Re: [tdf-discuss] New "LibreOffice Reader" Eliminates Need for "PDF Reader"

On 24/06/2011 03:59, Marc Paré wrote:
> > Marc Paré wrote:
> > > This thread is really about proposing, to the devs, the possibility of
> > > creating a "LibreOffice Reader" similar to the "Adobe .pdf Reader".
> > This could be an idea to investigate, but I don't know how feasible it
> > is; actually there is (or used to be) a "read only" mode in
> > OpenOffice.org and LibreOffice, but if I recall correctly the
> > LibreOffice developers hated it.
> >
> > > if we were to promote a "quick and dirty"
> > > "LibreOffice Reader", very much like the "Adobe Acrobat Reader", whose
> > > sole purpose is to provide the ability to "read" ".odt" files, there
> > > would be no need to carry .pdf formatted files.
> > This, however, won't work. Document fidelity is not the aim of ODT
> > files, while it is the aim of PDF files (example: font embedding, but
> > one could find many more). Replacing PDF by ODT is just not feasible due
> > to the formats themselves, not to the lack of an "ODF Reader".
> >
> > Regards,
> >    Andrea.
> The initial use of the "LibreOffice Reader" would be just a plain 
> reader, the challenge after this would be to try to build as much 
> document fidelity into it as possible. Again, with the hopes to rival 
> .pdf fidelity. Maybe once all the devs put their heads together, they 
> may come up with some way to do this. Let's not forget that the Djvu 
> people accomplished this to some extent. If we were to work at it we 
> could surprise everyone. There is always the possibility of submitting 
> any changes to the ODF, that could enhance the formats, through the 
> possible channels at the ISO and OASIS of which we are members.
>
> Cheers
>
> Marc
As Andrea states, the point about PDF is that it 'locks in' the format 
of a document, allowing it to be displayed or printed everywhere as the 
user intended. All other formats created by word processors, including 
MS Office and LibO, will display and print differently on different 
computers, depending for example on the specific printer a user has 
installed. I doubt that this is something that could readily be fixed by 
tweaking ODF, it's fundamental to the way all word processors work. I 
also believe that any diversion of scarce DEV effort would inevitably 
move the focus further away from fixing the many bugs still in LibO, 
which would be counter-productive.

-1

--
Mike Hall
www.onepoyle.net



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