Libre Office saving spreadsheets as images when saving as Word docx!?

users
#1

I've just discovered that when I save a copy of an invoice it's saving the
spreadsheet part as an image. This is not the behavior I expected.

I'm running:
Linux mint 17 64 bit
KDE 4.13
LibreOffice 4.4.7.2

When I save a copy of this file as Word 2007/2010/2013 (*.docx)
if converts the spreadsheets as an image!

Is this some setting? I've tried Googling, but it keeps showing my link on
how to save things as an image. Completely not what I want to do.

The older Word 97 format is not readable anymore by one of my customers. If
I save an 2003 .xml version Libreoffice can't even open a readable document
again!?

Are there some configuration details I'm missing?

Brian

#2

Since this is still the only mailing list that I'm on that requires me to
hit ”Reply to all” to reply to the group, I failed doing so again, and all
the crap ended up at the OP only… so this is my second try…

#3

Well that must be a problem with the crap mailer you use. A simple
reply works fine for me.

#4

> Since this is still the only mailing list that I'm on that requires
> me to hit ”Reply to all” to reply to the group, I failed doing so
> again, and all the crap ended up at the OP only… so this is my second
> try…

Well that must be a problem with the crap mailer you use. A simple
reply works fine for me.

No, my message was crap (it's my signum), not the mailer. In fact, I don't
even know what a ”mailer” is. Email client? If so, I don't use one. I use
the web thing.

Have a nice day, you too.

Kind regards

Johnny Rosenberg

#5

The document is created in Writer. It has Text, a table and an embedded
spreadsheet. I got it from and OO/LO template document years ago. I've
tweaked it somewhat, but not much. I open it in Writer, paste in the
relevant charges from my Tracking spreadsheet, save it to a new filename,
and then save a copy in Office format for my clients, who use Word and
Microsoft Office. I can't dictate to paying clients what software to use to
open my invoices.

I can't just send it in ODF. Unless MS Office has suddenly decided to
support reading ODF files. Last time I tried it didn't. I could send it in
PDF, and will if I have no other choice. If LO can't export a simple
spreadsheet embedded in a document to a current MS format, or read back
what it wrote, then they should not be included as options to export to.

I use this system for my business. It has to work, or I have to use
something else.

#6

​<...>

QC, perhaps I misunderstand you, but you seem to be saving what originally
was a .doc file in .docx format, because as you say above, «[t]he older
Word 97 format is not readable anymore by one of my customers». I was quite
surprised to read that, as I had laboured under the understanding that even
the latest editions of MS Office could still successfully open files in
.doc (and for that matter, .xls) format. Could it be that your attempts to
save the file in .docx format is what led the embedded spreadsheet (which I
presume was originally in .xls format) to be converted to an image (in
which format ?) ?...

Perhaps to get 'round your present difficulty you could open the embedded
spreadsheet in .xls format and then attempt to save it in .xlsx format. If
that can be done successfully, perhaps you could replace the embedded
version with the new version ?...

Good luck !

Henri

#7

No, I use Libre Office, and used Open Office for years before that to make
my invoices. One of my clients started complaining after upgrading to
Office 2013 that my older exported from LO to a Word 97 format wouldn't
display, or display properly. Not sure exactly what his issue is. I have
seen a similar issue when importing from ODF into Google Docs. It does
funky things, but the spreadsheet remains a spreadsheet, however the
document the layout is completely messed up.

So since my client can't read the LO document "saved as" a Word 97
document, I started saving in the latest Office layout that LO allows. It
was then this saved layout, that I discovered a few days ago is converting
the speadsheet to an image. I discovered it when opening one in LO to make
copy some data from, after accidentally overwriting the previous ODF
version.

Rather, than pulling from a backup.

I will attempt your suggestion to save the spreadsheet as an xlsx, and try
importing into a docx file. It would mean switching to a .docx template,
rather than an ODF template. But if it works so be it.

#8

Ah, well that didn't work. I can save as xlsx, and it preserves the sheet.
I can then embed it into a .docx file, but if I save it or "save a copy",
it converts it to an image. Not the behavior one would expect. This really
seems like a bug to me. Saving an embedded object should preserve the type
of embedded object.

Even if I link to the external object it still flattens it to a graphic.
What!? It destroys the link! That is not standard behavior! That is a bug
for sure.
Does that happen in the latest version of Libre Office? I'm not thrilled
at the idea of pinning to a newer version of Libre Office, but if it fixes
this bug I'd do it.

#9

​<...>

Thanks for responding with your experience, QC ! Alas I've never
encountered your problem, so my suggestion was not based on any concrete
experience on my part. Too bad it didn't work....

My suspcion is that the embedding process works differently in LO than in
MS Office, which may explain - but, unfortunately not resolve - your
problem. I doubt that using the latest stable version of LO - 5.3.1.2 -
would make any difference, but it would be interesting to learn if, in the
event you were to save the document in .odt format, the embedded
spreadsheet would still be converted into an image....

Henri

#10

As long as I maintain the object in an ODF format, as a document or a
template, it works as it should. It's only once LO saves it into an Office
2013 format, that it converts to an image. The Office 97 format preserves
the embedded spreadsheet(s).

