New AOO user with a pdf related question

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ashley-wayne
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Joined: Wed Jul 26, 2017 6:10 am

New AOO user with a pdf related question

Post by ashley-wayne »

Hello everyone,

I am very new to OO, but am very excited with what I have seen so far. I do have a question though related to importing PDF files that I am hoping you can help me with. I have found the PDF import extension and it seems to work. However, I am not able to read the imported files in the draw format. This is because I am blind and use a screen-reading program (NVDA) that cannot read in that format.

I have used a trial version of Microsoft Word 2016 and when I open a PDF there, it will directly convert it to a .doc format upon opening it. This is very useful when using a screen-reader, as I really do not like reading PDF files with adobe, I have personally never found it to work well. Is there a way to accomplish this direct conversion in OO? Thank you all so much for your time and I hope you all have a great evening.;
OpenOffice 4.1.3 on Windows 10
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Villeroy
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Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:35 am
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Re: new OO user with a pdf related question;

Post by Villeroy »

PDF is a virtual print-out. You can not import PDF for the same reason why you can not re-import a printed sheet of paper into your computer. The PDF file contains no information from the originating application. It only saves information about which line, which coloured area and which characters are placed at which location on the area that represents a virtual sheet of paper. No more, no less. Therefore you only need a PDF viewer to view the virtual print-out without even knowing which application produced that file. Even cell phones have PDF viewers.

You have some engineering application, a layout application, a spreadsheet program, a word processor or any of the thousands of programs that are able to produce printed paper and/or PDF. You want other people to read the printed output without using ink with paper sheets and regardless of the receipient being able to open your original file. So you print your document from whatever application you are using into a PDF file and send the PDF to the receipient while keeping your original document for further editing. It is a one-way process. You won't get the tooth paste back into the tube.

To some extent PDF may be editable
1) if you buy some rather expensive software from Adobe.
2) Most PDF viewers have a tool to add notes like you may attach post-its to a paper sheet.
3) PDF may include input forms. Then you can fill out the placeholders in the input form and send back the filled out form.
4a) Users of OpenOffice may install an extension which is able to deconstruct PDF and re-interprete it as a pattern of text snippets and line drawings. These patterns are imported into the Draw component of OpenOffice. The results are amazing from a technical point of view but not always satisfying from an aesthetical point of view.
4b) The same extension can produce hybrid files, the original office document with a PDF print-out in one file. PDF viewers open the PDF; OpenOffice with the same extension installed can open the original document for editing.
Please, edit this topic's initial post and add "[Solved]" to the subject line if your problem has been solved.
Ubuntu 18.04 with LibreOffice 6.0, latest OpenOffice and LibreOffice
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