Features on GalleyPDF

Auto-Reload

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Auto-Reload#

Galley monitors the open PDF for changes on disk and reloads it automatically when your TeX engine produces a new version.

The reload preserves:

The current scroll position
The current zoom level
The current page number

This means you can keep Galley open beside your editor and run your build loop without ever touching the viewer.

SyncTeX Integration

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

SyncTeX Integration#

Galley implements both directions of SyncTeX:

Forward Search — Jump from your editor to the corresponding position in the PDF. The target is briefly highlighted with a fading red dot so it is easy to spot.
Inverse Search — Cmd + Click on a glyph in the PDF to jump back to the source location in your editor. Galley supports Emacs (via emacsclient), VS Code (via the vscode:// URL scheme), and arbitrary custom editors via a shell command template.

Forward Search is invoked through the galleypdf:// URL scheme, so it works with any editor that can open a URL — including AUCTeX, YaTeX, LaTeX Workshop, and hand-rolled build scripts.

Character Inspection

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Character Inspection#

Right-click on a selected character in the PDF to inspect, in one popover:

Unicode code point, name, plane, and category
Font name (PostScript), family, and traits
Point size and vertical metrics
Glyph ID — and CID for CJK fonts

This is built for typesetters who need to verify that the right glyph from the right font ended up on the page, especially when working with mixed scripts or font subsetting.

Rectangular Selection & Measurement

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Rectangular Selection & Measurement#

Shift + Drag creates a rectangular marquee with real-time dimensions displayed in millimetres. Drag inside an existing marquee to reposition it without losing the size.

Cmd + C copies the selected region as a vector PDF — not a raster screenshot — so you can paste it into another document with no loss of quality.

This is the workflow for snipping equations, figures, or table fragments out of a typeset PDF for inclusion in slides or reviews.

Lightweight Rendering

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Lightweight Rendering#

Galley draws only the PDF page itself — no annotation overlays, no editing tools, no toolbars stacked over the canvas. As a result, page rendering stays light even when you flip through pages quickly.

Combined with Auto-Reload, this means you can keep Galley open beside your editor and your build loop without ever noticing the viewer is there.