Greetings all!
Does anyone know exactly what at a minimum changes in a MS Office file when it is "Saved As"?
Think of a situation where you download a Word document, which is automatically opened in Word. Without making any changes, you save it under its original name to your desktop.
Your copy is no longer a byte-for-byte duplicate of the original. Certain Summary Information properties have changed (e.g. edit time, last author, revision number).
Are the differences between the original and your copy confined to Summary Information?
That is my precise technical question. An answer would be much appreciated.
I'm hoping the answer is "yes", but in case it is "no", I'd appreciate some indication of where else differences could occur.
In case anyone is interested, here is the background:
If the differences between original and copy are confined to Summary Information, then RAINER KLUTE's WriteAuthorAndTitle.java could be adapted to test for functional identity of your copy and the original. (See the examples section of the POI source tree.)
Here's how it would work:
You would upload your copy back to server where it came from. The server would create near-duplicates of the original and what it gets back from you, but set in both instances the SummaryInformation properties to null; these near-duplicates would then be compared byte for byte.
Why would anyone want to do this? Suppose you were a subcontractor on a multibillion dollar building project. If the main contractor wanted to position himself to be able to prove in court, should the need someday arise, that you consciously received a true and undamaged copy of a specific version of an engineering specification on a today, he might ask you to go through the upload exercise. Of course, he would make it as convenient for himself and for you as possible, but I'll leave out that part ...
Herb Harrell Harrell Associates Incorporated 601 King Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314
+ 1 703 518 5550
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