Default window size is unhelpfully small

[Matthew Paul Thomas]

Ubuntu Intrepid daily 20081022
Ubuntu Natty alpha 3, all updates installed
Ubuntu 12.10 RC

1. Log in to a guest session.
2. Do a Google search for "filetype:pdf" <http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=filetype%3Apdf>.
3. Open any of the results, and choose "OK" to open it in Document Viewer.

What happens: The document opens in a small window in the corner of the screen.
What should happen: The document opens in a window large enough to read in the center of the screen.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

not sure if that's really an application bug and specific to evince

[Robert Roth (evfool)]

Is this still a problem on later version of the system, like Maverick or Natty? In my examples folder there are only 2 files, and neither of them is a PDF, so I can't test this usecase.

[Matthew Paul Thomas (mpt)]

The problem looks exactly the same in Natty. (Once bug 730495 is fixed, you'll be able to test it in a guest session.)

[Martin Wildam (mwildam)]

FYI: bug 730495 is fixed now.

[Frank Groeneveld (frankgroeneveld)]

I have the same problem on an up to date system running 11.10.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Thibaut Brandscheid (k1au3-is-37)]

When opening a PDF in Precise, the upcoming default Evince window is too small to read the content comfortable. This is a work flow interrupt because you have always to resize every Evince window opened.

[Jochen Fahrner (jofa)]

I'm wondering why this 4 years old bug is still unsolved. It should not be too difficult to remember the last window size and position and restore these settings at next launch.

[JoLa (josef-latt)]

Very annoying , this bug.

Regards

[Matthew Paul Thomas (mpt)]

Jochen, remembering the last window size is a separate issue.

[b3nmore (b3nmore)]

There are 3 slightly different situations we should clarify when discussing this bug:
1) the pdf was opened before -> evince open its exactly as it was closed (should work with newer versions)
2) the pdf wasn't opened before, but default settings were set by the user via Edit-Menu -> evince uses these settings. Works, except for pdfs stored in /tmp, like files downloaded by browsers (but this is fixed upstream: https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=680145).
3) evince was never used before or no default settings were set manually -> evince should use some sane (depending on the screen size?) 'default' default values. This is probably the issue we should discuss here.

[colin hercus (8sli0)]

Hi,
I'm also having this problem but it doesn't fit b3bnmores scenarios.
Using Ubuntu 11.10, eVince 3.2.1

1. every time a pdf is opened it is on left of screen and close to top and it's vertical size is about 50% of screen.
2. I always have to drag screen to right and down and then resize the window.
3. I 've tried menu EDIT | Use Current Settings as default but it makes no difference, the window always opens in the same place. This is case whether I reopen the pdf I was using when I clicked before mentioned menu or if I open a new pdf. I cannot find any other options for setting default screen size.
4. If I open several pdfs each new one is lower by height of the title bar.

It would be nice if windows opened with fontsize large enough to be readable, 100% of original or perhaps smaller to fit page size on screen.

Thanks, Colin

[Glide (gprod-net+ubuntu)]

I have the same problem.
What I would expect is Evince keeping the last window position/dimensions.
It's not and it opens each time small at the top right hand corner of the screen.
(Debian 3.2.60, GNOME Shell 3.4.2, Evince 3.4.0)

[Damian Pereira (pereira-damian-m)]

Any new information on this? I'm having the same problem in elementaryOS
(eOS freya, Evince 3.14.1)

[Matthew Paul Thomas (mpt)]

Damian, you can follow the link to the upstream bug report to see the current status: The latest patch was attached on 2013-11-01 and reviewed on 2014-10-19. Nothing has happened since.