Bug 173902

Summary:	error message: could not open file:///home/foo/bar.pdf
Product:	[Unmaintained] kpdf	Reporter:	tony den haan <kdebugs>
Component:	general	Assignee:	Albert Astals Cid <aacid>
Status:	RESOLVED INTENTIONAL
Severity:	normal
Priority:	NOR
Version:	0.5.9
Target Milestone:	---
Platform:	Gentoo Packages
OS:	Linux
Latest Commit:		Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description tony den haan 2008-10-30 14:47:22 UTC

Version:           0.5.9 (using KDE 3.5.9)
OS:                Linux
Installed from:    Gentoo Packages

When opening a pdf i received, the only message i get is "could not open", without any additional information.
The generator used was reported as "FPDF 1.5.2",  PDF version 1.3(Acrobar 4.x).
I can imagine problems opening certain pdf files, but this error message certainly needs fixing.

Comment 1 tony den haan 2008-10-30 15:30:30 UTC

Forgot to mention acroread handled it fine.

Comment 2 Albert Astals Cid 2008-10-30 16:33:19 UTC

What you really forgot is attaching the pdf with problems.

Comment 3 tony den haan 2008-10-30 17:30:33 UTC

I really don't mind it failing to handle a 'damaged' pdf, but i do mind it failing  to tell me just that. If a user has to use strace to figure out what an error message is about, errorhandling needs some work.
Try opening a .txt in acroread, and it'll say a lot more than "could not open".
Or crash :)

Comment 4 Albert Astals Cid 2008-10-30 19:16:01 UTC

And how am i supposed to differentiate between damaged pdf and txt files? Could not open is that, it could not be opened, don't see why a user needs more info, it's not going to help you in opening the file anyway.

Comment 5 tony den haan 2008-10-31 10:35:02 UTC

You've got to be joking. The least it could say is "could not open because it was damaged or invalid. Check if the same problem occurs with other pdf documents". The programmer/software is supposed to know, not the user.

I'm quite shocked you refuse to understand the concept 'error handling/reporting'.

Comment 6 Brad Hards 2008-10-31 11:06:43 UTC

Tony,

Remember you're dealing with someone who volunteers his time to develop a difficult and critical application. Please try to be polite and factual. Please try to answer the request (i.e. provide the sample).

Comment 7 tony den haan 2008-10-31 13:17:49 UTC

I cannot provide the pdf, it's confidential. All i know is that it was generated by FPDF.
But i give up, thought it was a simple request.

Comment 8 Albert Astals Cid 2008-10-31 13:33:16 UTC

I am probably dumbest person on earth because I still don't understand your simple request. You want a "Could not open" message and you got one, right?

Comment 9 tony den haan 2008-10-31 14:09:33 UTC

No worries, there's lots and lots of dumber people :)
And no, i expect error messages to give and explanation.
"Could not open" does not provide any information other than failure.
It could be a missing library, invalid document format, no access rights, some protection mechanism, anything. "Could not open" is stating the obvious, since the document isn't shown. 
When a user calls me telling me "i could not open my xyz" i demand more specific information.
In my many years of using software this kind of error messages have become my #1 irritation, didn't mean to take it out on you :)

Comment 10 Albert Astals Cid 2009-08-27 00:50:54 UTC

KPDF is no longer under development so i'm closing the bug as WONTFIX

If you still feel Okular (KPDF successor) error messages are incomplete please open a new bug.