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shayz
Newbie
Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 2
Location: banbury uk
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 Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 1:41 pm Post subject: Importing Publisher files |
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Hello,
Thanks for the thread.
I don't want a Publisher program but I really want to know why we can't import publisher files into something else, like Writer? I have inherited several files I don't want to lose but I have no way of converting them?
Similarly, now that winXP does not allow Lotus Smartsuite programs to run I have an awful lot of .lwp files to convert and so must an awful lot of other people - it was a pretty widespread program suite so an import filter would help enormously?
I would be grateful for any practical help on htis one?
Shay |
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9point9
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 3875
Location: UK
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| Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 12:20 am Post subject: Re: Importing Publisher files |
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| shayz wrote: | | Similarly, now that winXP does not allow Lotus Smartsuite programs to run |
First time I've heard that. I have seen 9.7 running fine under XP. Which version were you runing? If it doesn't work, run it on an older version of Windows.
| shayz wrote: | | it was a pretty widespread program suite so an import filter would help enormously? |
It would but the format is an absolute nightmare. Some work has been done on this but has not produced anythiung usable yet. I think the only hope for getting reasonable filers in OOo would be if IBM releases the specification. Seeing how Smartsuite is no longer made and how Workplace does use OOo code, it would be nice for them to donate the code.
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shayz
Newbie
Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 2
Location: banbury uk
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| Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 12:45 am Post subject: It must be magic |
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Hello,
Thanks for the informed post, made things a lot clearer, though frustrating!
As you were so adamant Lotus works under XP I thought I would write back and explain how Lotus does not work with winXP. I know it didn't work before (I tried for ages) and I searched the internet and found lots of other posts from people who had the same problem - it seemed quite widespread, not just a few idle cases. So, I was very surprised on trying the installation again (to give an accurate account of the problem) that it has now worked!
Can't explain it! But thanks again,
Shay |
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bobharvey
Super User
Joined: 23 Apr 2004
Posts: 1075
Location: Lincolnshire
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| Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 8:14 am Post subject: Re: It must be magic |
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| shayz wrote: | | Can't explain it! |
I can. Windows XP.
Harvey's fourth law of engineering applies: "Something that works differently on different days does not work at all." |
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Angel Blue01
OOo Advocate
Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 281
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
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| Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 10:04 am Post subject: |
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1-2-3 does work in XP. There were compatibility problems but Microsoft fixed them with SP1.
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dehuszar
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Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 9:26 am Post subject: |
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From the Scribus wiki: (http://wiki.scribus.net/index.php/Import_Publisher_to_Scribus)
<quote>
Scribus does not support importing Microsoft Publisher documents. There are no current plans to add support for it.
You may be able to import an approximation of the document by following this process:
* Open your document in Publisher
* Go to menu Edit --> Select All (Ctrl+A)
* Go to menu Edit --> Copy (Ctrl+C)
* Open Microsoft Word
* Go to menu Edit --> Paste (Ctrl+V)
* Save your Word document (eg. file.doc)
* Open it in OpenOffice
* In OpenOffice go to File --> Save as in OpenOffice Writer format (eg. file.sxw)
* In OpenOffice with sxw file go to File --> Save as in OpenOffice Draw format (eg. file.sxd)
* In Scribus File --> Import --> OpenOffice Draw file
Alternately, it may be better to export the plain text content from the Publisher document (you can use MS Word to save it as plain text, or you can use OO.o to open a word doc and save an OO.o doc so Scribus can preserve some of the text formatting), then recreate the document from that and the images used in the original.
</quote>
If you have Microsoft Word and Publisher, you might be able to fashion a macro which would do the steps mentioned in the wiki for you.
Even with a macro to ease the pain, I would imagine that the process of pasting into Word and all the rest is not pretty, but the only other way I know of is to set up a Postscript 'Print To File' style print driver, and set it to use Encapsulated PostScript, or .eps. You can then print each page of your .pub document into an .eps file, import the .eps file into Draw, Inkscape or Scribus, etc. The only drawback is that you might have to manually move any embedded graphics such as jpegs and gifs as the .eps only seems to retain layout and drawn objects.
Food for thunk,
Sam |
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Kieseyhow
Newbie
Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 3
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 4:39 pm Post subject: WordPerfect is THE standard for legal documents |
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| Quote: | | ...OpenOffice is great for home use. But you will be laughed at in the real world business environment. From experience I know that. I'm amazed why Corel hasn't given up on Word Perfect as a proprietary product. I don't know anyone who uses that, except Canadians. :D |
First of all, WordPerfect is THE standard for legal documents. The spellchecker is considerably more advanced. The grammar checker actually works. WordPerfect is far more accurate in correcting foreign languages (other than the US). Also, it is TRUE WYSIWYG, unlike Word.
This software is more for serious writers, not for someone keying sales receipts or letters of complaint. basically is you want to write a book, use WordPerfect, if you want to write a letter, use Word.
Microsoft still has a way to go to get Word up to par in the in-line styles and in-line objects region of the code. The online help is absolutely pathetic in Word.
