Problem with export to PDF

users
#1

Hi,
I am not sure how to raise an issue so I am trying this list.
I am finding that exporting from .xls to pdf format results in a corrupted file sometimes but not always.
This happens when I am using Calc (with a .xls file) and I have created a Text insert, or have inserted an image.
The first time I click on the pdf button at the top of the screen the output sometimes shows the text or image displaced from the position it has in the Calc page. Usually if I repeat by simply clicking on the pdf icon again I then get the correct output.
If I fail to check the pdf file every time this can result in the corrupted output being sent by me to someone important.
Is there a solution please?
Thank you

#2

Hi :slight_smile:
There are a couple other ways to generate Pdfs.
1. From the file menu click on "Export to Pdf" and that should give
you a pop-up with tons of choices. I usually untick them all except
for the compression. For versions i might want to print from i choose
lossless compression
2. From the File menu choose "Print" but set the properties to "Print
to file" and then hunt around to find how to set the format to Pdf
rather than Ps.

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#3

Hi :slight_smile:
Is this something you do dynamically or is it done to static files?
Dynamically would be where you edit the file and then produce output
"on the fly" and then edit again, and again to suit an ever-changing
variable - whereas static would be a whole load of fairly similar
files, hopefully all saved into a folder, with unique names so that
you could quickly work out which file is most appropriate.

If it's dynamic files and IF it's always the 2nd time that produces
the correct output then why not kinda double-click the button each
time? I suspect that it's not THAT simple! I'm guessing that most of
them work fine 1st time and those that don't usually (but not always)
work 2nd time. Is it ALL the images that get moved around or only
some of them? If it's only some of them is there something the images
have in common, such as "anchor point" being different from the rest?
There was one case of someone using "Anchor to cell" but it wasn't
clear which cell or whether some cells had been merged together and
others hadn't.

Which operating system are you using? Is it Xp, Win7, some other
Windows, Ubuntu (or some other flavour of Linux), an Apple or
iSomething or something else?

Errr, if dealing with static files it might be possible to create Pdfs
from a whole lot of Calc files without even bothering to open the
files. It helps if they are all in the same folder as each other,
perhaps as copies. Then it might be faster and easier to quickly
open&close ALL the pdfs for a really quick glance to visually check
each file very fast. Doing this would mean using LibreOffice from the
command-line instead of opening it up. We tend to call that "headless
mode" which sounds kinda cool.

Errr, just to ease your worries, it wouldn't be any better using MS
Office except that when you use LibreOffice/OpenOffice people find it
easier to blame the program. When using MS Office people tend to
blame the user much more.

I wonder if there is already a bug-report about this or whether it
might be worth posting a new one
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/BugReport

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile: