:52:16 UTC
Since the resolution of bug 583680 (at least) when evince is asked to open an already open file again, it refuses to do so and just switches to the window already showing the file. And there is no way to run a second instance as requested in bug 585403 (which is curiously marked as duplicate of bug 583680). Hence there is no way to display two locations of a single document simultaneously (unless one goes to such lengths such as physically creating two files). It is also impossible to display the same PDF file on multiple desktops (without making the window sticky to show on all desktops). Steps to reproduce: 1. evince document.pdf 2. evince [--whatever-options-exist] document.pdf Expected behaviour: Some command line option would cause it to either run a new instance or show the document again in a new window. Actual behaviour: Evince always switches to the window already showing document.pdf. I understand that it wants to save the current view for each document. But even losing all the information about the current view for a PDF shown multiple times would be fine if I just could display it (creating temporary PDF files results in lost view information anyway).
Thanks for the bug report. I think either you mean: 1. It's not possible to open a copy of document in another window at any circumstance (as the title suggests), that is wrong. You can do that in the menu just by selecting "Open a copy" or pressing Ctrl-N. (Not a bug). 2. It's not possible to open a copy of document in another window from the command line. In such case, this particular bug has already been reported. Please feel free to report any further bugs you find. *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 688636 ***
Sorry for the duplicate, somehow, I missed bug 688636. Yes, I mean from the command line (though I agree with the opinion expressed in bug 688636 that Open a Copy is somewhat counterintuitive).