Re: SyncTeX does not work with Zathura

[Hans Hagen via ntg-context <ntg-context@ntg.nl>]

On 10/10/2021 7:20 PM, Cezary Drożak wrote:
>  > you can play with
>  >
>  > mtxrun --script synctex
>  >
>  > and the synctex file to see if it makes sense
> I wrote two almost identical files in plain tex and context. When I 
> generated the synctex file and ran `mtxrun --script synctex --list 
> x.synctex` I got this:
> 
> ```
> $ mtxrun --script synctex --list context.synctex
> mtx-synctex     | begin page: 1
> mtx-synctex     | end page: 1
> 
> $ mtxrun --script synctex --list tex.synctex
> mtx-synctex     | begin page: 1
> mtx-synctex     |   [  72   82   92   82] :     1 : 
> /home/nawordar/tests/tex/hello/./tex.tex
> mtx-synctex     | end page: 1
> ```
> 
> It looks like context generates an incomplete synctext file.

I can't say ... what is missing? Can you figure out what makes Zathura 
unhappy?

The context synctex files are definitely less verbose because (1) we 
avoid clutter, (2) omit auto-generated content like pagenumbers and so, 
(3) collapse ranges (which we can do because we know what we're dealing 
with), (4) don't compress (because it makes no sense), (5) ignore 
styles, (6) also handle xml, etc. There have been some changes between 
synctex 1 and 2 but I don['t keep track of that. Actually, if a 'call 
some command' approach would have been chosen we could have better 
readable files (in our case lua or so).

>  > one problem with synctex is that the editors depend on a library and 
> there has been changes
>  >
>  > texshop now uses the more independent method for context i.e. just 
> calling "mtxrun --script synctex ..." which not only removes the 
> dependency of a library (the dependency on mtxrun is ok as one has 
> context anyway) but also permits room for improvement (apart from not 
> being tricked by latex specific heuristics in the library)
> 
> But that would need a change in Zathura wouldn't it?

sure, so unlikely to happen soon (i have no influence on that)

(but it would have been a better approach anyway, not being dependent on 
libraries that that depend on specific synctex versions in tex as well 
as heuristics; basically now one needs a version of the editor/viewer 
that matches a tex engine); one doesn't hard code a pdf viewer in an 
editor either (btw, the script approach permits two way sync, so in 
texshop one can go from pdf to source and source to pdf)

here with

\starttext
Hello, world!
\stoptext

i get

SyncTeX Version:1
Input:1:oeps.tex
Output:pdf
Magnification:1000
Unit:1
X Offset:0
Y Offset:0
Content:
!103
{1
[0,0:0,0:0,0,0
v0,0:0,55380990:39158276,55380990,0
h1,6:4661756,9176901:4275840,655360,327680
]
!104
}1
!8
Postamble:
Count:3
!22
Post scriptum:

(also with context --synctex oeps)

Hans

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                                           Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE
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