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How to create a pdf in Linux?


fuzzylizard
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Hopefully this is a simple question. I have an OOo writer document that I want to turn into a pdf to go on my website. How would I go about doing this?

 

Furthermore, how does one create a pdf file period in Linux?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Update: I have figured out how to create a PDF document from within OpenOffice.org. You simply select print and then select to print it as a pdf.

 

Very cool, and it does an excellent job.

 

However, I am still wondering how one would go about creating a PDf from other programs.

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If u have the ghostscript package installed, u should have these utilities:

-rwxr-xr-x    1 root  root          214 Nov  5 00:37 /usr/bin/ps2pdf

-rwxr-xr-x    1 root  root          176 Nov  5 00:37 /usr/bin/ps2pdf12

-rwxr-xr-x    1 root  root          176 Nov  5 00:37 /usr/bin/ps2pdf13

-rwxr-xr-x    1 root  root          176 Nov  5 00:37 /usr/bin/ps2pdf14

-rwxr-xr-x    1 root  root          370 Nov  5 00:37 /usr/bin/ps2pdfpress

-rwxr-xr-x    1 root  root          894 Nov  5 00:37 /usr/bin/ps2pdfwr

Each is a ps to pdf converter.. U can use the one u need.

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there is a few php classes that allow you to create pdfs from scripts. eg you can write custom scripts to convert say html/xml docs to pdf's, this is great for creating dynamic pdf's based on templates (not very usefull for the average user though :wink:).

 

http://www.fpdf.org/?lang=en

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<long only slightly relevant story>

Before the weekend I had this exact problem, actually for my father-in-law who needed a well presentable document for his company (one-man co.)..

 

I used OOwriter, just did a print to file, selected pdf as a format. (as the topicstarter mentioned, this works, but not really/always!)

 

Opened the .pdf by clicking on it in konqueror. Looked perfect in KGhostscript.

 

Sent it off, then on his windows machine my father-in-law had most of the text supplanted by the character Ü..... only some headings remained...

His acrobat reader had complained about not having certain fonts etc.

 

Next day I tried at work, on another (win) machine... same thing.

I had winword there (same version that the original doc was made on), with the system there I could create a .pdf that was 'portable', so problem solved, it seemed.

 

Next day I tried at home, under linux, with xpdf instead of Kghostscript, to read the old file (the one I first created). Same problem as under windows.

Tried the .pdf I made at work (with the expensive software): graphics looked very bad....

 

Then I did the Right Thing:

I found how to do it under linux.

 

</long only slightly relevant story>

<start of useful info>

 

In OOwriter:

select printer ==> pdf 1.4 press (or something like that)

THEN print to file, type=pdf.

Then it works fine.

 

Before I had my std inkjet printer selected, and somehow it just tries to use different (not-portable) fonts or so.

Even printing to ps and then using ps2pdf, it didn't give good output!

 

The same day, my father-in-law managed to do it with a windows shareware/freeware ps2pdf, but there was still some problem with the output not being quite correct.

He asked me to show him how to do it with linux next time I visit them... I

I think we will have a convert soon... :)

 

(He also wants me to setup a linux box for his showroom, he's in the office ergonomics and systematics business, and doesn't want any licence issues but would like a nice pc / screen with bunch off colourful apps..)

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Guest dturley

Theonlything I have to dig out an old windows laptop for is to convert a ms doc file to a pdf. ooffice does such a crappy job on word files, they don't look anything like they should. In fact, I receive some word files to convert to PDF that OO won't even open; it just crashes.

 

Funny thing is, I can open them in windows 95 and whatver old version of word is installed there, but not in any "modern" linux application. As long as linux office apps suck so badly, there's no way to get rid of windows if you must do busineess in the real world.

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