Enable .pdf attachments?

DaveTheCoder

I tried to attach a .pdf document to this post:
https://godotforums.org/d/43750-how-to-fix-camera-yaw-and-pitch-to-horizontal-and-vertical-only/2
That wasn't allowed, but putting the .pdf inside a .zip worked. It would be easier if the .pdf itself were allowed.

kuligs2

DaveTheCoder pdf is a liability, as it can have objects inside it that gets executed when viewed.

MikeCL

DaveTheCoder hey. Let me look into it. I’m currently away spending some time with family, so give me a few days.

Dad3353

kuligs2
A 'Gif' file can contain malicious code, too, as can 'Doc', 'Jpg', 'Xls' or 'Zip' files. The World is a dangerous place, which is why I have virus detection software. The risks are, however, rather low, I'd say. Just my tuppence-worth. Peace. :-)

DaveTheCoder

Then a .zip containing a .pdf is a liability too. But if .zip's and other archive formats are prohibited, people wouldn't be able to attach MRP's. 🤯

(And MRP's can contain trojan horses too, since GDScript, C#, C++ and C are general purpose programming languages that can do anything.)

Rainfollower

But why not just write it as text?..

Dad3353

Rainfollower
That would be fine for the case that the OP mentioned, but it wouldn't work for other 'Pdf' attachments, with images for example. Are 'Pdf's really all that dangerous..?

DaveTheCoder

Rainfollower But why not just write it as text?..

In the case of the file I attached, the document had formatting for readability, and it would have been time-consuming to reformat it as plain text. Portable Document Format has been a universal standard for over 30 years.

Dad3353

Happy Easter, Mike. Families take priority. :-)

MikeCL

Dad3353 Happy Easter, and thanks man!

Rainfollower

DaveTheCoder posting raw pdf on boards/forums instead of making a formatted post has never been a universal standard, sorry.

Dad3353

Rainfollower

This is not really an 'either/or' question, though. Yes, as it happens, the particular Pdf contained formatted text, but another Pdf could well contain graphic information, or non-copiable text, photos or whatever. It's very unlikely to contain anything dodgy (although that's always a remote possibility, with several file formats...). Pdf has been an industry standard as a document for a very long time, and causes little to no problems for other Forums. Just sayin'. Peace. :-)

DaveTheCoder

Rainfollower posting raw pdf

What is "raw" pdf? This was information provided by a website application that answered a question. Exporting the answer as a .pdf file was one way of placing the information in a reply. I could have copy/pasted instead, but I thought the .pdf would be more readable.

Rainfollower

DaveTheCoder what kind of application that is, I wonder, that can give out only formatted pdf with included pictures and stuff? And by the way ho we do all know that pdf had been generated with enough safety?

DaveTheCoder

Rainfollower what kind of application that is, I wonder, that can give out only formatted pdf with included pictures and stuff? And by the way ho we do all know that pdf had been generated with enough safety?

What kind of person that is, I wonder, would open a pdf if he's using an operating system that has no protection against pdf's that may have not been generated with enough safety?

Tomcat

It would have been possible to ask the AI to format the response for posting on the forum.

Using .pdf files is too exotic in today's world.

Tomcat

DaveTheCoder What kind of person that is, I wonder, would open a pdf if he's using an operating system that has no protection against pdf's that may have not been generated with enough safety?

Defense and attack methods are constantly evolving. This is known as the “battle between armor and projectiles.” And if a user opens a malicious .pdf file when hacking techniques have outpaced security measures… well, they’re out of luck.

PDFs have fixed formatting — which is good for “hard copies” — paper (newspapers, magazines). On the internet, formatting adapts to the monitor’s resolution and aspect ratio—here, PDF is irrelevant and impractical.

axolotl

For what it's worth I think that yes, the forum should allow pdf. But also in my experience if instead of just saying the thing you offer a link to a pdf that says the thing, you get 1/10th of the readers you otherwise would, if that.