Re: Option "Convert SmartArt to LO shapes or reverse"

[Miklos Vajna <vmiklos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Regina,

On Sat, Oct 22, 2022 at 03:46:24PM +0200, Regina Henschel <rb.henschel@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> What is the purpose of using a metafile instead of the SmartArt shapes? I
> see no advantage in it. But it is the default for that option.
> 
> What is the purpose of setting size and position protection in case
> converting to metafile?

As far as I see, core.git 2eba5391d3fa3232ba2b0a187c4c51736ab2ec3d
(unotools: add menu option to enable/disable Smart-Art lock,
2013-10-01), added this option.

I think back then we did a terrible job of preserving SmartArt, so
locking it down made sense. I imagine the intent was to do it for all
formats, it was probably an accident that PPTX was forgotten. It's also
likely that we do a better job of such preservation today.

As you say, we already prioritize "being able to edit" over "perfect
preservation" at other places (e.g. convert MS DOC embedded objects to
Writer by default), so flipping the default of this option is probably
OK if you want to submit such a change to gerrit.

Regards,

Miklos