Kerning issue with LIbreOffice 4 and Helvetica font

users
#1

In LibreOffice 4.1.0.1, if I open a document containing Helvetica font and
export to PDF, the Helvetica font has horrible kerning--almost all spaces
between words are removed, making the PDF very difficult to read. If I open
the same document in LibreOffice 3.4.5, it exports to PDF just fine--spaces
between words are easy to identify making the quote easy to read.Is this a
known issue with LibreOffice 4? Is there a simple fix?I'm attaching a sample
doc which contains Helvetica font and the resulting PDF.Best regards,Patrick
Frost test.doc <http://nabble.documentfoundation.org/file/n4066062/test.doc>
test.pdf <http://nabble.documentfoundation.org/file/n4066062/test.pdf>

#2

Hi :slight_smile:
4.1.0 is very early on in that branches life-cycle.  I typically wait for the x.x.4 rather than the x.x.0.  Can you post a bug-report about it and get back to 4.0.3 or something?  I still have a lot of machines on around 3.5.4 but 3.6.x is better.  I meant to upgrade all machines to 4.0.4 (or something) today but never quite got around to doing anything i'd planned for today!
Regard from
Tom :slight_smile:

#3

Hi :slight_smile:
Sorry, attachments get taken off before emails are sent out to everyone.
Otherwise people using limited dial-ups and strict caps might get annoyed.

You can upload files to Nabble and then people can choose to see it if they
want to. The upload option is on the "More " button
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#4

Hi Patrick,

In LibreOffice 4.1.0.1, if I open a document containing Helvetica font and
export to PDF, the Helvetica font has horrible kerning--almost all spaces
between words are removed, making the PDF very difficult to read. If I open
the same document in LibreOffice 3.4.5, it exports to PDF just fine--spaces
between words are easy to identify making the quote easy to read.Is this a
known issue with LibreOffice 4? Is there a simple fix?I'm attaching a sample
doc which contains Helvetica font and the resulting PDF.Best regards,Patrick

There is a known bug report about this for LO 4.1.0.1, but I don't have it to hand right now.

Alex

#5

Hi :slight_smile:
iow thanks for the report.  No need to file a bug-report about it as there already is one.  Please install 4.0.4 to replace your 4.1.0.
Thanks, apols and regards form
Tom :slight_smile:

#6

Well, it was a kick in the teeth to learn that sounds are only linked instead of being imbedded in the presentation, but at least that'll keep the size down. My question, though, is whether the links use absolute or relative paths. I put together a presentation that's for distribution via DVD, and of course I have no idea in advance what drive letter any given recipient will have. I have no problem with putting the sound files on the disk, but need to know what type of pathing is being used. If it's relative, I'm already in good shape; if it's absolute, then I'm hosed.

This kinda makes it impossible to distribute a slide show electronically, as well, if you want sound with it.

Dave

#7

Well, it was a kick in the teeth to learn that sounds are only linked instead of being imbedded in the presentation, but at least that'll keep the size down. My question, though, is whether the links use absolute or relative paths.

It's a simple job to test this, of course - and the answer appears to be relative.

I put together a presentation that's for distribution via DVD, and of course I have no idea in advance what drive letter any given recipient will have. I have no problem with putting the sound files on the disk, but need to know what type of pathing is being used. If it's relative, I'm already in good shape; if it's absolute, then I'm hosed.

This kinda makes it impossible to distribute a slide show electronically, as well, if you want sound with it.

Surely all you need to do is to put your audio file in the same folder as your presentation when you insert it, and to require your correspondents to have both files in the same folder - wherever that might be - before attempting to use them?

I trust this helps.

Brian Barker

#8

Hi.

I have excerpt this parragraph from the LibreOffice Impress Guide at https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Publications#LibreOffice_Impress_Guide:

"Impress
only links media files and does not embed a media file into a
presentation. Therefore if a presentation is moved to a different
computer, any links will be broken and the media files will not play.
To prevent this from happening:
  1. Place any media files which are included in a presentation in the same folder where the presentation is stored.
  2. Insert the media file in the presentation.
  3. Send both the presentation and any media files to the computer which is to be used for the presentation and place both files in the same folder on that computer."

So, it works as both Brian and Dave had already deduced. As long as you keep everything in the same folder (or in the root of the CD), there should be no problem. I suppose you also can put the sound files in a sub-folder, so everything would be more tidy.
Regards,
Joaquín

#9

Thanks, Joaquin. I did look at the Guide, but it must have been a different version; the instructions weren't as specific. Or, looking again at your quote, it might have been in a different section (principle is the same, but I'm doing a transition, not inserting a media file -- the section on transitions does talk about linking to the files, but doesn't say anything about putting them in the same directory).

Brian, I had some issues with testing -- trust me, I did try! Had to do with available machines more than anything else (and the fact that I was doing it at home while all my disks are at the office).

Dave

#10

This is a follow-up to a question I asked in August. I'm still struggling with trying to create something that can be used in other systems. Here's what I've done:

1. Created a slide show in Impress. Slides auto-advance after 5 seconds, and transitions are used to play appropriate music files. Previous tests by myself and others on this list have shown that the links to the audio files follow relative rather than absolute paths.

