Insert audio into LibreOffice file then PDF
Silvia -
Hello everyone,
I would like to insert a few audio recordings (short ones, a few seconds) into my master's thesis. Ideally, when someone reads the thesis, they should be able to click on a small icon to listen to the sound. I will then need to submit the file as a PDF to the professors, so the sound should be retained at the time of conversion.
I tried using LibreOffice, I went to "insert", "media", "sound or video", chose my MP3 file format, and it inserted a small sound icon. But when I click on it, double click, etc., nothing happens, the sound doesn't play. I converted it to PDF, same issue...
Does anyone know how to do this and could you please help me?
Thank you very much!
4 réponses
Hello,
It is theoretically possible to add audio to a LibreOffice file once converted to pdf and opened in LibreOffice, assuming that the default pdf software can handle it.
This presumes that the recipient is able to read this content; this is the case with Acrobat Reader, but we don't know which reader they are using, so it's risky...
Otherwise, aside from Acrobat (and not Reader), which is costly, a number of pdf editors may handle this function but generally are not free (for example, I don't know if Foxit is still free) and there are several free solutions available but with limitations, particularly on size.
https://mailmergic.com/fr/blog/comment-integrer-des-fichiers-audio-et-video-dans-des-pdf-gratuitement/
Hello,
1) Regarding playing audio files in an odt document, it's not immediate and especially not practical: you have to select the audio file icon and start playback with the icons that appear at the bottom left of the window.
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2) In practice, when submitting a document, it is usually in PDF format. The odt or docx files are rather working documents.
Playing audio files in PDFs is very hit or miss: it depends on the PDF reader being used. This reader must call upon the audio file player already installed on the computer.
I have done various tests: the one that works best is Foxit Reader. I believe it also works with Acrobat Reader, but it's less obvious. The Chrome reader, which is widely used when reading documents on the Internet, cannot read audio files embedded in the PDF.
If you submit your thesis as a PDF, it is not at all certain that the people reading it will use Foxit Reader. This is therefore very risky, and another solution should be used.
I recommend putting the PDF file on a USB stick along with the audio files (which can be in a separate folder).
In the PDF file, you will insert links that point to the audio files.
Practically, you are already creating the odt file. When you want to place an audio file, you insert a hyperlink pointing to the audio file:
menu Insert > Hyperlink
You obtain something that looks like this:
Then you export it as a PDF.
You will notice that in the link, the letter of the drive used appears. This does not matter: if you change computers and the letter assigned to the USB stick is different, it still works.
By doing this, there are significantly fewer issues than by embedding the audio file in the document. Compatibility is much better, especially with Google Chrome.
What is well conceived is clearly expressed,
And the words to say it come easily.
(Boileau)
Hello,
We're saying the same thing.
Reading a PDF containing an audio file directly in a browser is indeed probably random whether it's Chrome or another one, and in any case, we cannot force the reader to use a specific browser; the "subtlety" is that depending on the browser, it may use its own PDF module or open the default PDF application on the PC, back to square one.
Acrobat Reader, which is considered a standard unlike Foxit, at least reads some audio formats, but does not allow creating the file in question.
https://helpx.adobe.com/ca_fr/acrobat/using/adding-multimedia-pdfs.html
I reiterate my reservations about files stored on a USB drive because I assume that there will be several jury members reading this work outside of its defense and because it cannot then be archived in its entirety in a library or online; an online link seems more appropriate to me.
Thank you very much for this quick response!
If I understand correctly, I need to wait until I have converted the file to PDF to add the audio files?
But depending on the software used by the person who will read it (the teacher in this case), it's not certain that they will be able to listen to the sounds; it depends on which software they use?
Did I understand correctly? I'm not very comfortable with all this, haha.
In that case, I'm thinking it might be safer to send the audio files to the teacher in a separate folder and write in the thesis "see audio #1...". It’s less convenient for the professors who will read my document, but it's safer for them to be able to listen to the recordings...
I will still do some tests with the link you sent me, thank you very much (they are very short recordings, so the size limitation isn't an issue).
Thank you very much anyway, have a good afternoon.
Yes, audio can only be added in the PDF, if applicable opened earlier in LibreOffice but that doesn't change anything.
Yes too, some PDF readers are not able to read certain added content including multimedia (I am very minimalistic in this area, I use Sumatra, it’s not common, I’m pretty sure of that).
Attachment seems like a bad idea regarding a university work that should ideally be cohesive, local or online; everyone should be able to read the entire archive in such a university library or online if any researcher or curious person was interested in the work in question, Master’s theses I don’t know, but doctoral theses for sure.
On "free" software, the best idea is probably PDFSam, the 250 MB are considered as the file size all costs included, not the cumulative size of sounds.
I haven't done a serialized novel since my thesis (300 pages in 1992) where the problem did not arise; it would have been impossible to open such a document; there were therefore several pieces not in Word but Works glued together at the time of printing, I don't have any reference regarding the weight.
But unless it is filled with heavy illustrations, a LibreOffice/Word document over 250 MB requires good will...
An alternative I suggested to test is to put the sounds on an online site and the corresponding links this time in the LibreOffice file, not to be more royalist than the king and check if the result is accessible by opening the PDF in a common browser or via Acrobat Reader.
Thank you very much for this answer.
The first screenshot corresponds to my attempt in LibreOffice, now I understand why I couldn't read them.
Well, I'm giving up on the idea of inserting audio files directly into the document with this feature. So either I send a folder of audio files separately or I include hosted links.
There are also in today's academic work bibliographic links or others that lead to resources that are not directly readable in the text.
The alternative is to host a file, for example mp3, where we want, also assuming that the pdf reader of the recipient will be able to open such a link.
Thank you for the response!
I hadn't thought of that, thanks for the idea.