Convert PDF to Doc. 2

[fumei]

PDF was designed and built, really, for one purpose. To PRINT consistently, regardless of platform. It was never designed as a document file format.

Anyone who uses PDF as a document file format deserves all the problems they get. If you need a document, use a document format. If need be, use multiple file formats (RTF, DOC, TXT...whatever). PDF is a PRINT file. Nothing more, and never was designed to be anything else. It is misused for anything else.

Gerry
See my Paintings and Sculpture

 

[jlockley]

Precisely. The problem is that they are not getting the problems. I am. I don't deserve them. That is why a conversion app is needed. MS could do one, if they wanted. Instead they refer to third party apps. Annoying.

 

[fumei]

Annoying? ANNOYING?

Well, yes it is. Fortunately, I am in the position to return any PDF files that someone wants to have document work on and state, flatly with NO exceptions..."Sorry, this is a print file. If you want work done on a document, send me a document file." I refuse to mess around with that nonsense.

If I need muffler work done, I do not expect someone to re-machine parts of the suspension into a muffler. PDF is a print file. Period.

I realize - and truly sympathize - with those who, because of circumstance, are forced to do that kind of bs conversion. But I have put my foot down (and have lost some work because of it). PDF are print files. If it is critical to see what it looks like printed, fine, send me a PDF. If it is critical to be able to make possible content changes, fine, send me a PDF (to see how it stands now) and a workable DOCUMENT. I will not do PDF to document conversions.

Gerry
See my Paintings and Sculpture

 

[jlockley]

Lucky.

 

[fumei]

Nah...just stubborn.

Gerry
See my Paintings and Sculpture

 

[MakeItSo]

And right, Gerry.

How I wished I COULD say no. This is the exact discussion I have already had perhaps 100 times and will have another 100 times...

[blue]An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. - "Mahatma" Mohandas K. Gandhi[/blue]

 

[jlockley]

I find it easier just to convert the file as well as possible, rather than make the demands.

I feel strongly that this is an area where Microsoft, having gained a near monopoly in Word Processing, has fallen down on the job by not providing some kind of conversion utility.

 

[fumei]

It certainly can be thought of as a demand. However, it really is not. It is an attempt to get people to understand what it is they are dealing with. How many of you, and how many times, have you dealt with users who refuse to understand what a file is, what a folder is, what the point of organized structure is?

They understand physical structure. All the invoices (paper) for a certain client go together. But, they still seem to think that computers are something different, something magical. How many of you still have people who are stunned and surprised, and annoyed when computers have physical problems? That people are shocked that a hard drive can fail? That refuse to understand that computers are THINGS, that they are really no different from, say a car. You don't change the oil, put gas in it...well it is goimg to fail.

I don't care if it is a Mac, or a WinTel machine. They are machines, and machines deal with machine things. You can not feed a computer bananas. You can not feed a word processor something that is not a word processing thing. YES, I know you can do conversions, and make it squeeze into another incarnation. But it is a fake, it is an approximation (albeit they are getting better and better).

I have been fighting this ever since PDF came out. I love PDF, for what it is. I use it all the time. And yes, I suppose Microsoft has an interest in building better conversion software. Better yet would be people understanding the thing they send around. Sending PDF as the editing file is plain dumb. You make a document in Word, convert it to PDF, send it to someone, who tries to convert it back to Word so they can work on it.

As I said, if I get such things, I return them with a polite explanation that I can not edit PDF (although in truth I can) as it is not a valid editable file. If they want edits I need a proper file. If they want analysis of content, format, text, layout - sure, no problem. I can comment on all of those, and suggest changes using a PDF. But work on it....no, I will not. It is a print file.

Gerry
See my Paintings and Sculpture