Package-format

["Jesper Lund Stocholm" <4a4553504552@gmail.com>]

Hi all,

I am trying to get my head around the specifics of the package format in ODF (v.1.0). But the specification is a bit confusing to me. Firstly look at section 17 (Package). It says:

Information about the files contained in the package is stored in an XML file called the manifest file. The manifest file is always stored at the pathname META-INF/manifest.xml. The main pieces of information stored in the manifest are as follows:

• A list of all of the files in the package.
• The media type of each file in the package.
• If a file stored in the package is encrypted, the information required to decrypt the file is stored in the manifest.

But section 2.1 (Document roots) says:

There are four types of subdocuments, each with different root elements. Additionally, the single XML document has its own root element, for a total of five different supported root elements. The root elements are summarized in the following table:

<office:document-content> Document content and automatic styles used in the content. content.xml
<office:document-styles> Styles used in the document content and automatic styles used in the styles themselves. styles.xml
<office:document-meta> Document meta information, such as the author or the time of the last save action. meta.xml
<office:document-settings> Application-specific settings, such as the window size or printer information. settings.xml

Am I reading it correctly when I say that the names of the files listed above are mandatory or could I change the names of the files (and the corresponding entrance in the manifest) ?

What is the recommended application behaviour when loading an ODF-file? Is it to look into the manifest to locate the files in the package or is it to use the manifest to locate files aside the "mandatory" ones? It seems that at least OOo is able to locate the content.xml-file - even if it is not referenced from the manifest.

Thank you for your time,

Jesper Lund Stocholm
http://www.idippedut.dk