Starting in Office 2007, it is possible to save documents in PDF or XPS format. This is done (programmatically) by calling the method ExportAsFixedFormat. Googling has not turned up any definition of "fixed format" that seems compatible with what I know about the PDF file format. Is there a widely-accepted definition of this term?
+2
A:
It probably means that these formats do not have formulas or layout engines.
In other words, your values, data, and layout are fixed.
CSV would also fit this definition, but it predated the feature.
SLaks
2010-06-25 22:40:48
More to the point, both PDF and XPS are (originally – at least for PDF) intended as print formats which preserve full fidelity of the document for printing but can be considered “final” or “fixed” in the sense that they aren't meant to be edited anymore.
Joey
2010-06-25 22:49:07
A:
It probably means text files with fixed width fields. An example of fixed format text would be the output of hexdump on any file, like:
0019670 3a 20 50 72 6f 64 75 63 74 20 4c 69 63 65 6e 73 0019680 65 20 56 61 6c 69 64 61 74 65 64 2e 0a 32 30 31 0019690 30 2d 30 36 2d 32 35 20 32 30 3a 31 34 3a 35 34
Julio Gorgé
2010-06-25 22:44:03
That does seem to be one meaning, but it's what I was referring to when I said it doesn't match what I know about pdf.
Brian
2010-06-25 23:09:13
+2
A:
Fixed format means that the document isn't editable.
When you save it as PDF or XPS it's an export to a format that is only intended for viewing.
(They are of course still editable if you happen to have the right software. For PDF for example that would be Adobe Acrobat Professional, i.e. not the free Adobe Reader.)
Guffa
2010-06-25 22:51:20
"Fixed format means that the document isn't editable" - do you have a cite? Or know about the source of the term?
Brian
2010-06-28 18:59:48
@bmm6o: The term is for example used here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/save-a-file-in-pdf-format-HA010064992.aspx and the similar term "fixed-layout document format" is used here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_XML_Paper_Specification#Similarities_with_PDF_and_PostScript
Guffa
2010-06-28 20:30:04