OpenOffice provides a highly competitive replacement for MS Office. Nearly everything you NEED to do OpenOffice does perfectly well. But, OOo NEEDS to have support for MS Publisher.
MS Publisher is probably one of the most powerful and useful pieces of software to come out of Redmond. It has literally thousands of applications and uses in the business environment as anyone who has felt like hurling their computer out of a 30 story window after hours of frustration trying to create a complex multi-column layout with in-line text boxes in Word well knows.
Publisher leaps ahead if you use the full OLE2 support as well. It has unsurpassed print engine capabilities which surpass even CorelDraw and Photoshop. Only Paint Shop Pro and Adobe products even come close in that department.
I would really really love to at see support for .pub files in Draw. I'm sure that the file format cannot be all that unique.
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With reasonable voice,
Kieseyhow (K-man)
Nothing in the world is more dangerous,
than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-6 , civil rights leader.
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marknelson
OOo Enthusiast
Joined: 01 Oct 2005
Posts: 169
Location: Huntsville, Al
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| Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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And you are probably right about the difficulty Kieseyhow but have you considered the other Factors? You know like Patents and Copyright on the Publisher Format? 
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Angel Blue01
OOo Advocate
Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 281
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
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| Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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| marknelson wrote: | | And you are probably right about the difficulty Kieseyhow but have you considered the other Factors? You know like Patents and Copyright on the Publisher Format? |
Aren't the other other formats for .doc, xls, and ppt patented too? They were reverse engineered despite the difficulty of workign with such type of files.
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Kieseyhow
Newbie
Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 3
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 9:24 pm Post subject: Response post |
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| marknelson wrote: | | And you are probably right about the difficulty Kieseyhow but have you considered the other Factors? You know like Patents and Copyright on the Publisher Format? |
Oh, I'm sure there are if MS could do that, no doubt they have. But, as far as I know all the Office file formats are not much more than modified XML files with embedded in-line binary code for the images and such. Not exactly something they invented. It would be like trying to patent HTML code or something.
_________________
With reasonable voice,
Kieseyhow (K-man)
Nothing in the world is more dangerous,
than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-6, civil rights leader.
Strength to Love, pt. 4, ch. 3 (1963) |
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9point9
Moderator
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 3875
Location: UK
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| Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 12:58 am Post subject: Re: WordPerfect is THE standard for legal documents |
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I do feel sorry for those of you who live in areas of the world where software patents are allowed. That's like trying to patent maths or music.
| Kieseyhow wrote: | | First of all, WordPerfect is THE standard for legal documents. |
I would not define it as a standard. It is not openly specified so can not be considered as a standard. It was partly developed as a laymans latex and that is an actual standard.
| Kieseyhow wrote: | | This software is more for serious writers, not for someone keying sales receipts or letters of complaint. basically is you want to write a book, use WordPerfect, if you want to write a letter, use Word. |
Defining who is a serious writer or not is difficult. I would think of OOo Writer as being for serious writers because of its styles handling. Much of the scientific world uses latex and I have had long discussions with people over which is best. Something that does worry me is that Nature now only accepts submissions in MS Word format.
| Kieseyhow wrote: | | MS Publisher is probably one of the most powerful and useful pieces of software to come out of Redmond. It has literally thousands of applications and uses in the business environment |
This surprises me. I have never seen MS Publisher used in a business environment. How many people use it? Surely they would use QuarkExpress or Indesign if they were really serious.
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Angel Blue01
OOo Advocate
Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 281
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
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| Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 6:33 pm Post subject: Re: WordPerfect is THE standard for legal documents |
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| Quote: | | This surprises me. I have never seen MS Publisher used in a business environment. How many people use it? Surely they would use QuarkExpress or Indesign if they were really serious. |
Well, 9point9, as you know, my church uses it but that more a small business type of work. Users often send and recieve Publisher files via E-mail (I know, stupid choice, but they do). Last week we had a user who encountered a Publisher file attachment from someone and it didn't open in 2000.  Sounds like Microsoft is changing the format...
Adobe software is generally too expensive and Serf's is not well known as opposed to the name Microsoft...
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revnomad
OOo Advocate
Joined: 23 Feb 2003
Posts: 211
Location: NE Nebraska
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| Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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I've been disappointed by the number of people who use *.pub instead of *.pdf. Most of them should know better. Churches and local human services offices are the worst offenders.
Shouldn't using MS be at least a venal sin?
NTP |
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Angel Blue01
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Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 281
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
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| Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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You have to remember that Publisher doesn't include a tool for convertign to PDF. People want to send editable documents for revisions anyway.
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revnomad
OOo Advocate
Joined: 23 Feb 2003
Posts: 211
Location: NE Nebraska
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| Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 7:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Angel Blue01 wrote: | | You have to remember that Publisher doesn't include a tool for convertign to PDF. People want to send editable documents for revisions anyway. |
Lack of PDF export is a major flaw in Publisher.
I'm not talking about documents for collaberation. I'm talking about final documents used for distribution.
NTP |
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