#11

​I see. What I fail to understand is why your client is unable to open a
file in .doc format, while the MS Office version I have is that released in
2013, which has no problem opening .doc files and I have forwarded files
saved in that format to persons who used MS Office 2016 to open them
without difficulty. What version of MS Office is your client using ?...

Henri​

#12

The document is created in Writer. It has Text, a table and an embedded
spreadsheet. I got it from and OO/LO template document years ago. I've
tweaked it somewhat, but not much. I open it in Writer, paste in the
relevant charges from my Tracking spreadsheet, save it to a new filename,
and then save a copy in Office format for my clients, who use Word and
Microsoft Office. I can't dictate to paying clients what software to use to
open my invoices.

Maybe it's just me, but isn't PDF just perfect for invoices? Why send a
word document to your clients unless you want them to be able to edit your
invoice? And why would you want that? Sorry for not understanding, it's
probably simple and I just misunderstood everything, stupid as I probably
am.

I can't just send it in ODF. Unless MS Office has suddenly decided to
support reading ODF files. Last time I tried it didn't. I could send it in
PDF, and will if I have no other choice.

If LO can't export a simple spreadsheet embedded in a document to a
current MS format, or read back what it wrote, then they should not be
included as options to export to.

I use this system for my business. It has to work, or I have to use
something else.

Anyway, I just tested to embed a spreadsheet in a text file, I saved it as
docx, closed everything and reopened it in LibreOffice Writer. The
spreadsheet was still embedded, so maybe something got corrupted in your
file.

Kind regards

Johnny Rosenberg

#13

I've just discovered that when I save a copy of an invoice it's saving the spreadsheet part as an image. This is not the behavior I expected. [...] When I save a copy of this file as Word 2007/2010/2013 (*.docx) if converts the spreadsheets as an image! [...] The older Word 97 format is not readable anymore by one of my customers. If I save an 2003 .xml version Libreoffice can't even open a readable document again!?

You are tying yourself in knots here - and quite unnecessarily.

o Don't believe what one customer tells you about what s/he can or cannot handle: they may just not be competent enough to understand. My bank provides documents in the format it chooses; it may respond to suggestions for changes from customers in general, but it certainly wouldn't believe me if I simply claimed I couldn't handle what it provided. Is your bank any different?

o You are confusing on the one hand the format in which you keep our own records and active documents and on the other hand what you send your customers. You may need part of a spreadsheet in a text document to be active but you should not want your customers to be able to modify your invoices easily. They may halve the price and pay you accordingly!

o Save and keep your own documents in LibreOffice's native Open Document Format formats, here .odt and .ods. Use a DDE link to an .ods spreadsheet document in your .odt text document if you wish.

o Send your customers a frozen document. You need a format that is suitable for final versions of documents and is robust to changes between systems - operating system, installed fonts, printers, printer drivers, and so on - and is also easily displayed by and printed from application software that is easily available for a wide range of platforms and conveniently free of charge for your customers. That is not *any* word processor document format; that's PDF. Oh look: LibreOffice will export your documents as PDF.

I can't dictate to paying clients what software to use to open my invoices.

No, but you can dictate the format in which you choose to provide invoices - providing that is reasonable (as PDF is).

I can't just send it in ODF. Unless MS Office has suddenly decided to support reading ODF files.

Microsoft claims it has done this - though not "suddenly". (But you shouldn't want to use office formats anyway; see above.)

I could send it in PDF, and will if I have no other choice.

It's the best choice: you need no "other choice".

I use this system for my business. It has to work, or I have to use something else.

As always, you are very welcome to use whatever software you wish. LibreOffice will work for you, but chacun à son goût.

As long as I maintain the object in an ODF format, as a document or a template, it works as it should.

Good. Using LibreOffice's native format for your own document files is what you should always do.

It's only once LO saves it into an Office 2013 format, that it converts to an image.

So don't do that (for your own use). See above.

I trust this helps.

Brian Barker

#14

>
>
>>
> The document is created in Writer. It has Text, a table and an embedded
> spreadsheet. I got it from and OO/LO template document years ago. I've
> tweaked it somewhat, but not much. I open it in Writer, paste in the
> relevant charges from my Tracking spreadsheet, save it to a new filename,
> and then save a copy in Office format for my clients, who use Word and
> Microsoft Office. I can't dictate to paying clients what software to use
to
> open my invoices.
>

Maybe it's just me, but isn't PDF just perfect for invoices? Why send a
word document to your clients unless you want them to be able to edit your
invoice? And why would you want that? Sorry for not understanding, it's
probably simple and I just misunderstood everything, stupid as I probably
am.

My client enters this information into his own records. For his ease of

use I send him a format that makes it easy for him, rather than having to
type it all in himself.

> If LO can't export a simple spreadsheet embedded in a document to a
> current MS format, or read back what it wrote, then they should not be
> included as options to export to.
>
> I use this system for my business. It has to work, or I have to use
> something else.
>

Anyway, I just tested to embed a spreadsheet in a text file, I saved it as
docx, closed everything and reopened it in LibreOffice Writer. The
spreadsheet was still embedded, so maybe something got corrupted in your
file.

