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Update Windows install docs: unpin GhostScript, document why Poppler stays pinned #24

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ahnafnafee merged 1 commit into from
Aug 30, 2026
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Update Windows install docs: unpin GhostScript, document why Poppler stays pinned #24

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15 changes: 9 additions & 6 deletions README.md
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Expand Up @@ -61,26 +61,29 @@ sudo apt-get install ghostscript poppler-utils -y
Install via [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/install) (run as Administrator):

```powershell
choco install ghostscript --version 9.55.0 --force -y
choco install ghostscript -y
choco install poppler --version 0.89.0 -y --force
```

Add to PATH:
> **Why the Poppler pin?** Chocolatey `poppler` packages newer than `0.89.0` do not ship working Windows binaries (`25.x`+ contain only the source tarball, and the `22.11.x` builds are missing their dependency DLLs), so `0.89.0` is the newest version that works there. If you prefer a current Poppler, download a prebuilt release from [poppler-windows](https://github.com/oschwartz10612/poppler-windows/releases) instead, extract it, and point `postscript-preview.path.pdftocairo` / `postscript-preview.path.pdfinfo` at the executables in its `Library\bin` folder (see [Configuration](#configuration)).

Add to PATH (auto-detects the installed GhostScript version):

```powershell
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path",[Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine) + ";C:\Program Files\gs\gs9.55.0\lib;C:\Program Files\gs\gs9.55.0\bin;C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\poppler\tools",[EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine)
$gs = (Get-ChildItem "C:\Program Files\gs\gs*\bin\gswin64c.exe" | Select-Object -Last 1).Directory.Parent.FullName
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path",[Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine) + ";$gs\lib;$gs\bin;C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\poppler\tools",[EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine)
```

**Restart VS Code** after installation.

<details>
<summary>Manual PATH setup</summary>

If you have issues setting PATH, add these manually via System Properties → Environment Variables:
If you have issues setting PATH, add these manually via System Properties → Environment Variables (substitute your installed GhostScript version, e.g. `gs10.07.1`):

```
C:\Program Files\gs\gs9.55.0\lib
C:\Program Files\gs\gs9.55.0\bin
C:\Program Files\gs\gs<version>\lib
C:\Program Files\gs\gs<version>\bin
C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\poppler\tools
```

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