PDF Reader Sumatra 3.4: new command palette and support for translations

The developer of the lightweight PDF reader Sumatra released Sumatra 3.4 to the public. The new release is the first of 2022, and it adds several new features and improvements to the application.

Note: shortly after releasing Sumatra 3.4, Sumatra 3.4.1 was released, which includes a single fix.

Sumatra 3.4.1 is available as a portable version and an installer for Microsoft Windows. Downloads are provided on the developer website as usual.

Sumatra is a lightweight open source PDF reader for Windows. It is a popular choice when it comes to reading PDF documents on Windows.

Sumatra 3.4

Sumatra 3.4 adds a number of new features and improvements to the PDF reader. Users find the new text translate feature under Menu > Selection. The initial version supports Google Translate and DeepL, but it is possible to add custom translation services to the application.

All it takes is to select text, and then one of the available translate options. Sumatra opens the translated text on the service's website.

Users may add custom translate options under Settings > Advanced Settings; this opens the configuration file in a text editor. The SelectionHandlers section accepts new services, but it requires a bit of detective work to configure these services properly.

While you need to add two parameters only for each service, URL and Name, it is necessary to manipulate the URL to make sure that it includes the selection variable.

Here is how this would look like for DuckDuckGo:

SelectionHandlers [
[
URL = https://duckduckgo.com/?ia=web&q=${selection}
Name = &DuckDuckGo
]
]

Basically, what you need to do is copy the target URL of the service and replace the query with the ${selection} parameter.

Sumatra 3.4 introduces support for custom keyboard shortcuts and for the remapping of existing keyboard shortcuts; this is done using the configuration file as well under Settings > Advanced Settings.

The Shortcuts section of the file handles custom keyboard shortcuts. For each, Cmd and Key variables need to be set. The Cmd parameter accepts any of the supported commands, e.g., CmdBookView, which you find listed here on this page.

The key variable accepts single keys and key combinations, e.g., Alt-I or q.

Command Palette

The new Command Palette unlocks all functions of the PDF reader when it is opened. It may be used to open recently opened PDF documents quickly, to switch between tabs, and to invoke any of the available commands that Sumatra supports.

Open the Command Palette via Menu > View > Command Palette, or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-K. You may browse the available selection of commands or type to filter available commands and options.

Users who prefer the keyboard can use the Command Palette using the keyboard only.

Other changes in Sumatra 3.4

Here is a list of other changes in the new Sumatra version:

• Epub documents support text selections and searching now.
• Installer supports the -all-users command line argument to install Sumatra system-wide.
• Keyboard shortcut i inverts document colors, while Shift-I shows the page numbers.
• Pressing Delete or Backspace removes annoations under the mouse cursor.
• SVG files are supported.
• Support for opening .heic files, if the heic codec is installed.
• Scrolling is faster if the mouse cursor is over the scrollbar.
• Experimental support for smooth scrolling added (enable in Advanced Settings).

Closing Words

Sumatra is a well designed PDF reader for Windows. While it can only be used to view documents, it does a stellar job at that. Our first review of Sumatra dates back to 2008.

Now You: which PDF reader do you use?

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