[pdf-tools & layout] Restore last location in a PDF buffer

[korayal]

I have a layout for a programming book which allow me to recreate my workspace pretty fast. So In that layout, I have the book's PDF opened in one of the windows.

But the problem is, while in a text buffer the cursor is at the correct position whenever I saved the layout, the PDF buffer always loses it's saved location. Which as you can imagine requires some extra steps that it became boring after a bunch of repeats.

[braham-snyder]

politza/pdf-tools#18 (please go "thumbs up" that issue if you're using this workaround):

    ;; workaround for pdf-tools not reopening to last-viewed page of the pdf:
    ;; https://github.com/politza/pdf-tools/issues/18
    (defun brds/pdf-set-last-viewed-bookmark ()
      (interactive)
      (when (eq major-mode 'pdf-view-mode)
        (bookmark-set (brds/pdf-generate-bookmark-name))))

    (defun brds/pdf-jump-last-viewed-bookmark ()
      (when
          (brds/pdf-has-last-viewed-bookmark)
        (bookmark-jump (brds/pdf-generate-bookmark-name))))

    (defun brds/pdf-has-last-viewed-bookmark ()
      (assoc
       (brds/pdf-generate-bookmark-name) bookmark-alist))

    (defun brds/pdf-generate-bookmark-name ()
      (concat "PDF-LAST-VIEWED: " (buffer-file-name)))

    (defun brds/pdf-set-all-last-viewed-bookmarks ()
      (dolist (buf (buffer-list))
        (with-current-buffer buf
            (brds/pdf-set-last-viewed-bookmark))))

    (add-hook 'kill-buffer-hook 'brds/pdf-set-last-viewed-bookmark)
    (add-hook 'pdf-view-mode-hook 'brds/pdf-jump-last-viewed-bookmark)
    (unless noninteractive  ; as `save-place-mode' does
      (add-hook 'kill-emacs-hook #'brds/pdf-set-all-last-viewed-bookmarks))

[deb0ch]

@braham-snyder It would be neat to have it in Spacemacs (even neater to have it upstream in pdf-tools, but maybe we can add it here in the meantime).

Maybe you could open a PR with this code integrated so that we can review and test it ? 😸

[korayal]

@braham-snyder this snippet works nicely, but only if we kill the buffer before exiting emacs. after SPC q R I'm not seeing the page as I left before. Maybe there is some other hook to do this.

[deb0ch]

Maybe kill-emacs-hook ?

[korayal]

I was hoping for a more general approach, so there is also a restart-emacs-hook, I wonder how many cases are there. Also adding this hook to kill-emacs or restart-emacs or even kill-buffer seems like an overkill since this is only about pdf-mode buffers.

[braham-snyder]

perhaps we should do whatever it is save-place-mode does, since it's nearly the same idea

@deb0ch I really don't want to stifle the development of pdf-tools--I feel like adding this snippet would (or at least should?) be outside the scope of Spacemacs

I've edited my original post to request that anyone using this workaround go thumbs up that issue

EDIT: see the linked pdf-tools issue above for further discussion

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