From: Robert Prins <[hidden email]>
To: Tom Davies <[hidden email]>
Cc: "[hidden email]" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Friday, 15 March 2013, 10:31
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] BUG: Writer seems to ignore some "\par" in
RTF file
Tom,
On 15 March 2013 09:09, Tom Davies <[hidden email]> wrote:
The Odt format is a zip container that holds an Xml file(s). So my guess
is
that if you can generate Xml in text-files then it should be reasonably
easy.
You've got to be kidding...
Take this line from a file (in fixed pitch font):
=== SOURCE ===
| 72 | 1386 | 43 | 26 | 112 | 14 | FL RG P CH D GB LV
NL B S |
=== SOURCE ===
In RTF it's simple:
=== RTF ===
| 72 | 1386 | 43 | 26 | 112 | 14 | FL RG P CH D GB LV
NL B S |\par
=== RTF ===
And in ODT?
=== ODT ===
<text:p text:style-name="P1"><text:span text:style-name="T1">| <text:s
text:c="2"/>72 | 1386 | <text:s text:c="2"/>43 | <text:s
text:c="2"/>26 | <text:s/>112 | <text:s text:c="2"/>14 | FL
<text:s/>RG <text:s/>P <text:s text:c="2"/>CH <text:s/>D <text:s
text:c="2"/>GB <text:s/>LV <text:s/>NL <text:s/>B <text:s
text:c="2"/>S <text:s text:c="2"/>|</text:span></text:p>
=== ODT ===
Care to explain why Writer breaks up this line in umpteen parts, and
seems to do so on all places where there are two of more spaces? What
is wrong with spaces in XML? Why, so it seems to me, replace 2 spaces
with a *20* character substitute of "<text:s text:c="2"/>"?
Also, in this case the RTF file is just 325kb. The "content.xml" is
1,152kb.
Another RTF file is 2,887kb. For this one the "content.xml" is
"merely" 8,961kb, and even stranger: Open the RTF-saved-as-ODT, add
and insert and delete a single space at the very beginning, and save
again, and now "content.xml" is suddenly reduced to 7,056kb. Why
wasn't is saved like that right from the start?
RTF may have drawbacks, but for simple text it's vastly easier to
generate than the XML used in Writer. Add the fact that CPU time on
z/OS is rather more expensive than on Windoze boxes, and the case
against generating ODT files on z/OS is pretty strong... I'll probably
file the problem as a bug, but I won't hold my breath for the
solution.
Robert
--
Robert AH Prins
robert(a)prino(d)org
But as you point out it does generate fairly different results on
different
machines using different OSes or / and different programs. Then when
generated you have no idea how it will display on other different
machines,
different OSes or in different programs.
You are free to post it as a bug-report but it's an inherent problem with
the format itself and one that MS never fixed. Remember that this mess
of a
format and the vast waste of effort endure by quite a lot of people and
companies did land MS in court and MS lost the case. Some companies seem
to
have been put out of business by it's failures to be more
cross-compatible.
So, you are not alone.
Regards from
Tom :)
________________________________
From: Robert Prins <[hidden email]>
To: Tom Davies <[hidden email]>
Cc: "[hidden email]" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Friday, 15 March 2013, 7:04
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] BUG: Writer seems to ignore some "\par"
in
RTF file
Tom,
Maybe...
But RTF has one huge advantage, it's very easy to create on other
systems, as it is pure text. The "file" I posted is generate on IBM's
z/OS. Maybe you can tell me how I can generate an ODT file on that
platform?
Robert
--
Robert AH Prins
robert(a)prino(d)org
On 15 March 2013 00:11, Tom Davies <[hidden email]> wrote:
Hi :)
MS developed Rtf making all the promises about cross-platform and
cross-product compatibility that are currently being made for their ISO
format. Unfortunately they never quite lived up to those promises and
got
taken to court about it and lost the case. So they stopped developing
it
and created the OOXML and got that registered as an ISO standard
instead.
Now people seem to be having similar problems with the new OOXML formats
that they had with the Rtf, perhaps even more problems.
So, just avoid Rtf. It always was a broken, proprietary format and even
though MS have stopped doing any development of it there still hasn't
been
any improvement in it's compatibility.
Regards from
Tom :)
________________________________
From: prino <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]
Sent: Thursday, 14 March 2013, 21:47
Subject: [libreoffice-users] BUG: Writer seems to ignore some "\par" in
RTF
file
If you open the following, name it "whatever.rtf"
=== CUT ===
{\rtf1\ansi\deff0
{\fonttbl
{\f0\fmodern\fcharset0\fprq1 Courier New;}}
\paperw16840\paperh11907\margl709\margr709\margt1418\margb567
\lndscpsxn
\cols2\colsx709
\pard\plain
\sl-140\slmult0\fs14
{\b Rows\par}{
\par
+------+\par
| Row |\par
+------+\par
| 1 |\par
| 60 |\par
+------+\par
\column
\par
\par
+------+\par
| Row |\par
+------+\par
| 61 |\par
| 120 |\par
+------+\par
\column
\par
\par
+------+\par
| Row |\par
+------+\par
| 121 |\par
+------+\par
| Tot |\par
+------+\par
}}
=== CUT ===
in Word, it will correctly put two blank lines above the second and
third
column. Open it in Writer (4.0.1.2) and there will be only *one* blank
line
above columns two and three.
Not good!