Re: [libreoffice-users] compatibility with MS Word 2007 files, hebrew

On 05/26/2011 06:32 PM, Tom Davies wrote:
> Hi :)
> 1. Yes but another way around is more to the point.  MSO 2003&  2007 handle LO
> files better than LO handles MSO files.  MSO tries to include some crazy
> non-standards stuff whereas LO is more "standards-compliant".
>
>
> 2. - 4. Errr, dunno.  TTf is a generic format rather than specific to 1 program.
>
> Regards from
> Tom :)
At least we do not have to deal with Type 1 any more, or rely on the 
fonts that were hard wired in the printers.  I use to write printer 
files for PC-Write, back in the DOS days.  I had to take the printer 
manuals and write the file to match the programs font styles with the 
Escape codes that the printer used for their different font type, 
styles, and other font functions.  Why no one did that before I did, I 
have no idea, but I ended up writing files for every printer in the 
place.  There were no standards back then, since most were 8,9, or 24 
pin, with a few wheel and ball printers.

When the first Mac came out, and an employee bought one for his own use, 
a whole new world opened up.  That was the first GUI computer the place 
had ever seen.  Within a few years, half of the systems were Mac and the 
others were the early Windows machines.

As for the question, again for the better fonts, I find that the fonts 
with the larger file sizes for the same named font most of the time is 
better.  There are more font structure definitions, just like images 
with larger DPI tend to look better.  As for the above "generic format" 
statement, you choose the font that work best for you.  If you get 
people who deal with Arial, you might choose that over Helvetica.  If 
you find that your support group prefers one font over the other, you 
may choose that one as a default.  Some people have installed as few an 
10 or 20 on a Windows computer.  I have gone as high as over 500 [with 
all its normal, italic, bold, bold italic, etc. forms for each name].  I 
tend to choose a number of core fonts that is used by my contacts, and 
then the rest are more stylized and decorative fonts.  I am alway on the 
lookout for a really nice handwriting script that is free.  Same for 
some holiday or other specialty font that is used on a specific occasion.

If you really need to look for a font set to use, go online and find out 
what fonts are installed by Windows and Mac computers.  Look at the 
fonts that are matches or have similar one but use a different name.  I 
did that when I started to make CSS for web sites and defined font names 
for those style sheets by order of my preference.

As for fonts used with LibreOffice, choose as many types and styles as 
you may be required to use in you home, school, or work environment.  I 
need to have fonts that had train related themes when I was doing a 
newsletter for a railroad historical association.  I ended up pairing 
down to about 160,000 @ 9.5GB of font files and hope to have time to 
reduce that down to under 100,000 this year.  I was over 230,000 last 
year.  I do my best to get rid of all the bad fonts and the so-so 
looking ones.  Plus you do not need 50 or 60 different versions of 
Helvetica or other font name.  It just takes time and I no longer 
actively search for as many fonts as I use to do.





