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Robert Smits wrote:
On December 6, 2007 09:44:04 pm Basil Chupin wrote:
<Sigh> Isn't it beyond belief that a piece of software (Megabytes big!) provided by one of the biggest companies has to be 'fiddled' before the damn thing will print a (simple) document produced using this software (OpenOffice)?
First, I'm sorry you're having difficulties printing.
Second, OpenOffice is not provided by a company, it's provided by volunteers.
It is released under the SUN name, and the company supports the volunteers. And, PLEASE, don't give me the crap about 'volunteering'! 'Volunteer' or an 'employee for $$$', the ethics are still the same: 'If it's worth doing then it's worth doing well'. I've been working with volunteers for over 30 years. If a ding-dong (as in my second-last contact with a volunteer organisation) started the same argument as your statement above implies, my reply was, 'Nobody asked you to volunteer. Either do the job properly or p*** off.'
Second, there may well be any number of problems in your computer, your setup, your particular combinations of hardware and setup that don't make make it an OpenOffice problem or an Opensuse problem.
Third, you haven't given us much information to enable any one to help you.
I appreciate that you're frustrated at not being able to print, but with so many different possible combinations of computer hardware, software, and printers, it's virtually certain that someone will come up with scenarios which don't work.
It certainly is a possibility that my hardware configuration is 'upsetting' my ability to print, but I also understand that the whole OS (and OO) is being developed with the attempt to make it workable with all hardware. For example, the latest version of Damn Small Linx (DSL) certainly attempts this.
Speaking of my own experience with the five computers I operate and maintain, I've never had any problem printing from OpenOffice in any version for the past five years, with Suse from 9.2 to 10.3.
I have to say that this is very nice for you - no problems of any kind. Wonderful!
Due more to good luck than anything, last night I found a simple reference, in a message in the Sun's OpenOffice 'help' forum, which provided me with the information to get OO to print. As you suggest in your response, for which I am grateful, it ALL has to do with outputting the document to a pdf file and then printing that.
So at least you can deal with the immediate problem, to get those files printed right away.
Yes, I was very pleased that I was able to print a document in OO!
The whole process involves trickery worthy of Harry Potter.
Bosh. This is a work-around, not trickery.
A 'work-around' is 'trickery'.
I used Microsoft Office for years, using the printer I mention in my original post (the Lexmark 4039 plus), and it NEVER even considered not printing at the first attempt.
Good. Errr...how old is this Lexmark, and what drivers are you using? Are you installing printer drivers with YAST or via CUPS?
My printer is recognised by OpenSuse 10.2 (and 10.3) and installs the correxct drivers openSuSE thinks are the correct ones. How old my printer is none of anyone's business. OpenSuSE recognises it and installs the appropriate driver for it. Doing a 'Test' print prints the correct print output. OO - in both 10.2 (and now the new install of 10.3) then stuffs-up when I try and print a page. Using Kwrite (eg) to print some text works fine. OO stuffs up.
Why is OpenOffice such a bitch about printing?
It's not. Why would you assume it is? Millions of people around the world use it without a problem. There obviously is a problem with something on your machine, though.
Ho-hum :-( . Got to the OO user Forum and as late as today - 13 January 2008 - there are questions about not being able to print in OO.
Or is it a problem with openSuse? Don't know.
Since we don't let's not assign blame just yet. People here are really good about helping, but it doesn't help to jump to conclusions like the above.
Not jumping to any 'occlusions'. Simply asking why a piece of software, advertised to the world as the 'Ants Pants' to replace you-know-what cannot print correctly. Nothing more. Ciao. -- Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org