Long-shot geek question: ODT files Linux->Windows

[drwex]

I've searched the Web and not found any useful answers; I've downloaded two different tools that claimed to solve this problem(*) and both failed. So I'm hoping someone has a clue they can supply me or knows someone who does.

I'm trying to open ODT files on a Windows machine. The files were created in OpenOffice 3 on Ubuntu, checked into CVS, and then checked out on my Windows machine. I attempt to open the ODT file with OpenOffice 3.1 for Windows (latest version) and the file is reported as corrupted. Word also sees the file as corrupted. Neither is able to repair the file. The file opens fine on Ubuntu OpenOffice 3.

ETA: The problem appears to be in the CVS check-in/check out process. If the author sends me the ODT file as a mail attachment it opens no problem.

The problem appears identical across all ODT files created in this way. However, if I create the file on Windows (using OO 3.1) and then try to open it on Ubuntu it does not give corruption messages (there are some format issues, but those are relatively minor).

Anyone seen this problem before and know of a solution?

(*) I've tried a program that claims to make Word be able to read the ODT files, and another that claims to convert ODT format to RTF format. Neither worked.

Comments

[points.livejournal.com]

If you could drop me an email and attach a (non-proprietary) ODT made from the linux side, and one from the Windows side, I may be able to come up with something for you today.

[ckd]

My first thought is that CVS (or something else) is doing newline translations and screwing it up. It's worth checking to see if the files have the same SHA1 hash (or even MD5, since we're not trying to protect against a malicious attacker) when checked on Ubuntu before checking in and on Windows after checking out.

[mrw42.livejournal.com]

Did you use the -kb option to turn off end-of-line conversion and keyword expansion when adding these files to CVS? If not, they may have been corrupted by CVS when you checked them in or out. See here for some further explanation: http://www.network-theory.co.uk/docs/cvsmanual/Binaryhowto.html

[caulay.livejournal.com]

I agree with ckd that CVS might be the issue. I have had no problem moving ODT files between my Mac and Windows OpenOffice installations but there was no CVS involved.

You don't say explicitly that you are using the checked out version of the file on Unbuntu? Are you? If not, try that to see if CVS is just mangling the file.

[feste-sylvain.livejournal.com]

I echo ckd's "newline translation" comment; if you check out the file on Ubuntu and then copy it as a binary file to Windows, will it open?

But OpenOffice itself should be able to SaveAs the ODT file as RTF; if you do that on Ubuntu, will the result be editable on Windows?

(Two cheap checks.)

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

Open Office will save as 3 flavors of DOC and also to RTF -- have you tried saving to a different format to check if the cross-platform corruption is peculiar to the ODT format?

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

ETA: The problem appears to be in the CVS check-in/check out process. If the author sends me the ODT file as a mail attachment it opens no problem.

I assume the problem is that CVS by default assumes that checked in files are plain text, and will perform newline translation. If they're checked in as binary files it should work fine.