https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=79811

--- Comment #8 from David Tardon <[email protected]> ---
(In reply to comment #6)
> > * (I have already said that, but...) There is no way to differentiate 
> > between
> > normal and hybrid PDFs when looking at directory listing.
> >
> This can be easily implemented. Since the format is being created inside
> LIbreOffice, it can be marked as HybridPDF in the corresponding place in
> the file.

Where exactly is that? I am not aware of any special support in PDF to create
"subformats" (granted, I do not know details of PDF structure...) Also, doing
this immediately invokes the part about creating new format...

> BTW, all of this is irrelevant to my point: whether the Hybrid
> PDF is created via "Save as..." or "Export" doesn't change this issue.

There is a big difference in perception. For export, hybrid PDF is a
(immutable) PDF that just happens to contain the original document. So it does
not matter that it is indistinguishable from a normal PDF. For save, the format
becomes a (mutable) document format, and the PDF is a "container" and a
"preview" in one.

> 
> > * It effectively means that we are creating a new document format, not
> > supported by anyone else. There is already too many different file formats.
> > (This alone is a deal breaker for me.)
> >
> So what? It's not like ODF is being supported by everyone.

And it will never be if we start creating new formats whenever someone asks for
them.

> Besides,
> there's a good reason to use a Hybrid PDF for certain organizations, as
> I've pointed out already.

That some organizations could find it convenient is not a compelling enough
reason to create a new file format. A format that, by the way, is in most ways
inferior to ODF: saving/loading takes longer, the files are bigger, it is not
supported by any other application...

> > * It creates the perception of PDF as an editable format, which it is not.
> >
> > As long as you make it visibly different (by saving the right bits to
> identify such Hybrid PDF files) there won't be such perception at all.

Which are these "right bits"? Also, the extension will still be pdf. So, to
avoid any such problems, it would have to become widely supported by operating
systems. Not mentioning that type detection typically considers the extension
alone, because any peeks into the files are costly and would make listing of
directories with larger number of files unacceptably slow.

> Again, this is easily done when saving the file. Just write the right bits
> to make it recognizable by the OS. An H-PDF should be shown as a standard
> PDF when LibreOffice is not installed on the computer.

> Files are recognized by some sort of "magic number" written to the file.

Yes, and for PDF that magic number identifies a PDF. The ODF is saved inside an
object stream, which is only interpreted on loading.

> Most of your issues are with the format itself. You're not addressing the
> point of this bug report, which is "make it saveable" instead (or in
> addition to) "exportable".

No, my issues illustrate why it is a bad idea to "make it saveable".

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