Alternative for showing Open Office document

[tumbler]

I have a manuscript I wrote in Open Office word processor a number of years ago. I intended to mail a CD copy to a publisher, but found that the CD won't open in a computer without Open Office. I'm concerned that the publisher may not bother to download Open Office if it isn't already on their computer. If you have a solution, please let me know and explain the process to me as though I'm an old man - which I am. I'll give it my best.

Thank you.

[eyeb]

It's easiest to make an exe file to launch it, or convert it to exe...

but open office is mostly word/excel/powerpoint, save it as one of those file types and publisher should at least have microsoft's equivalent, the companies all use it these days, if not their own software as well

[J_L]

Save as a .doc file instead of the default .odt save. That ensures compatibility with all office programs and word processors.

[Joe A.TT]

An alternative would be to "export" the document to a PDF format before you burn it to CD. Every computer probably has a program that can open PDFs since it's such a ubiquitous format. I should think your publisher's computer will open a PDF file easily. You should also retain a copy in Open Office's native format (ODT I believe) to continue working on it.

I've never used Open Office but according to their description of the word processing module here it can export a file to PDF:

Publish in Portable Document Format (.pdf) to guarantee that what you write is what your reader sees. The PDF export feature in Apache OpenOffice provides a huge set of formatting and security options; so that PDF files can be customized for many different scenarios, including ISO standard PDF/A files.

You could try clicking on "File" in the menu bar to see if the option is there, otherwise you'd have to use "Help" to find out about it.

[Anupam]

tumbler, welcome to the forum.

The subject for the thread was misleading, as you are not asking about CD opening automatically, but about Open Office document being able to open on another computer.

Regarding your query, yes, it would be better to save the document as .doc, or, .rtf, and then send it over to the publisher. This can be done by using "Save as" from the menu. As posted by Joe, you can keep the file as .odt and continue working on it on the local computer.

As posted by Joe, exporting to pdf is also a great option. It's better, because it will preserve the original formatting, as the formatting can sometimes be disturbed, when the same document is opened with another program. However, sending as a PDF file will also mean that the document cannot be edited.

You can find how to export to PDF in OpenOffice, here:

http://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/Docu...porting_to_PDF

http://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/Docu..._other_formats

[Joe A.TT]

tumbler, I'd just like to add to what Anupam said.

I use SoftMaker FreeOffice not Open Office, but regardless, the point I'd like to make is I never save my documents in the program's native format. I always save in the .doc format because that way my documents will be more compatible with other office suites.

There should be a setting in Open Office to select the default format to save your documents. You may have to use "Help" to look for it. Once you find it, make sure to select .doc format. That's what I did.

About sending your manuscript as a PDF, your publisher should still be able to make comments on the PDF once he is using a PDF program that has that capability. I doubt that the role of a publisher involves actually make changes to an author's original work (e.g. your manuscript). Once the publisher makes his comments, he could return the PDF to you and you should be able to see what his comments were if you use something like PDF-XChange Viewer.

On the other hand, if the publisher has the right to alter your document, then sending it to him as a .doc file will be the way to go.

BTW, pardon my discourtesy - welcome to the forum!

[J_L]

tumbler PM'd me their gratitude, so it seems the issue is solved. I requested them to post in the thread to notify everyone, but no further contact so far.

[tumbler]

I'm not sure I'm doing this right, but if not, I'll try to do better next time.

Thanks to all for help.

[Anupam]

You did fine .

Let us know if you have any more queries. Also, if your present issue was solved .

[tumbler]

I won't know if my problem is solved for a while yet. With help from the members, I think I now have enough information to go forward.

Thank you