2. Saved as .pps file. Copied presentation and audio file directory -- pathing kept intact -- to thumb drive.

3. Open .pps file on another computer that doesn't have LibreOffice installed. Slide show runs, music does not play. Confirmed music files are present.

4. Rename original audio file directory on my hard drive for testing. Run slide show from thumb drive on my own computer. Opens in Impress, of course, and does not auto-run. Music plays properly.

This slide show is for distribution to others via DVD, and I'm really getting frustrated with it. I'd hate to think that the hours I've spent on it have been wasted and that I have to start over with another application. But I can't assume anything about the software anyone else has, and just about everyone has the ability to view a .pps file regardless of their OS (I can be pretty sure, but not 100% positive, that everyone on my distribution list is using either Windows or Mac machines). Can anyone see anything I've overlooked?

Dave

#11

Hi :slight_smile:
Does it have to be in an editable format?

If NOT then maybe use Impress to save into some more reliable format
that doesn't change around from one version of MS Office to the next.
Some people have even suggested using .Pdf format but i think that
kinda scuppers the reason for having it as a slide-show. Perhaps as a
YouTube format? Perhaps as a Flash Player format? Other people have
suggested using straight movie formats such as the ageing .avi or
newer .mkv. For a Flash Player try
File - Export
and scroll down until you see "Macromedia Flash". With that sort of
idea you might be able to embed the presentation within a web-page and
choose the size of the display. Then save the web-pages onto the DVD.
Let the web-browsers do the work!

If it DOES have to be editable then pps is probably the best format
but even so it relies on MS Office being consistent from one machine
to the next and we know that it isn't. Perhaps find out which
versions of MS Office the pps does work well on and then write that in
the blurb on the DVDs cover. Such covers often demand that people
upgrade to the latest versions of Windows and MS Office in order to be
able to play the DVD and they make no apology for not working on all
versions.

OTH! Can you squeeze LibreOffice installers onto the DVD? One for
Mac and one for Windows would do the trick. No need to worry about
any for Gnu&Linux!

Note that when PDFs first started being used they would often be
accompanied by a button linking to the Adobe downloads site and hardly
anyone made a fuss about that. They just installed it or grumbled to
the their IT Department about not being able to open such a basic
format.

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#12

Hi :slight_smile:
I have been looking around quickly trying to see what other people are
doing or have done. Found this forum thread from people who have
little or no idea about Office Suites
http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showflat.php?Number=1018700

Also this from Eric (is he the famous one)
http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/s5/

Then this link looks like a commercial product but gives advice which
might be useful
http://www.alivemedia.net/flash-slideshow-maker.htm
"
* Output Flash (.SWF) File and HTML page
Create two files: a Flash (SWF) file and a HTML page file. This allows
you to share the slideshow via uploading the two files to your website
simply..
* Output Flash (.SWF) File
Create a standalone Flash (SWF) file only. But the corresponding HTML
code will be generated for embedding the flash slideshow into your own
webpage. You will be able to copy and paste the code into any webpage.
"

I seem to have trouble playing some swf files but that is probably
more to do with their source rather than anything to do with the
format. Some people are really anxious to protect their copyright at
the expense of being widely available. So maybe there is some way of
locking swfs or maybe i just got corrupted ones. Neither would
surprise me.

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#13

2. Saved as .pps file. Copied presentation and audio file directory --
pathing kept intact -- to thumb drive.

3. Open .pps file on another computer that doesn't have LibreOffice
installed. Slide show runs, music does not play. Confirmed music files
are present.

LO is not an m$ clone. Use the native file formats. Create odp format
presentations and provide LO installation files on the dvd. Similarly,
provide vlc, mplayer or similar software to play music files which
should be in oga format.

This slide show is for distribution to others via DVD, and I'm really
getting frustrated with it. I'd hate to think that the hours I've spent
on it have been wasted and that I have to start over with another
application. But I can't assume anything about the software anyone else
has, and just about everyone has the ability to view a .pps file
regardless of their OS (I can be pretty sure, but not 100% positive,
that everyone on my distribution list is using either Windows or Mac
machines). Can anyone see anything I've overlooked?

Alternatives exists, such as htmlslidy and prezi. It the slide show is
seemingly of multimedia, could also use html5 and smil, delivering the
presentation via a web browser (depending on smil use, in which case a
smil player may be required as well).

#14

Hi :slight_smile:
Prezi, htmlslidy, smil, html5 sound worth quickly looking up and maybe
exploring.

Good to see some good suggestions buried away in there. Delivery was
a bit off-putting but it's good to have someone fairly extreme
reminding us that life is worth enjoying rather than going that way
ourselves. A little less tension and a little more humour and fun!

A full Dvd with other OpenSource projects is prolly more than really
needed on this occasion. It's tricky to track all the latest versions
of everything. If you want that sort of thing then look towards the
North American DVD Project or the German one and i suspect a few more
languages have their own versions.

Rhythmbox seems to be quite a popular music player but there are
plenty of options. Vlc can do the job quite well even though it's not
it's main purpose.
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile: