AOO PDF Import

[Fernando Cassia <fc...@gmail.com>]

Hi Users,

I have downloaded and installed the AOO PDF import extension v0.1.0 from
the extensions web site.

I have successfully opened a pdf file and it looks good, allows me to edit
a typo generated by the back end server that generates pdf files.

However I'm not sure if I'm using it right. I just opened AOO writer and
file->open, selected the pdf file.

After a while the pdf comes up, but as a AOO Draw document.

The blurb on the extension reads "best results with 100% layout accuracy
can be achieved with the 'PDF/ODF Hybrid file format' which this extension
also enables"

That leads me to believe I doing something wrong, as currently it won't let
me save the pdf file I opened for editing in this hybrid format at all,
just aoo draw.

I need 100% layout accuracy as this is a shipping label with bar code.

Btw: clicking on aoo-pdf-import (the extension name) on the AOO extension
manager tries to load a code.google.com url that gives a http
error message.

I guess the extension also needs to be updated and the url corrected.

TIA

FC

Re: AOO PDF Import

[Fernando Cassia <fc...@gmail.com>]

On Wed., 10 Feb. 2021, 11:21 Brian Barker, <b....@btinternet.com>
wrote:

> At 07:46 10/02/2021 -0300, you wrote:
> >I have downloaded and installed the AOO PDF import extension v0.1.0
> >from the extensions web site.
>
> Extensions are the responsibility of their individual authors, not of
> OpenOffice itself.


I know. I just brought this issue in case the extension author is a list
member. Or someone on the AOO Users list knows who he/she is.

And I have no experience with this extension, so
> cannot help.
>

OK. I will reply below anyway...

>
> >I have successfully opened a pdf file and it looks good, allows me
> >to edit a typo generated by the back end server that generates pdf files.
>
> The PDF format is ideal for final versions of documents.


I know what pdf is intended for and that one shouldnt use it for editable
material, only for final destination format. But in some situations, there
is no other option.

It is always
> preferable to edit material at an earlier stage and in a more appropriate
> form.
>


That's something I cannot do as the PDF file is generated on a web server
that I cannot control (the local postal service)

This issue is a typo on the street name and 'null' text shown on apt# and
floor#, it has been going on for ages (2019) and no matter how many support
tickets I open, the issue remains.

So I manually edit the generated PDF files (until now with Abby converter,
which is licensed on a separate desktop PC) and then print the shipping
labels. It's just switching a few characters and it doesn't affect the
label's  bar code or QR code.

My intent was doing that editing directly with AOO on my laptop and not
having to power up the desktop with Abby PDF Converter just to do such a
minor edit.


> >However I'm not sure if I'm using it right. I just opened AOO writer
> >and file->open, selected the pdf file.
>
> It's worth mentioning that you cannot "open OpenOffice Writer", only
> start OpenOffice itself.


This is technically correct, but a bit on the nitpicking side. I selected
the OpenOffice writer icon which launches AOO with AOO writer with a blank
document.

How a document file is opened depends on a
> combination of the extension to the file name and the actual contents
> of the file.
>

Well it turns out that in order to use the above mentioned extension, one
has to select edit->insert->File and select the PDF to edit. Then a Writer
document is created with the pdf content inside.

However the AOO PDF edit extension creates a mess with text overlying the
bar code and text boxes over the QR code.

So in short the pdf parsing when creating a AOO Draw document is better
than the extensions' conversion to hybrid odf/pdf editable file.

FC