Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2010 15:55:40 +0200 From: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> To: Chad Perrin <perrin@apotheon.com> Cc: FreeBSD Questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: office apps Message-ID: <20100608155540.2059f852.freebsd@edvax.de> In-Reply-To: <20100608042804.GB33797@guilt.hydra> References: <20100606203416.GF46089@libertas.local.camdensoftware.com> <20100607035650.GA29350@guilt.hydra> <20100607163456.GB2102@libertas.local.camdensoftware.com> <alpine.BSF.2.00.1006072202410.39898@tripel.monochrome.org> <20100608042804.GB33797@guilt.hydra>
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On Mon, 7 Jun 2010 22:28:04 -0600, Chad Perrin <perrin@apotheon.com> wrote: > I've never had a client who wouldn't take either PDF or plain text. And five minutes later, they call you by phone and ask how they can edit the PDF file... :-) Just a friendly sidenote: > On > the other hand, clients who prefer Word DOC(X) but will take plain text > if they "must" have a tendency to immediately open it in Word, save as > DOC(X), then send the friggin' thing back to me in that format after > making some changes. You are aware that there is not "the" DOC format? The many various "Word" programs use slightly different formats, and rendering a document heavily depends on the current environment "Word" is running in, e. g. which fonts are installed, even which printer is installed - all this can have influence on how the document is opened. Furthermore, the DOCX format isn't really an open format. It *claims* to be standardized, but it's not; even MICROS~1 didn't implement it properly, and there are still blobs inside the XML, which can lead to problems. There are many problems you can encounter in import/export settings. So the only way to be sure is to use a standardized format. I've worked in a setting where interoperability was the main goal, because there were BSD, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X and even "Windows" machines, and our choice was OpenOffice, which worked excellently across the platforms. It wouldn't have been possible with MICROS~1 binary garbage in between. :-) > I keep hoping the day will come when people who prefer MS Word are the > rarity, rather than me being the odd man out. It *will* happen, just consider the costs and the growing uncomfortability of those programs (not counting those who regularly use pirated copies to have "the same pictures at home" as they know them from work). :-) -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...
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