We are evaluating Aspose as a potential component of a solution for our customers in which thumbnail images are generated automatically from office documents when uploaded to our enterprise application via a multi-step back end process.
Unfortunately, my preliminary research has shown that while Aspose PPT to PDF conversion handles simple documents quite well, the inclusion of anything I'd consider a complex document element is either ignored or represented in an unpredictable, corrupted manner.
The elements I have found to cause problems are listed below, specifically when working with .pptx:
SmartArt
Chart
Animations (when multiple layers, some layers were ignored/corrupted)
In regards to the unpredictable/unsatisfactory handling of these complex elements, I'm trying to verify if this behavior is
A. A known limitation of the Aspose technology approach to PDF creation unlikely to change in the near future
or
B. A simple defect that can likely be resolved quickly and easily by the Aspose team if made aware of these issues on a specific point-by-point basis.
I've attached a sample ppt with 2 slides - one a test slide that combines multiple elements I expected might cause problems, the second a slide from an actual marketing presentation here that had excessive animation on one slide. I've also attached jpegs of the rendered PDF.
Any insight shared would be greatly appreciated, as this sort of known limitation/defect makes the decision of whether or not to pursue an Aspose-based solution considerably more difficult.
1) PPTX to PDF export has been introduced in the Aspose.Slides for .NET 4.0.1 version for the first time, so it will get matured with the passage of time in the same way as PPT to PDF has been highly optimized now.
2) SmartArt and Chart objects are not supported currently and are under development.The issue id for this feature is 12438. This thread has been associated with this issue and you will be informed as soon as it is implemented.
Unfortunately, the limitations we're finding are likely going to force us to go a different direction, as we just aren't comfortable passing on software to our customers that have such significant gaps. Can we get a timeline on resolution of 12438? That's absolutely critical for our decision to buy and, quite frankly, your sales person was not at all helpful when we inquired through that channel.
Any chance I can get an update on progress towards the April expected delivery of this functionality? We're watching very closely because of the impact the resolution of this issue will have on our own release plans.
I have received feed back from development time and we are rigorously working of smart art reading and rendering issues. Expectedly, the features will be available by mid of March.
Please accept my apologies for the delayed response as I was awaiting feedback from our development team.
The Reading and changing of SmartArt properties is ready and will be available in the next release Aspose.Slides for .NET which is due in June. The development on rendering of SmartArt is in process and will take some time.
We really appreciate your patience and are sorry for your inconvenience,
We pulled the feature from our release because a fix did not seem to be coming soon enough. I'd still very much like to pursue for a future release - is there any update on the Aspose side?
I regret to inform you that the issue of SmartArt rendering is still in process and our development team is working on this issue. We are hopeful that the feature will be available by October 2010. We are aware of your inconvenience but we are really working hard to get things done fast.
I have requested the update status about the ETA of Smart Art inclusion in Aspose.Slides. The support for Smart Arts is expected to be available by end of January. Again, I cannot promise you the time frame for the feature as currently our development team is focusing on chart rendering issues.
I regret to share that due to some technical difficulties the support for SmartArt rendering has been delayed. We are very hopeful to provide this feature in Q3 of 2011.