Score:0

How to close evince Document Viewer (PDF)

us flag
foo

Usability problem, End User perspective:

Having opened an PDF in evince Document Viewer (Ubuntu 20.04 LTS), how to close via UI?

  • there is no close button.
  • even if you go fullscreen by pressing F11, the menu at right top does not have a "close" function, nor the top menu
  • ESC doesn't do the job (which would be the most expected way)
  • Q doesn't work either
  • nor does CTRL-Q, Shift-Q, CTRL-Shift-Q
  • nor F4 or Alt-F4

That's all the key combinations people are used to for closing a window or program.

So, what can I tell the average end-user about this? Guiding them through opening a shell, identifying the process and killing it doesn't instill confidence in ease of use of Ubuntu as a desktop.

screenshot of the viewer, contents removed

totalynotanoob avatar
il flag
have you tried Ctrl + W? please [edit](https://askubuntu.com/posts/1373844/edit) your question to include the name of the program
user535733 avatar
cn flag
For most users, there IS a close button. For example, boot your old 20.04 LiveUSB and enter the "Try Ubuntu" environment, and download and open a PDF. I just did, and there is a close button. Have you made any changes to your desktop? Any add-ons? Extensions? Theme changes? If so, please detail those in your question above.
pierrely avatar
cn flag
at terminal killall -9 evince. and you could do a keyboard shortcut for it, though this will kill all instances of evince if you have other documents opened. evinced got killed at the same time. confidence? hahahhahahaha. experience.
us flag
foo
@user535733 that user I'm talking about hasn't made changes for lack of knowledge. Some PDF show as expected, but some go in a type of non-fullscreen, yet lacking the close button mode. Not sure what the criterion is (open policy flags in PDF?).
sudodus avatar
jp flag
@foo, I see. **Either you have found a bug or something is modified** in the system, even if you don't think so: What Document viewer (program name and version)? Can you upload and/or link to a pdf file that makes the document viewer behave like that?
us flag
foo
@sudodus: program is evince, screenshot added; the document where this happens does contain personal data of that user. I can try and find document properties on a different machine though.
Score:2
jp flag

In my Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS the Document Viewer alias evince can be closed

  • with the x button at the top right corner of the window or
  • with the alt+F4 keys (sometimes Fn+alt+F4) or
  • with the ctrl+w keys (thanks @totalynotanoob) or
  • via a pop-up menu when right-clicking on the title bar.

enter image description here

us flag
foo
The point being this expected icon is *not shown*. Hence the question.
us flag
foo
Right-click on the title bar however worked, so I accept this as the solution.
sudodus avatar
jp flag
@foo, So you have not really solved the problem. Were you able to find a pdf file, that causes this problem, and at the same time is possible to publish (or maybe send to me privately)?
sudodus avatar
jp flag
@foo, I just came across [this link](https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/629254/minimize-maximize-close-icons-not-showing-in-gnome) that might be helpful for you: reinstalling gnome-shell and updating might be a quick fix. There are also other suggestions.
us flag
foo
Thank you! This issue pertains to a specific set of PDF files only, so I assume it's something about the PDF permission flags and how they are handled in evince; but above link may come in handy another time.
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