[scribus] OpenOffice into Scribus

["Christoph Schäfer"]

<snip>

> Looking at the Scribus import features, I see that RTF isn't supported, nor
> text files. That's a problem that should be resolved! RTF is enough of a
> standard (and plain text or ASCII files, for that matter) that it NEEDS to
> be supported -- all platforms and word processors support it.

1) There is no "platform" support for RTF, as it's a file format for formatted text.

2) RTF is not a standard (like HTML or ODT), it's a moving target.

3) As someone else already wrote, RTF is not a single file format. Here's what Microsoft says about RTF in the latest specification: "You must consult prior versions of this document for each version of Word that was developed prior to Word 2007 to determine the RTF commands that were supported for that release." Plus, while RTF is a markup language, it permits binary extensions. On a sidenote: the RTF specification is only available in Word's DOC format ;)

4) It's mega-ugly. I guess the relation between text and markup in an average RTF file is at least 1:4!

5) It's huge. The current spec (1.7) needs more than 300 pages.

> I really need to spend some "quality time" with Scribus!

Obviously ;)

> The import options of only SVG, OpenOffice Draw, and PS/EPS is a severe
> handicap for me -- most of my submitters use MS Windows (heck, most of the
> general computer user population!) and most of them don't know anything
> about other file formats.

You are talking about vector graphics here. 1.3.3.x can only handle SVG, SXD, ODG and EPS/PS. In 1.3.5 and especially 1.3.6 Scribus will import many more vector formats, including Illustrator and CorelDraw.

As for your complaint, Scribus can load text files in the following formats: Plain text in many encodings, CSV, SXW, ODT, HTML, PDB and DOC. Also, an external developer is working on the integration of libabiword, which would make Scribus the DTP program with the longest list of supported text formats, including RTF and WPD.

Cheers

Christoph


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