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Q&A for power users of Apple hardware and software

Latest Questions

0 votes
0 answers
116 views
How to configure Skim to always open PDFs in tabs?
How to configure Skim on Sequoia 15.0.1 (24A348) to always open PDFs in tabs? Executing `defaults write -app Skim AppleWindowTabbingMode -string always` basically changes nothing, and PDFs open randomly in tabs or in new windows on randomly selected screen.
How to configure Skim on Sequoia 15.0.1 (24A348) to always open PDFs in tabs? Executing defaults write -app Skim AppleWindowTabbingMode -string always basically changes nothing, and PDFs open randomly in tabs or in new windows on randomly selected screen.
homocomputeris (225 rep)
Oct 31, 2024, 11:28 AM
2 votes
0 answers
22 views
Use Preview to edit at PDF which asks for two different phone numbers
I need to edit a PDF which has two fields marked "Phone no.". The phone numbers should be different from each other. Preview recognizes that these fields are for phone numbers, and "helpfully" overwrites the value of one when I edit the value of the other. I've tried editing the PDF in Chrome and Sk...
I need to edit a PDF which has two fields marked "Phone no.". The phone numbers should be different from each other. Preview recognizes that these fields are for phone numbers, and "helpfully" overwrites the value of one when I edit the value of the other. I've tried editing the PDF in Chrome and Skim as well, but the same issue occurred. I would prefer to avoid splitting the PDF and rejoining it (possible because the fields are on different pages) or using text boxes to cross out and list the correct phone numbers.
Phoenix (21 rep)
Apr 11, 2024, 12:41 AM
0 votes
1 answers
152 views
How to set the output directory for exporting a pdf file with skim?
I am looking for an option (or something else) for the PDF viewer Skim (V1.6.8) on macOS (High Sierra): After modifying a PDF file (e.g. adding a note or highlighting a part of it) Skim enables the possibility to save (export) the PDF including the embedded notes such that no additional `.skim` file...
I am looking for an option (or something else) for the PDF viewer Skim (V1.6.8) on macOS (High Sierra): After modifying a PDF file (e.g. adding a note or highlighting a part of it) Skim enables the possibility to save (export) the PDF including the embedded notes such that no additional .skim file is produced. Invoking **File** > **Export** for the first time a panel opens where the file including the PDF notes can be saved on disk. Unfortunately, the suggested folder in the panel is set to the last folder used and not to the 'active' one where the PDF file is. Does anybody know how to adjust the folder automatically in order to shorten the workflow? Of course, after a second export of the PDF file the folder is set to the right one. Is it possible to avoid this behavior?
Bernd (229 rep)
Feb 10, 2022, 09:05 AM • Last activity: Feb 11, 2022, 06:24 AM
0 votes
1 answers
223 views
Presenter notes in Keynote Window Mode using Apple Script
Unfortunately, Keynote does not allow (as far as I know) to have presenter notes displayed when used in window mode. I'm trying to work around this by using Apple Script. More precisely, I generate a PDF document where on page n I have the presenter notes for slide n. I then open up my Keynote prese...
Unfortunately, Keynote does not allow (as far as I know) to have presenter notes displayed when used in window mode. I'm trying to work around this by using Apple Script. More precisely, I generate a PDF document where on page n I have the presenter notes for slide n. I then open up my Keynote presentation in Window mode and the Skim PDF viewer. I use the following Apple Script to simultaneously advance the slides and the PDF
tell application "Keynote"
		activate
		show next
		set selectedSlide to slide number of current slide of front document
end tell
tell application "Skim"
	tell document 1
		go to page selectedSlide
	end tell
end tell
What puzzles me is that Skim is always one slide behind, so it displays page n-1 instead of n. This is (although I don't understand why) not too much trouble (as I could simply add one to the slide variable), but another more serious problem arises. Some of my slides have embedded movies which need a click to be played. The PDF document should remain on the same page, since only the movie is played, but the slide number does not increase. Nonetheless the PDF moves one page forward. Does anyone understand what's the problem here? (I'm using Keynote 10.3.9 and Skim 1.6 on macOS 10.15.6)
220284 (283 rep)
Feb 7, 2021, 03:44 PM • Last activity: Feb 7, 2021, 10:02 PM
1 votes
0 answers
97 views
Skim/Preview : forward sync not working
I am using `Skim` to preview pdfs generated by `vimtex` plugged into `MacVim` via `vim-plug` on MacBook Air M1. Whenever I write any changes to my `.tex` files the pdf opened in Skim does get updated but the display page doesn't move to the updated location. I have set `Sync` options to `MacVim` and...
