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The idea behind this converter came about on the OpenOffice.org Franocophone native language list.
I'll indicate the general outline of the application on this pages, where I see the project to be going in the future, and the various details of the source code that is used. I would add that this is only represents my personal view of the converter and is in no way an official representation from the OpenOffice.org project.

The Tools

OpenOffice.org version 1.1 beta was used. I chose this version because it can natively export files to the PDF format, as well as record macros. The host machine uses a Windows operating system., on which I've installed easyPhP (version 1.6) that includes Apache and PhP4. All of this is connected to a DSL with a dynamic DNS for the domain name
Call for help : I'm looking for a server with 24h availability that would be able to host this converter. I reckon, from the tools that I've used, that it should be possible for it to run on any OS. If you think you can help out, drop me a line.

The Architecture

Originally, this converter had been intended just to produce online PDF export capabilities for SXW files. The resulting file was initially sent to the requester by e-mail. The project then evolved into an attempt to provide a greater variety of export formats. Since I received several comments from users pertaining to user data privacy and the law in France, I unplugged the mailing functionality, which is just as well because the server wasn't intended to the final home of the converter anyway. As a result of this, once the file is processed, a link is now offered that gives the user the choice of viewing or downloading the converted document.

On the first page, the user indicates the type of OpenOffice.org that he/she wants to convert, and the intended converted output format.
The form that is filled in is checked for conformity and then sent to a PhP script that does the following :

• starts the OpenOffice.org conversion macro

• saves a session file

• creates a zip archive if the result contains several files

• creates a link to the generated file

In this way, the user can see the result of the conversion immediately, just by clicking on the link, and then “saving as” if he/she is satisfied with the appearance. The session files are kept at most for 24h.
I would like to thank Frederic Labbe for his advice on the use of PhP and e-mail, as well as the whole community for having participated in the tests, that are still ongoing...

Supported Export Format Table

Warning: Not all of these combinations have been tested yet. Please inform me of any that do not work or cause problems.

Unanswered Questions

Of course, nothing is perfect !!
Here are a few points where I'm still experiencing problems

• First of all, some documentation links
  
  • http://api.openoffice.org/basic/man/tutorial/tutorial.pdf
  • http://api.openoffice.org/
  • http://api.openoffice.org/DevelopersGuide/DevelopersGuide.html
  • http://api.openoffice.org/common/ref/com/sun/star/module-ix.html



• each time the macro is started, a new session of OpenOffice.org is opened. This isn't catastrophic as such, but does consume resources, and becomes a bother when I'm trying to do something else on the machine (and no, I don't sit there watching, mouth agape, my server going about its business). Is there some way of starting this command in a silent mode :
  oDocument=oDesktop.loadComponentFromURL(surl,"_blank",0,Noargs())
  What I'm looking for is a reference to oDocument, but without it being visible, much like the invisible switch when you start OpenOffice.org from the command line
  
  I got the answer to this from Fred Vuillot (thanks Fred):
  dim args(0) as new com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue
  args(0).Name ="Hidden"
  args(0).Value = True
  Warning : this seems to be unstable on Beta 1.1

• Impress and Draw don't apparently have a macro recorder. Do the same export functions exist, and if so, what are the arguments to be passed ?
  
  I found the list FilterName
  
  For the Draw export, these filters were of no use to me. You can get all of the available filters using this small macro:

  dim tab() as string
  oGraphic=CreateUnoService("com.sun.star.drawing.GraphicExportFilter")
  tab=ographic.getSupportedMimeTypeNames()
  for i=0 to ubound(tab)
  msgbox(tab(i))
  next i
  
  Check out this macro to see how they're used.

• The export of some HTML formatted documents raises a few issues with “unrecognized characters"
  
  I avoided this problem, by changing the properties in OOO (remember I'm in beta 1.1 here)
  Tools - Options - Load/Save - HTML Compatibility - Character Set = Unicode (UTF-8)

• From time to time, the PDF export asks questions on the number of pages, image transparency, etc ... The problem with this is that is blocks the script and leaves the session open. Is there a way of getting around this problem ? Are there any export parameters that can be used ?
  
  Once we understand arguments passing behaviour, MediaDescriptor structures (search for it in the SDK), solutions come easily ;-)
  But, with the help of the mailing list dev@api.openoffice.org (Thanks to Stephan Wunderlich)
  
  

  	sub ExportDocumentPDF
  		rem -----------------------------------------------------
  		rem define variables
  		dim doc as object, desktop as object
  		dim args() as new com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue
  		rem -----------------------------------------------------
  		rem get access to the document
  		oDesktop=createUnoService("com.sun.star.frame.Desktop")		
  		sUrl="file:///test.sxw"
  		doc=oDesktop.loadComponentFromURL(surl,"_blank",0,args())
  		rem -----------------------------------------------------
  		Dim PDFArgs(1) as new com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue
  		PDFArgs(0).Name = "FilterName"
  		PDFArgs(0).Value = "writer_pdf_Export"	
  		PDFArgs(1).Name = "CompressMode"
  		PDFArgs(1).Value = 0 'Possible Values : 0 - 1 -2
  
  		doc.storeToURL("file:///test.pdf",PDFArgs())
  
  		doc.dispose()
  	end sub
  		

  There are 2 interresting XML files in OpenOffice directories
  
  
  • mport/Export available filters giving informations on the “FilterName” values:
    /share/registry/data/org/openoffice/Office/TypeDetection.xcu
  • Filter Options to pass to the StoreToURL method (see Filter node):
    /share/registry/data/org/openoffice/Office/Common.xcu



• The home page contains some javascript in order to, among other things, dynamically offer a list of available conversion formats as a function of the file extension that has been chosen.
  Browsers based on Mozilla seem to suffer from a bug. , since they don't react to the onChange command coming from FileInput. I've therefore had to create a special page for these kind of browsers based on onBlur, that gets around the problem. If anyone knows of a better solution, let me know, I'm all ears.... If javascript is deactivated, then the problem becomes a more general one.
  
  I rewrote the main page. Now, even if javascript is not allowed, the available export list is defined. Validation will then be server-side handled

• EPS exports still show problems. 3D drawings are not converted using the macro. All is right doing it in the software
  Strange ...

If you have any questions, and particularly if you have any answers to my questions, please drop me a line.

Future Developpement

Insofar as possible, I would like to look down a couple of these roads :

• extension of the export to all of the supported formats

• make the script into a "Webservice" that could deliver the transformed documents to a third party application

• Translate in other languages. The site engine is ready. Call to contributors
  If you want to contribute to the converter translation, please fill in this file and send it back - Thanks
  Converter_Translation.sxc

Source Code

The sources published here are made freely available under the Gnu LGPL. If something seems a bit unclear, just get in touch with me, I may be a bit convoluted in my programming at times...