OpenOffice linuxwindows documents

Davide Capodaglio platforms platforms number X's

Just how serious are you to investigate this behavior? ;)

I have not read about or looked at the source code in OOo that would indicate the source of the difference, but from my Windows coding days...

-- doubt OOo in Windows uses its own font rendering as the Windows engine is tightly integrated with the "kernel" and the video display

-- Linux and Windows use different printer-video drivers which are somehow queried for their "capabilities"

-- video resolutions are very crude compared to today's printer resolutions

-- Windows uses "logical inches" for display, viz., the small-large font settings of old (small=96 ppi, large=120 ppi), which has now been made "customizable".

-- all raster (bitmap) devices are subject to rounding errors, especially if they accumulate, when using any division in calculations. Pixels are by nature, integer values, while calculations will inevitably result in fractions. Mapping fractions to (pixel) integers can be quite involved and tricky and inconsistent.

-- using layout options that are not in "fixed-real world" units are more likely to evidence the behavior you noticed. In Windows, it's pretty easy to get such inconsistent layout-placement within the same app if the code doesn't properly mangage the "rounding" problem.

-- Windows used to (still?) uses a hardwired value of 72 points-inch which combined with the use of "logical" inches can really complicate things if the layout code gets sophiticated using the font metric options available re: TrueType and em squares. Now you know why (many) printers have resolutions of 720 and 1440 dpi.

Best bet for consistent hardcopy results is to use Postscript printers (with good drivers) on both platforms. HP's PCL can sometimes provide quite consistent results, sometimes not.

These are just things off the top of my head that can effect rendering; I'm sure there are others I could think of with a bit of effort.

OOo developer lists are probably where you would go to get a "definitive" answer, and even then ... ;)

You may need to set up and test some custom styles that have all layout options defined in fixed-real world units to achieve "automagic" consistency.

good luck, prg