Would a batch document converter macro be useful?

[DannyB]

I am considering writing a program to convert a batch of documents from one type to another.

Recently in the Macros and API section someone asked and I answered how to convert a batch of Excel files into OOo Calc. Another user wanted to convert between various combinations of RTF, SXW and TXT.

I am thinking that the program would work sort of like an AutoPilot. You fill out first page, click Next, fill out next page, click Next, etc. until the program has collected enough information to know what you want to do.

My thinking is that such a tool would be written in Basic. (Yuk!) The program would be delivered as a Draw document (my favorite!), much like Danny's Draw Power Tools. The reason behind both of the previous statements is that this makes the program extremely easy to access by ordinary OOo users. Open a document, click a button. No messing with making sure the Python UNO bridge is installed, or the scripting framework (for other languages). No setting up OOo to listen for a remote connection from a Java program (like for my Maze drawing generator). No having to install a component with pkgchk, etc. (Although I am working towards other tools that do require one of the foregoing options.)

Basic has the easy-access I mentioned above, but has one serious drawback. No recursion. (among other serious problems) Therefore such a tool could only process the top level files in a folder, but could not recursively process all files in subfolders.

Opinions?
_________________
Want to make OOo Drawings like the colored flower design to the left?

[Gabor]

Would a batch document converter macro be useful?
Very much so!
The one downloadable from
http://kosh.datateamsys.com/~danny/OOo/Tools/
(Index of /~danny/OOo/Tools)
is definitely a major present and a very fine tool for anybody who needs to convert documents frequently and the source folder and the output folder varies.
I tried it and it is simple to use and the result is excellent and quick.
Thanks Danny!

[akohlsmith]

The reason I voted 'maybe' was because the converters as they are now work most of the time. The batch converter would have to pass over those files it could not convert or that the convert process hung on (I have a large Excel graph that OO consistently hangs on opening) and then give that information to the user on completion of the batch conversion process.

Nothing is more irritating than batch converters that don't handle failures well.

[DannyB]

I put up a newer version.

http://kosh.datateamsys.com/~danny/OOo/Tools/

Changed since yesterday....

* Gives error messages if pathnames are of files, or otherwise no valid folders.
* Browse buttons by the folder pathnames. (I discovered the FolderPicker service.)
* More Calc export filters can be used
* Progress bar during conversion
* During conversion, documents are opened Hidden, so that they don't flash up on screen.

So far, about a ten hours of work in it. This was my first multi-page dialog in OOo.

Need to be done....
* Test that it works on Windows (I wrote it at home, therefore, only tested on Linux.)
* Make program capable of using every single supported OOo filter.
* Error handling during conversion, as suggested by akohlsmith

I've never really gotten into studying OOo's filters before. The list of filters supported by OOo is very impressive.
_________________
Want to make OOo Drawings like the colored flower design to the left?

[Gabor]

Until now the transformation of documents TO sxw was not within my scope of interest.
However, trying some of the numerous possibilities I observed that
the transformation of [b]txt[/b] to [b]sxw[/b] results in [b]rtf[/b], although the file extension will be [b]sxw[/b]
and
the transformation of [b]rtf[/b] to [b]sxw[/b] results in [b]rtf[/b], although the file extension will be [b]sxw[/b]
In the second case we may think that something simply did not happen. But in the first case something did happen - yet it was not we expected.
It is not quite important since OOo opens anything, but still strange, isn't it?