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docx files and Openoffice
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Hairyloon



Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.
PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 17 4:27 pm    Post subject: docx files and Openoffice Reply with quote
    

I was trying to fill in a job application today, it was a *.docx file.
I opened it in Openoffice, did some work and saved it. When I opened it up again, the formatting had gone all over the place.

Is it probable that I did something screwy or do docx files tend to do that?

Either way it was a pretty poor form: if you want a form sent in by email, isn't it better to set up form fields to take the input rather than have everything you type move things about?

What would we recommend for doing that? Or are they all much of a muchness?

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 17 5:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

i often grab a document in whatever format it was sent in, export it to the desktop as a pdf , work on it, then send it back .

Hairyloon



Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.
PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 17 6:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

dpack wrote:
i often grab a document in whatever format it was sent in, export it to the desktop as a pdf , work on it, then send it back .

What do you use to work on pdf's?

Nick



Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford
PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 17 8:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Full version of acrobat.

Hairyloon



Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.
PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 17 8:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Nick wrote:
Full version of acrobat.

That is the obvious answer, but Adobe have annoyed me enough to look elsewhere first.
That said, the point of the question was to have a suggestion to pass on.

Nick



Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford
PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 17 9:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Word on the original file? You've a school aged child, it should be free to obtain.

tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45389
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 17 9:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Editing a PDF in Word is pretty painful, doesn't work reliably.

Is LibreOffice any better with your docx?

Nick



Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford
PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 17 9:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

tahir wrote:
Editing a PDF in Word is pretty painful, doesn't work reliably.

Is LibreOffice any better with your docx?


Yes, but it's not a PDF to start with.

tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45389
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 17 9:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

True

Hairyloon



Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.
PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 17 9:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Nick wrote:
Word on the original file? You've a school aged child, it should be free to obtain.


I didn't know that. Not sure I want to encourage the monopoly any more than I need to though.

The actual editing isn't a problem only the saving, and that would've worked if I'd used another format. Thinking about it, there was no purpose to mentioning Openoffice in the title. Sorry.
I was going to give them some feedback and tell them their form is crap, but it would be better to give them a constructive suggestion along with it.

chez



Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35934
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset
PostPosted: Fri Apr 21, 17 9:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

If you edit your docx in open/libre office as a docx, you can then 'save as pdf' to send it back to them. That doesn't mess with the formatting.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Apr 21, 17 9:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

what chez sez.
tis just a matter of exporting it rather than saving/sending or sending it direct

similar things work with draw and gimp stuff as well if they get uppity when you need share them.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Apr 21, 17 9:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

much as i like bill for giving the cash to good research some of microsofts apps and os are very clunky in real world use.

Hairyloon



Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.
PostPosted: Fri Apr 21, 17 9:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Thank you all again, but you are answering the wrong question, unless the best answer is Acrobat (which it might be).
That is my fault for asking it badly in the first place.

The question is not of how to fill in the form, but of how best to create a better form, and what format to distribute it in.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Fri Apr 21, 17 10:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

writeable pdf

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