I am using Skim to preview pdfs generated by vimtex plugged into MacVim via vim-plug on MacBook Air M1. Whenever I write any changes to my .tex files the pdf opened in Skim does get updated but the display page doesn't move to the updated location. I have set Sync options to MacVim and enabled Check for file changes and Reload automatically options in the Preferences. Can someone help me by suggesting how to reload pdfs to correct page? Alternatively, I tried using Preview but it doesn't even auto-reload until I move focus back to the opened pdf on it. I will be okay with whichever of the two can be made to work properly.
asymptoticallyboundedgluon (271 rep)
Dec 19, 2020, 08:41 AM • Last activity: Dec 21, 2020, 10:25 AM
4 votes
3 answers
1705 views
Need script to automatically export Skim PDFs with embedded notes
I have a folder with a few thousand PDF files, most of which have Skim annotations (e.g., highlights and notes). If I had fewer files, I'd just go through each one, export the PDF with embedded notes, and be on my merry way, having the ability to read my annotations with Adobe Reader on a PC (this i...
I have a folder with a few thousand PDF files, most of which have Skim annotations (e.g., highlights and notes). If I had fewer files, I'd just go through each one, export the PDF with embedded notes, and be on my merry way, having the ability to read my annotations with Adobe Reader on a PC (this is the goal). But since there are so many files, I need a script that will automatically go through this folder, perform the "export as PDF with embedded notes" function for each PDF that has Skim annotations, and then give the new file the name of the original file plus "with skim notes" (or some other designation to indicate it's the version with embedded notes). Secondly, if I make further annotations to the original PDF, it'd be great if the script could update the exported file with the embedded notes. I assume this is possible, as it appears Skim has great applescript support, but I have no idea how to create one. Thank you so much for any help you can offer. WG
william (85 rep)
Oct 17, 2015, 04:50 PM • Last activity: Aug 21, 2020, 01:13 PM
14 votes
2 answers
6261 views
What PDF Viewer can be used to present slides on High Sierra?
I give a lot of talks using PDF slides built with LaTeX beamer. I was very happy with Skim, because it offers you to synchronize two Skim windows, s.t. you don't have to mirror the screen, but instead use both displays at their native resolution and also be able to watch the thumbnail sidebar etc. o...
I give a lot of talks using PDF slides built with LaTeX beamer. I was very happy with Skim, because it offers you to synchronize two Skim windows, s.t. you don't have to mirror the screen, but instead use both displays at their native resolution and also be able to watch the thumbnail sidebar etc. on your own display without your viewers watching (similar to what PowerPoint and Keynote offer with two displays). However, as we all know, Apple has rendered PDFkit unusable since Sierra and Skim uses PDFkit for rendering. The main issue that rendered PDFkit unusable for presentations is the fact that it first shows a low resolution version of the content, before actually showing the high resolution rendering. This is very bothersome in the context of overlays. - In *Sierra* one could circumvent this by scrolling through the entire presentation beforehand, which apparently built up the cache of high resolution renderings - In *High Sierra* this is no longer possible, every time a page is shown it is shown at low resolution for a split second Thus, I'm looking for alternative PDF viewers, which support two displays without mirroring but do not rely on PDFkit for rendering. Adobe Acrobat renders fine, but is not so suitable for presentations.
barbaz (708 rep)
May 17, 2018, 02:12 PM • Last activity: Apr 14, 2020, 09:16 PM
2 votes
0 answers
69 views
Mac "open" command opens directories with Skim, not Finder
The `open` command on my mac breaks when I install [Skim][1], a PDF viewer. When I try to use `open` to browse a directory with Skim installed, `open` launches the Skim app, and I am presented with the following message: [![enter image description here][2]][2] How do I make `open` behave properly, a...
The open command on my mac breaks when I install Skim , a PDF viewer. When I try to use open to browse a directory with Skim installed, open launches the Skim app, and I am presented with the following message: enter image description here How do I make open behave properly, and open directories using Finder, like it should? It reverts back to the expected behavior when I move Skim to Trash.
Dev Aggarwal (110 rep)
Jul 18, 2019, 10:12 PM
3 votes
0 answers
2584 views
Exporting PDF with table of contents hyperlinks in Microsoft Word 2011?
When I save a document in Word 2011 to PDF, the hyperlinks in the documents' table of contents and other cross-reference links aren't clickable. That is in the PDF document when I click on a table of contents item in Preview or Skim, it doesn't jump to the page containing the content for that item....
When I save a document in Word 2011 to PDF, the hyperlinks in the documents' table of contents and other cross-reference links aren't clickable. That is in the PDF document when I click on a table of contents item in Preview or Skim, it doesn't jump to the page containing the content for that item. In contrast when I save the same document to PDF in Word 2010 (the Windows version), the PDF table of contents hyperlinks are created and works fine both on Windows (Acrobat Reader) and on the Mac (Preview and Skim). Is there a configuration option that I'm missing in Word 2011? How to get Word 2011 to generate the table of contents PDF links? I've tried printing the document to PDF but it didn't work.
adib (1333 rep)
Apr 23, 2012, 09:51 AM • Last activity: May 28, 2019, 11:40 AM
3 votes
2 answers
4232 views
Preview.app: How can I quickly find all highlights with specific colour in PDF?
I have a couple of PDFs (some of which are 500+ pages long). In these PDFs I made a lot of highlights, when I read through them. I came up with a colouring system, such that each colour is associated with a particular theme. Now I would like to focus on one theme/colour. I.e. quickly jump through, s...
I have a couple of PDFs (some of which are 500+ pages long). In these PDFs I made a lot of highlights, when I read through them. I came up with a colouring system, such that each colour is associated with a particular theme. Now I would like to focus on one theme/colour. I.e. quickly jump through, say the Pink highlights. However Preview.app, in its 'Highlights & Notes' panel, only shows colour for notes. I am not able to see which colour I used on the highlights. Can I somehow get an overview of the highlights and their highlight colour? Perhaps in a different program (Skim)? enter image description here
bonna (309 rep)
Feb 3, 2014, 03:38 PM • Last activity: Sep 3, 2018, 12:13 PM
0 votes
3 answers
701 views
Is there a way Spotlight indexes my Skim bookmarks/notes ?
I find Skim is a great pdf file reader and want to spend a great deal of time adding notes and bookmarks to some of the pdf files I have. I know Spotlight indexes pdf files but it doesn't seem to index my Skim bookmarks. (I just created a bookmark in Skim and search for that bookmark in Spotlight. N...
I find Skim is a great pdf file reader and want to spend a great deal of time adding notes and bookmarks to some of the pdf files I have. I know Spotlight indexes pdf files but it doesn't seem to index my Skim bookmarks. (I just created a bookmark in Skim and search for that bookmark in Spotlight. No results). I may force Spotlight to index net.sourceforge.skim-app.skim.bookmarks.plist (it is where bookmarks are stored) ? What do you think ? Thanks in advance.
politicus (1233 rep)
Feb 20, 2012, 11:29 AM • Last activity: Jul 19, 2018, 03:29 PM
0 votes
0 answers
130 views
First page of PDF not visible in Skim when using "Two pages" PDF Display in OS X Sierra
I'm having an issue with Skim since upgrading to OS X Sierra, the first page of a PDF is not visible in "two pages" PDF display mode (the left-hand side should be the first page, but is instead grey): [![enter image description here][1]][1] I can make the first page visible if I switch to another di...
I'm having an issue with Skim since upgrading to OS X Sierra, the first page of a PDF is not visible in "two pages" PDF display mode (the left-hand side should be the first page, but is instead grey): enter image description here I can make the first page visible if I switch to another display mode and then back to two pages, but as soon as I flip the page, the first page becomes invisible again! This has only been an issue in Sierra, Skim was working fine in 10.11. Does anyone know of a fix?
Guillochon (698 rep)
Oct 19, 2016, 01:39 PM
0 votes
1 answers
492 views
Script to automatically make a new bookmark folder in Skim for each PDF and store every bookmark created in it's respective folder?
Skim by default makes every new bookmark in the bookmark menu for all the pdf's, even if I create a bookmark folder for the pdf manually, there is no way of making it save the bookmark in this folder automatically because in the save bookmark dialogue by default the Add To field will show Bookmarks...
Skim by default makes every new bookmark in the bookmark menu for all the pdf's, even if I create a bookmark folder for the pdf manually, there is no way of making it save the bookmark in this folder automatically because in the save bookmark dialogue by default the Add To field will show Bookmarks Menu as the default location, which I have to manually change to the folder I created each time. So I was wondering if there is a applescript method of automating all this so, a bookmark folder will be automatically created when I save the first bookmark and every consequent bookmark will be automatically saved into this folder.
Ghos3t (131 rep)
Jul 4, 2016, 10:13 AM • Last activity: Jul 5, 2016, 11:29 AM
1 votes
0 answers
108 views
solution to easily embed skim notes doesn't work
My question is directly linked to the thread https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/79429/make-skim-save-pdfs-with-embedded-notes-by-default/235387#235387 What if the proposed solution (https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/166794/180243) doesn't help? As in, I worked my way through all steps, but wh...
My question is directly linked to the thread https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/79429/make-skim-save-pdfs-with-embedded-notes-by-default/235387#235387 What if the proposed solution (https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/166794/180243) doesn't help? As in, I worked my way through all steps, but when I press command + s it still saves normally rather than embedded. I just found out I lost 200 hours of carefully made annotations, and I really want to avoid that from ever happening again. Please help. Skim version 1.4.18 running on El Capitan
Anne (11 rep)
Apr 19, 2016, 12:11 AM • Last activity: Apr 19, 2016, 12:31 AM
13 votes
4 answers
8767 views
Make Skim save PDF's with embedded notes by default
I had been reading several papers and highlighting important points, pressing Command-S every so often to save my notes. But when I opened them back, BAM! All my highlights were lost. It turns out that I have to do `File > Export...` then choose to save the PDF with embedded notes. Add to that, I ca...
I had been reading several papers and highlighting important points, pressing Command-S every so often to save my notes. But when I opened them back, BAM! All my highlights were lost. It turns out that I have to do File > Export... then choose to save the PDF with embedded notes. Add to that, I cannot press Command-S to save with embedded notes on the same file. That's totally counterintuitive, takes too many mouse movements and keystrokes, breaks my train of thought, and just disheartening. How can I make Skim save over the PDF with my notes included, simply by pressing Command-S by default? It was the default behavior until recently. It turns out they changed it in Skim 1.3.22
Kit (765 rep)
Jan 20, 2013, 09:29 AM • Last activity: Apr 18, 2016, 11:33 PM
2 votes
1 answers
1887 views
save skim annotated pdf as pdf with annotations
I have skim version 1.4.16, and I can't find a way to save a pdf with skim notes as a pdf with annotations that preview 8.0 can read. I can export as a "pdf bundle", but preview 8.0 doesn't want to open such a file. I expect there are many other pdf readers, both in osX land and other OS's, that won...
I have skim version 1.4.16, and I can't find a way to save a pdf with skim notes as a pdf with annotations that preview 8.0 can read. I can export as a "pdf bundle", but preview 8.0 doesn't want to open such a file. I expect there are many other pdf readers, both in osX land and other OS's, that won't understand the bundle. Have I missed something?
drevicko (299 rep)
Mar 8, 2016, 03:19 PM • Last activity: Mar 8, 2016, 04:49 PM
11 votes
1 answers
3030 views
Font smoothing for pdf files in OSX Yosemite Safari vs Skim
I produce a lot of pdf files using LaTeX and thus, I also read a lot of such files. After the update to OS X 10.10 the fonts are not smooth anymore. However, Safari seems to handle it much better than Skim (see screenshot for comparison). The option "Use LCD font smoothing when available" is enabled...
