Interesting problem opening files in Libreoffice 6.2

users
#1

Hello. I am a serious business user of Libreoffice 6.2 [latest version as
of May 8, 2019]
I have used Libreoffice since version 3 and this is my first problem with
it.

I use insurance claim forms that a company sends me in a .docx format. Then
I open them in Libreoffice. This time when I did so Libreoffice won't let
me edit the document. I put the document in edit mode in Libreoffice. That
didn't allow editing either; when I put my cursor in a text box [I have
text boxes where i can say yes/ no etc] nothing happens.

So I opened up Libreoffice writer in Safe Mode. Then I dragged my docx file
into it. Then it opens in Libreoffice and allows me to change textboxes. I
am not sure though if this is a good outcome. Because the format is
slightly different; the page reads straight down rather than 2 pages on
the screen at a time. But for the moment it is good enough.

I would prefer to not have to use the safe mode to allow editing for
my.docx file opening in Libreoffice. I add that I am using Windows 7 64
bit. Is this happening to anyone else? Anything that I should do? I am not
any expert on Libreoffice. I also add that all previous versions of
Libreoffice did not have this problem for me. It seems to be a new issue in
6.2.

Thank you
John

#2

Musical Neptunian wrote

...
So I opened up Libreoffice writer in Safe Mode. Then I dragged my docx
file
into it. Then it opens in Libreoffice and allows me to change textboxes. I
am not sure though if this is a good outcome. Because the format is
slightly different; the page reads straight down rather than 2 pages on
the screen at a time. But for the moment it is good enough.

...

When you relaunch in Safe Mode you get a default user profile.

Document view with default profile is "Single page view", your profile was
probably set to "Multiple page view", or pssibly "Book view"-- select from
the three page icons on the Status bar lower right of frame next to the Zoom
slider.

Document formatting can change depending on settings in defaults compared to
customizations in user profile.

Personally, moving between major releases of LibreOffice, I would use the
Safe mode selector to clean up user profile--a complete flush back to
defaults is often the best approach (needing to recreate customizations and
reinstall any extensions), but worth the effort for a clean UX.

#3

Thank you for the suggestions. I tried as suggested: In Windows 7:
o Close LibreOffice (not just the current document).
o If it is running, close the Quickstarter. To do this, find its icon
in the System Tray (bottom right of the display screen), right-click
it, and select Exit or Quit or whatever.
o Start File Explorer, click in the address bar to select what's
there, and enter %AppData%\libreoffice\4 (exactly like that) there.
Click the right-arrow (or press Enter) to navigate to the folder
which that code represents.
o Rename the "user" folder you find there (which contains the actual
profile) in order to disable it. (Alternatively, you could just delete it.)
o Restart LibreOffice, which should create a clean copy of the profile for
you.

That works! I did see the question section on the Libreoffice website. But
I decided to ask here because I wasn't asking a yes/no question with one
right answer and the Libreoffice site says that it isn't suited to
discussions. FYI I work in the pest control/home inspection industry and
Libreoffice is popular there; a lot of home inspectors put libreoffice on a
laptop and fill out the inspection result forms in the truck using it. They
love libreoffice and don't touch Microsoft Word with a bargepole. I'll tell
some of them about this solution if they have the same problem. We are
required by our insurance and pest control companies to stick to the strict
formats because if anything goes to court and we deviate then a clever
lawyer can argue: "you deviated from the format so are you doing the final
report or a rough draft? So is your report worth anything as evidence?" FYI
it used to be allowed in the early zeroes to do a report form by hand! But
in about 2004 that was no longer permitted.

Thanks again!
John