How To Install Xpdf On Debian

Due to the sad situation of xpdf on debian it looks like xpdf is no longer included in jessie.

Regardless of the current state of poppler, xpdf and debian maintainers, compiling xpdf from source is straightforward and does work. First, visit the xpdf download page and get the source:

% wget ftp://ftp.foolabs.com/pub/xpdf/xpdf-3.03.tar.gz
% tar xf xpdf-3.03.tar.gz
% cd xpdf-3.03

Second, install dependencies which are currently as follows:

# apt-get install libx11-dev libfreetype6-dev libxt-dev libmotif-dev g++

The following are optional dependencies for e.g. printing:

# apt-get install libxp-dev libxpm-dev libpaper-dev

Third, configure and install xpdf:

% ./configure --with-freetype2-includes=/usr/include/freetype2
% make
# make install

Enjoy xpdf in /usr/local.