Hmm, ok, thanks. So it's something on my end. Perhaps some tweak done by
Linux Mint or Ubuntu.
Or something in my own set up.

#15

>
>
>>
> The document is created in Writer. It has Text, a table and an embedded
> spreadsheet. I got it from and OO/LO template document years ago. I've
> tweaked it somewhat, but not much. I open it in Writer, paste in the
> relevant charges from my Tracking spreadsheet, save it to a new
filename,
> and then save a copy in Office format for my clients, who use Word and
> Microsoft Office. I can't dictate to paying clients what software to
use to
> open my invoices.
>

Maybe it's just me, but isn't PDF just perfect for invoices? Why send a
word document to your clients unless you want them to be able to edit your
invoice? And why would you want that? Sorry for not understanding, it's
probably simple and I just misunderstood everything, stupid as I probably
am.

My client enters this information into his own records. For his ease of

use I send him a format that makes it easy for him, rather than having to
type it all in himself.

Depending on how the PDF was created it's usually possible to copy text in
paste it somewhere else. PDFs created by LibreOffice Writer usually work in
that matter.

> If LO can't export a simple spreadsheet embedded in a document to a
> current MS format, or read back what it wrote, then they should not be
> included as options to export to.
>
> I use this system for my business. It has to work, or I have to use
> something else.
>

Anyway, I just tested to embed a spreadsheet in a text file, I saved it as
docx, closed everything and reopened it in LibreOffice Writer. The
spreadsheet was still embedded, so maybe something got corrupted in your
file.

Hmm, ok, thanks. So it's something on my end. Perhaps some tweak done by
Linux Mint or Ubuntu.
Or something in my own set up.

Forgot to mention that I would have tested to open the docx file in Word,
but I can't do that since I don't have it installed (I don't have Windows).
My operating system is Ubuntu 14.04 at the moment (I'm planning to switch
to ArchLinux, that's why I didn't bother to install a newer Ubuntu). I
tested this with LibreOffice 5.2.6.2. I have a couple of other versions of
LibreOffice installed as well, so maybe I could test with your version as
well, if you tell me which one it is.

Kind regards

Johnny Rosenberg

#16

Well none of that worked. :confused:

However, I can save as .xlsx and manipulate it in Office 2010. I can
confirm my copy of LibreOffice is creating unusable files in Office 2010,
and probably 2013 as well.

So I guess I'll send him a .xlsx invoice, going forward.

I suspect I have a bad configuration file or setting. I'll install a clean,
newer Mint release on a spare partition of two, and test a fresh
Libreoffice in a fresh and clean install and see if this problem goes away.
Probably some old configuration setting that I kept in an update, that I
should have rejected, removed, or changed.

Thanks everyone for trying to help.

#17

something I often do is save as a file. you get to specify the file
name and location and can save as a .pdf. I think most folks can read
that.

D

#18

Yes, most people can read a pdf. That's not the issue here.

The issue is a customer wants to copy and paste the contents of the invoice
for his own bookkeeping processes. Copy and pasting from a pdf is not the
same as copy and paste from a spreadsheet. I have a specific need to save a
copy as a Microsoft Office readable format. I have been saving as a copy
for years as a Microsoft Word document for this one client, and it has
worked until recently. Most likely I did an upgrade on Libre Office and
broke something. I have found a solution, that saving only the spreadsheet
portion and sending that as an Excel document will work for him. Until I
figure out what I broke.

#19

Yes, but he enters the data from my invoice into his own systems. This allows him to not have to key it all in, if he can copy and paste.

Aha! I think that is the first we've heard of that.

I can export it to PDF, and I have confirmed that I can copy and paste the text, from the PDF, but it loses its spreadsheet layout. I don't know if that will work for him. So he will be able to use it, but at a reduced level of productivity.

If he needs the functionality of a spreadsheet - formulae and such, and not just the data - then PDF will indeed not do.

I may just have to send him the underlying spreadsheet instead of the nicer format of the company invoice, or in addition to it.

That's exactly what I was going to suggest: that you might send him your invoice in its normal form and the data he needs as a spreadsheet. If he uses a recent version of Microsoft Office, either .xls or .xlsx should work for him. But you may still get back to your earlier solution ...

Well none of that worked. :confused:

I'm sorry to hear that, of course.

I'll install a clean, newer Mint release on a spare partition of two, and test a fresh Libreoffice in a fresh and clean install and see if this problem goes away. Probably some old configuration setting that I kept in an update, that I should have rejected, removed, or changed.

A simpler way may be just to delete or rename your LibreOffice user profile (whilst LibreOffice is closed). That should have the same effect.

I hope you won't see me as being unnecessarily critical if I say that part of the problem here was that you did not declare some of the boundary conditions to your problem in your earlier messages. It was not surprising that people offered apparently useful suggestions that didn't satisfy you. It helps other to help you best if you can give such detail up front.

Brian Barker

#20

So use a decent mail client that has a proper 'Reply to List' function.