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The idea behind this converter came about on the
OpenOffice.org Franocophone native language list.
I'll indicate the general outline of the application on this pages, where I see the project to be going in the future, and the various details of the source code that is used. I would add that this is only represents my personal view of the converter and is in no way an official representation from the OpenOffice.org project.

The Tools

OpenOffice.org version 1.1 beta was used. I chose this version because it can natively export files to the PDF format, as well as record macros. The host machine uses a Windows operating system., on which I've installed easyPhP (version 1.6) that includes Apache and PhP4. All of this is connected to a DSL with a dynamic DNS for the domain name
Call for help : I'm looking for a server with 24h availability that would be able to host this converter. I reckon, from the tools that I've used, that it should be possible for it to run on any OS. If you think you can help out,
drop me a line.

The Architecture

Originally, this converter had been intended just to produce online PDF export capabilities for SXW files. The resulting file was initially sent to the requester by e-mail. The project then evolved into an attempt to provide a greater variety of export formats. Since I received several comments from users pertaining to user data privacy and the law in France, I unplugged the mailing functionality, which is just as well because the server wasn't intended to the final home of the converter anyway. As a result of this, once the file is processed, a link is now offered that gives the user the choice of viewing or downloading the converted document.

On the first page, the user indicates the type of OpenOffice.org that he/she wants to convert, and the intended converted output format.
The form that is filled in is checked for conformity and then sent to a
PhP script that does the following :


In this way, the user can see the result of the conversion immediately, just by clicking on the link, and then “saving as” if he/she is satisfied with the appearance. The session files are kept at most for 24h.
I would like to thank Frederic Labbe for his advice on the use of PhP and e-mail, as well as the whole community for having participated in the tests, that are still ongoing...

Supported Export Format Table

OpenOffice.org File Extension
Available Export Formats
Writer
SXW, STW, SDW, VOR
Acrobat PDF
HTML
Latex 2e (Writer2Latex)
XHTML + MathML (Writer2Latex)
Rich Text RTF
MS Word 97/2000/XP
MS Word 95
MS Word 6.0
Calc
SXC, STC, SDC
Acrobat PDF
HTML
MS Excel 97/2000/XP
MS Excel 95
MS Excel 5.0
Draw
SXD, STD, SDD, SDA
Acrobat PDF
Macromedia Flash
Image JPG
Image PNG
Image EPS
Image TIFF
Image SVG
Impress
SXI, STI, SDP
Acrobat PDF
MS PowerPoint 97/2000/XP
Macromedia Flash
Image JPG
Image PNG
Image EPS
Image TIFF
Image SVG


Warning: Not all of these combinations have been tested yet. Please inform me of any that do not work or cause problems.


Unanswered Questions

Of course, nothing is perfect !!
Here are a few points where I'm still experiencing problems


If you have any questions, and particularly if you have any answers to my questions, please
drop me a line.

Future Developpement

Insofar as possible, I would like to look down a couple of these roads :



Source Code

The sources published here are made freely available under the
Gnu LGPL. If something seems a bit unclear, just get in touch with me, I may be a bit convoluted in my programming at times...



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