Strange behavior in Writer 6.3.1

users
#1

I recently upgraded to LO 6.3.1 (from 6.2.6? - I always wait for the
.1 update before upgrading).

I noticed a new issue with Writer. In 6.2 and below, when I opened a
blank document and selected File -> Open Recent -> <file>, the file I
chose to open replaced the new blank file, either in the same window,
or in a new window and the old one was closed for me.

Also, when I opened a new Writer document and selected File -> Open ->
<file> (or <ctlr>O), the same thing happened.

In either case I only had one window open at this time.

Since 6.3.1 came out, the new blank document window persists, making
it an annoying extra step to close that unnecessary LO window since
the blank new document does not go away on its own.

This does not happen if I open a blank Calc window and select either
of the above two options - the blank spreadsheet window disappears
once I open the selected one of my choice.

This seems like a bug, unless it's a new option I have not seen. I
haven't done an exhaustive search of the options, but I didn't see one
in the General options, Writer options or Load/Save options. I did
see a 'show tips on startup' option which is checked by default. I
have unchecked that in every app I've opened, but that doesn't seem to
stop them. Is that another bug?

I'm most concerned with the persistence of the empty new document
window once something else is opened - that's not right.

Thanks.

Mark Richter, Senior Staff Engineer
http://www.linkedin.com/in/markrichter1
Registered Linux User #472807 http://counter.li.org/
FSF Member #12694 http://www.fsf.org

#2

Enviar: martes 24 de septiembre de 2019 a las 22:33
De: "MR ZenWiz" <mrzenwiz@gmail.com>
Para: LibreOffice <users@global.libreoffice.org>
Asunto: [libreoffice-users] Strange behavior in Writer 6.3.1

Since 6.3.1 came out, the new blank document window persists, making
it an annoying extra step to close that unnecessary LO window since
the blank new document does not go away on its own.

I have also seen this (Mageia 8). I could not find a corresponding bug report, but given the possible labels, they may be one. Perhaps someone on the dev team who follows this list could comment?

#3

It may be something that creeped into LO but has not remained. I am using 6.3.2.1 which is a pre-release version. I do not get the same result as you. The blank page disappears when I open an already existing writer file. So be patient, 6.3.2 will be released in the near future.

I have been working with the LO Documentation team for many years, and that is why I know how to download both the daily builds and pre-release versions. I had to in order to do my research for what I write.

Dan

#4

I am seeing the same behaviour that MR ZenWiz describes. The new empty
(calc) window persists when a document (calc) is opend from the last
used documents.

Using Windows 10 64-bit
LO 6.3.2.2

Regards

Helmut

#5

Looks like I made a mistake. A blank Writer document persists when opening a used Writer document using 6.3.2.1 but not when using 6.2.6.2. I may not have paid close enough attention as to which version I was using at that time. (I can actually run both at the same time.) Ubuntu 18.04

Dan

#6

Thanks, Dan. I just updated to LO 6.3.2.2 and I have seen the same
thing. However, I tested in safe mode and, voilá, the blank document
problem disappeared. Perhaps others might confirm this?

Minor gripe: I used LO for years with no need to change the profile.
This is now the second time in less than a year that this has been
required. Are we seeing big changes that make these things unavoidable,
or might they be avoidable?

Kudo: Now that I've griped, let me praise the new print dialog. It has
taken a long time, but it is great to see the print odd/even pages
option!

#7

I recently upgraded to LO 6.3.1 [...] . I noticed a new issue with Writer. In 6.2 and below, when I opened a blank document and selected File -> Open Recent -> <file>, the file I chose to open replaced the new blank file, either in the same window, or in a new window and the old one was closed for me. Also, when I opened a new Writer document and selected File -> Open -> <file> (or <ctlr>O), the same thing happened. In either case I only had one window open at this time. Since 6.3.1 came out, the new blank document window persists, making it an annoying extra step to close that unnecessary LO window since the blank new document does not go away on its own. This does not happen if I open a blank Calc window and select either of the above two options - the blank spreadsheet window disappears once I open the selected one of my choice.