> ________________________________
> From: Laivy Gelerinter<laivy@neto.bezeqint.net>
> To: users@libreoffice.org
> Sent: Thu, 26 May, 2011 21:32:05
> Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] compatibility with MS Word 2007 files, hebrew
>
> So let me understand
>
> 1. LO can deal with the MSO 2003 files better than the 2007 files?
>
> 2. If I install Ubuntu together with my Widows rather than instead can Ubuntu
> and LO access the font files that I have in the Windows system?
>
> 3. If not, will Ubuntu with LO recognize TT fonts or other fonts files that I
> have in Windows if I copy them to a Ubuntu folder?
>
> 4. If this would also not work, where could I get the "better" font files?
>
> Thank you to all who have responded so far and I am looking forward to your
> responses to my new questions.
>
> Laivy
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "webmaster for Kracked Press Productions"
> <webmaster@krackedpress.com>
> To:<users@libreoffice.org>
> Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2011 4:57 PM
> Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] compatibility with MS Word 2007 files, hebrew
>
>
> > On 05/26/2011 09:33 AM, Tom Davies wrote:
> > > Hi :)
> > >
> > > LibreOffice works on Windows too and can be installed without making it the
> > > default Office Suite.  Your colleagues could continue to use MS Office for
> > most
> > > things and then just use LibreOffice for the newsletter.
> > >
> > >
> > > So far it seems that files created in LibreOffice (or OpenOffice) look fairly
> > > close to the original when opened in MS Office although for MS Office prior
> to
> > > 2007 the files need to be saved as "Word 98/2000/Xp" format (.doc rather than
> > > .docX or .odt).  Word 2007 and 2010 can open .odt but handles .doc better.
> > > This
> > > can be set as the default format in LibreOffice or OpenOffice
> > > Tools - Options - "Load/Save" - General
> > > and then use the 2 drop-down lists at the bottom to set-up the new defaults
> > > (roll back up the list 2 places to see the "98/200/Xp" formats). Sometimes
> > it's
> > > just easier to use
> > > File - "Save As .."
> > > but changing the defaults mean you don't have to worry until after you
> upgrade
> > > again.
> > MSO 2003 plus the add on to read/write .docx files [directly from MSO] never
> > worked for me to read the .docx files that were on MSO's template pages.  I have
> > not tried LibreOffice 3.3.2 with some of the MSO XML files from their online
> > template site.  I have been told on these lists that the reading ability for LO
> > is much better now that what OOo was, the last time I downloaded MSO sample
> > files.  So I will have to try them.  To be honest if MSO's own add on for their
> > own products, to be able to use those nasty XML files, do not work then it will
> > be hard pressed for LO developers to make it work.  But, that is the MS way.
> > You have to buy their newest product to get to use the files saved with those
> > newest products.
> > > Were the Hebrew fonts messed up?  If that happens it might be possible to
> > > install 'better' Hebrew fonts.  Usually it is something odd about the way MSO
> > > handles text-boxes and pictures, any boxes really.  But this can usually be
> > > fixed just by dragging the boxes back to the right place
> > I have many Hebrew TTF fonts ranging from 30KB to over 100KB in size. Could
> > there be a problem with the font file[s] that are being used?  That is just a
> > wild guess, but not all "Hebrew" fonts are equal in quality, as far as I can
> > see, but I do not read Hebrew.
> >
> > > Hopefully compatibility will improve but MS like to try to make things
> > > difficult
> > > so that people are forced into buying their latest Office all the time.
> Google
> > > docs also uses the OpenDocument Formats and compatibility is improving there
> > > too.  The whole Cloud thing is still a bit new but it's hopefully improving
> > > despite occasional set-backs.
> > >
> > >
> > > Encouraging your colleagues to install LibreOffice and make sure it is NOT
> set
> > > as the default Office Suite will help you all move to better compatibility
> > with
> > > more systems.  They might even find they prefer LibreOffice more and more
> even
> > > though they could always use MSO instead.  The icons are nicer and menus more
> > > familiar than the ribbon-bar (especially as it looks in MSO 2007).
> > If you cannot get you colleagues to use LibreOffice, please let them know that
> > it would be better for them to use .doc and other non-XML formats so it is much
> > easier to share the files with other colleagues.  As I said before, not every
> > MSO package that "claims" to read/write .docx files will read/write the same and
> > be read the same between different MSO packages. Also, some people, and
> > businesses, just do not have the money to update their systems every time MSO
> > comes out with a new version.  I know quite a few that still use MSO 2000 or
> > 2003.  So, if people will just stop using that nasty XML version of MSO file
> > formats, we all will have an easier time sharing files between MSO users and MSO
> > and LibreOffice users.
> > > Regards from
> > > Tom :)
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > > From: Laivy Gelerinter<laivy@neto.bezeqint.net>
> > > To: users@libreoffice.org
> > > Sent: Thu, 26 May, 2011 12:12:40
> > > Subject: [libreoffice-users] compatibility with MS Word 2007 files, hebrew
> > >
> > > I recently downloaded the newest version of Ubuntu in order to try it out as
> > > I am not so impressed with Windows. The current download includes
> > > LibreOffice. The main thing which would stop me from moving over to Ubuntu
> > > is compatibility with MS Office 2007 files. I have been putting out a weekly
> > > newsletter in Hebrew for the past 9 years and need to be able to access my
> > > MS files and to be able to read them and work with them. I also have some
> > > people working with me and they use MS Word and I must be able to
> > > successfully transfer files between them and myself. The newsletter is in
> > > Hebrew. When I tried opening the MS files using LibreOffice I found that the
> > > formatting was very messed up as well as LibreOffice not having the fonts I
> > > use and therefore everything came out wrong. How can I get LibreOffice to
> > > open these files while maintaining the proper formatting and fonts? I hope
> > > there is a way as everything I have heard about Ubuntu and Libreoffice point
> > > to them being much more stable and powerful than MS but, as I wrote, I need
> > > the compatibility with MS Office 2007 files.
> > >
> > > Thank you in advance
> > >
> > > Laivy


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