1. Create a new OpenOffice text document.
2. Paste 'n graphic from the clipboard, and import a jpg file, a gif file and a Photoshop psd file. Add some text.
3. Save the file, eg "test.sxw". Then, using your favourite file manager, rename the file to "test.zip".
4. Use your favourite archiver to unzip the test.zip file into a sub-folder. Then have a look at the content!
Yes, a sxw file is simply a zip file containing a few xml files. For instance, content.xml contains the text and references to the graphics, and styles.xml contains what you would expect: style definitions. There is also a folder called "Pictures", that contains all the graphics – and here is the real nice bit: the jpeg and gif files you imported into your document are saved in their original state. No resampling or anything. Images that were pasted from the clipboard and Photoshop images are saves as png files, which is cool. Note that graphic files are not compressed – which can be a pro or a con, depending on how you look at it.
How's that for open source – open down to the file format! IMHO, OpenOffice rocks. I mean, try this experiment with a M$ Word file, and see where you get ;-)
rgds Jaco