Dare I say you may be suffering from Microsoft-itis? You talk of the issue being "with Writer" as if that is a separate application and not just the word for using LibreOffice on text documents. No: unlike some other office suites, which are just a collection of separate applications, LibreOffice is an integrated product, capable of creating and editing documents of various types. You seem to think you need to open Writer before you can open an existing text document. But no: you can open such a document from within LibreOffice or from outside it whether or not you have other documents open and no matter what type they might be.

So the real question is: why would you get yourself in the position of having that blank document if you didn't want it in the first place? If, as you say, you want to open an existing document, you can do so by double-clicking the document outside LibreOffice or by starting LibreOffice - not Writer, Calc, or whatever - and then using either of the techniques you describe. The "extra step" is not closing a blank document, but your choice to create it in the first place. If you have icons or menu items that offer to start "LibreOffice Writer" or "LibreOffice Calc", their function is to start LibreOffice *and* to open a fresh, blank document of the appropriate type: you shouldn't want to use them unless that is your intention.

I'm most concerned with the persistence of the empty new document window once something else is opened - that's not right.

If I was designing software and you'd chosen to open such a blank document, I might want to let you keep it.

I trust this helps.

Brian Barker

#8

>
[snip] Dare I say you may be suffering from Microsoft-itis? You talk
of the
issue being "with Writer" as if that is a separate application and
not just the word for using LibreOffice on text documents. [snip]

Or perhaps it is the poster's most frequently used application with the
LO suite and so where it was noticed? Dare I suggest you are over
reacting there?

[snip] So the real question is: why would you get yourself in the
position
of having that blank document if you didn't want it in the first
place? If, as you say, you want to open an existing document, you
can
do so by double-clicking the document outside LibreOffice or by
starting LibreOffice - not Writer, Calc, or whatever - and then
using
either of the techniques you describe. [snip]

Double-clicking on the document assumes that it is readily visible --
perhaps on a sloppy, crowded desktop? -- otherwise there are additional
steps. Opening LO certainly works as well as opening from within LO
Writer and is a bad recommendation. However, as I think about
alternating between creating and editing documents in Writer (my most
heavily used component of LO), going directly to Writer seems the most
natural way or working (at least for me). Furthermore, if you think
that this should be the MO for using LO, perhaps there should be no
links to open LO components directly from menus.

> I'm most concerned with the persistence of the empty new document
> window once something else is opened - that's not right.

If I was designing software and you'd chosen to open such a blank
document, I might want to let you keep it.

That may be, but it seems that the poster I have other ways of working
that make sense to us. Furthermore, why would I open a blank document
first if I were going to be working with both an existing and blank
document simultaneously? Opening the existing document first seems more
logical to me. However, all of that is beside the point because we are
talking about a change in what has been the default behavior and, if my
test in safe mode is any measure, is still the default behavior.

#9

Oops, it is NOT a bad recommendation (my apologies for not proofing
properly) -- with one caveat: the list one sees from the drop-down menu
in LO Writer is a lot more efficient than scrolling though the
thumbnails.

#10

Update:

I just upgraded to LO 6.3.2 and the same issue remains.

FYI, I don't use the file manager to open my files. I use a keyboard
shortcut that starts up LO Writer, then File -> Open Recent or ^O
(File ->Open). In both instances, the file opened on startup is
neither replaced nor closed but remains open and must be closed
separately.

This does NOT happen with LO Calc - if I open this with a (different)
keyboard shortcut, the do eithe ran open recent or open (exitsing)
command, the untitled spreadsheet opened on startup is gone once the
recent or existing file is opened. This is the old behavior with LO
6.2, and whether this is desirable or not, it should be consistent
across the whole suite.

I say it is undesirable to have the untitled new file require separate
closure when an existing file is opened. This is new behavior and
goes against 30+ years of most word processors not working that way.

#11

Have you tried working with a new profile as mentioned in my earlier
post? (See https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/UserProfile about
profile locations, etc.)

In my test I found that not even starting LO in safe mode solved the
problem, but allowing LO to create a new profile did. I would be
interested to see if others can confirm this.

#12

A new profile helps a lot. This specific problem went away.

Now the problem is that I lost all my settings. I imported a profile
from work, which was quite similar to my original and didn't have the
problem, but I have to make a lot of adjustments.

This is minor compared to the original problem.

Many thanks!

Mark

#13

You can try copying back parts of the old profile, bit by bit. You might
find you get most of your settings back before the bug starts. It's
worked for me with other bugs.