I produce a lot of pdf files using LaTeX and thus, I also read a lot of such files. After the update to OS X 10.10 the fonts are not smooth anymore. However, Safari seems to handle it much better than Skim (see screenshot for comparison). The option "Use LCD font smoothing when available" is enabled; without it, the texts are almost unreadable. Anyone has any clue how to make the font looking better? Screenshot 1 : Image Screenshot 2 (left quick preview [spacebar], right Skim): Image Hardware: I use non-retina MacBook Pro 2011 + Fujitsu 27" LCD attached with dual-head DVI.
Piotr (240 rep)
Oct 23, 2014, 11:59 AM • Last activity: Jul 13, 2015, 04:29 AM
8 votes
1 answers
1513 views
Has Arrow Key Navigation Changed for Skim in Yosemite?
In Mavericks, I was able to scroll through PDFs in Skim by pressing the up/down arrow keys, with the down arrow navigating to later pages in the document, and the up arrow navigating to earlier pages. In Yosemite, it appears that the up and down arrow keys have reversed when viewing a document in ei...
In Mavericks, I was able to scroll through PDFs in Skim by pressing the up/down arrow keys, with the down arrow navigating to later pages in the document, and the up arrow navigating to earlier pages. In Yosemite, it appears that the up and down arrow keys have reversed when viewing a document in either "single page" or "two pages" mode (not continuous); now, the *up* arrow goes to later pages, and the down arrow to earlier pages. Is this a Skim-only change, or is the change more system-wide? If it's system-wide, is there a way to change it back to the Mavericks behavior? **Edit:** It seems that some people aren't able to reproduce this, so it might be a particular choice of settings that is causing this strange behavior.
Guillochon (698 rep)
Oct 18, 2014, 10:28 AM • Last activity: Jul 8, 2015, 02:41 AM
2 votes
1 answers
556 views
Lightweight PDF reader with auto refresh
I'm looking for a PDF reader that is both light weight and automatically updates the PDF to pickup background changes (e.g. when a LaTeX file is edited and compiled). There are two very good choices that fit the requirements but the auto refresh capabilities come with a minor hindrance in each: - Pr...
I'm looking for a PDF reader that is both light weight and automatically updates the PDF to pickup background changes (e.g. when a LaTeX file is edited and compiled). There are two very good choices that fit the requirements but the auto refresh capabilities come with a minor hindrance in each: - Preview — The background modifications are not picked up until the app regains focus. This is quite annoying when working if I need to keep tabbing/clicking to Preview and back to pick up the changes. - Skim — A confirmation dialog pops up the first time, asking what it should do with the background changes. Clicking "Auto" makes it behave exactly like I want. However, if I happen to close the window, it prompts you for the confirmation again. At this point, I'd even be happy with a solution that "fixes" the problem in either of these apps. If there was some way to make Skim not ask any confirmation at all (forever use "Auto") or ask it just once per file and not per window, it would be perfect. If this is not possible, recommendations for alternate viewers are welcome. I do not require any other features typical in PDF readers, such as annotations, tabbed reading, bookmarks, etc.
rm -rf (2991 rep)
May 14, 2014, 10:25 PM • Last activity: Dec 26, 2014, 10:43 PM
1 votes
1 answers
1718 views
How to manage Skim Notes within DevonThink?
I see that there are a lot of posts about automated ways to get annotations and notes from Skim PDFs into DevonThink. However, it seems like there's no easy way to automate that, which is fine. I usually read and highlight a PDF all in one shot, so I don't mind just doing "Export Notes to Text" in S...
I see that there are a lot of posts about automated ways to get annotations and notes from Skim PDFs into DevonThink. However, it seems like there's no easy way to automate that, which is fine. I usually read and highlight a PDF all in one shot, so I don't mind just doing "Export Notes to Text" in Skim when I'm done going through a PDF. Once I do that, what's the best way to manage Skim Notes? 1. What's the best way to manually import Skim Notes into DevonThink? Do I need to "Export Notes as Text" first? 2. Is there a way to connect the Skim Notes text file with the corresponding PDF that I also have in my DevonThink database? 3. I'd like to use the auto See Also/Classify thing with the Skim Notes only, as a way for DevonThink to tell me what PDFs are related, but I want DevonThink to do that using ONLY my highlights (i.e. the parts of the PDF I deemed to be most important). What's the best way to do this?
incandescentman (973 rep)
Jun 4, 2013, 12:19 AM • Last activity: Feb 28, 2014, 04:21 AM
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