[Bug 2099693] Re: FFe: install papers instead of evince in Ubuntu Desktop by default

[Jeremy Bícha]

** Package changed: papers (Ubuntu) => ubuntu-meta (Ubuntu)

** Changed in: ubuntu-meta (Ubuntu)
       Status: Triaged => Fix Committed

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2099693

Title:
  FFe: install papers instead of evince in Ubuntu Desktop by default

Status in ubuntu-meta package in Ubuntu:
  Fix Committed

Bug description:
  Impact
  ======
  The Ubuntu Desktop Team would like to switch the default standalone PDF viewer app from Evince to Papers. Papers was forked from Evince and appears to be significantly better maintained than Evince currently. GNOME is expected to switch their default app for GNOME 49 later this year. The Ubuntu Desktop team does not see a need to wait until then.

  This was pre-announced at https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/ubuntu-
  desktop-25-04-part-1-the-plucky-roadmap/49621 and reaffirmed at
  https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/ubuntu-25-04-mid-cycle-roadmap/55690

  Why This Wasn't Done Sooner
  ==========================
  The required MIR was filed before Ubuntu 25.04 Feature Freeze but it also needed a review by the Ubuntu Security Team. https://launchpad.net/bugs/2097727

  Papers didn't arrive in Ubuntu universe until February 2 because the
  Debian NEW review took a couple months.

  Affected Packages
  =================
  The ubuntu-desktop metapackages (from ubuntu-meta) will have the simple swap.

  gtk+3.0 ought to be patched to support using papers for the Print
  Preview feature instead of only evince. This patch has not been
  prepared yet.

  Both libreoffice and gedit bundle their own print previewers but there
  are many other gtk3 apps that support printing. Importantly, we need
  gtk+3.0 to support both papers or evince depending on which is
  installed because Ubuntu Cinnamon includes evince but not Papers. (I
  think this feature is actually broken for many other Ubuntu Desktop
  Flavors which ship the evince fork named atril while gtk+3.0 is hard-
  coded to only use evince.)

  Other Info
  ==========
  I was told recently that RHEL 10 (currently in Beta) has also made the switch. Fedora is considering the switch for their 42 release (expected to be released soon after Ubuntu 25.04) so there is cross-distro interest in switching even before GNOME officially switches.

  The Ubuntu Desktop Team might patch the .desktop file for Papers to
  display as "Document Viewer" since that is what is intended to happen
  once GNOME officially switches. Papers will be part of Ubuntu's
  language packs so there should not be a translation issue with this
  change. Ubuntu 25.04 has not reached User Interface Freeze yet so this
  change is not part of this freeze exception request.

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