Sorry for this basic question, but can anyone give me a brief explanation of why some types of files that are brought into DL, can not be exported in the same file format. I assume it has something to do with how DL converts information and file formats and stores the information, but don’t really know and would like to understand. Thanks for any help.
MS Word .doc files have their text content only captured as rich text documents in the database, and with Path links to the original .doc files. The actual .doc files remain untouched in the Finder.
So when you export the contents of a database, those text counterparts of Word files are eported as .rtf files.
But remember, those .doc files were never incorporated into the database; they remained in the Finder.
Word files remain an exception, therefore. Other file types that are Import-captured are copied into the database – and of course retain their original file type when exported to the Finder. (A future version of the database will eliminate this exception. Word .doc files will also be copied into the database when Import-captured, and all database documents will be stored in the Finder.)
Personally, I prefer my databases to be self-contained – and I don’t like Word (although I’ve got it). I eliminate Word files by saving them as Papyrus 12 hybrid PDF files, so the database views them as PDFs but they remain fully editable.
Sorry, Bill.
What’s a Papyrus 12 pdf? Sounds great!
Papyrus is a word processor/spreadsheet/database application that’s quite powerful, although not very Mac-like in some ways. It does a good job of importing Word .doc files. It can save files in a unique hybrid PDF file format that looks like PDF to PDF viewers, but which remain editable in Papyrus version 12.
Search for a description and user reviews on MacUpdate.
Thanks, Bill. I found it.
The problem with it is the ‘unique’ feature of PAP/PDF.
If only Mellel/DTP/TextEdit did it. Sounds like a good solution, but I’m not keen to change word processors.
Yes, the twofold advantages of Papyrus’ hybrid PDF file format are that I can send such a document to anyone without worrying whether or not they have a compatible application, and that such Papyrus files are of course displayed in my DT Pro Office database with full formatting, layout, images and working hyperlinks – yet remain editable simply by opening under Papyrus and saving the changes.
As you say, it would be nice if other word processors, spreadsheets, etc. did that. Currently, even under Leopard using Quick Look, nothing except PDF itself works as well as Papyrus hybrid PDFs for full rendering, searching for text within the document, and selectable text within my database. Even HTML or WebArchive documents don’t necessarily display the intended layout of a page.