System-wide document template?

users
#1

I was wondering if there is a system-wide document template that overrides a
user's default template when opening plain text files. If there is one, I
will change it.

LibreOffice Writer just ignores my default template when opening plain text.

Try creating a new style and saving your document as your default template.
The new style is gone if you open a plain text file.

Nicolai

#2

I thought that Regina had helped you resolve this issue, but...

Yes, there is a global default template, but it is hard wired (coded)
into the software. That is what the user's default or any other template
overrides.

Unless there is something extremely abnormal about your plain text file,
the user default or any other template used definitely will format plain
text as set in the template. So the question is:
Are you setting the default template as described here?:
https://help.libreoffice.org/Writer/Changing_the_Default_Template
and in chapter 10 of the Writer User Guide here:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Publications#LibreOffice_Writer_Guide

I am cc'ing you with an example template (the list server normally
strips attachments). You do not have to install or do anything special
with it. Simply open it in Writer and then use the "Insert -> File..."
menu option to insert any plain text file. Your text should appear in
some ugly blue font, with double spaced lines centered on the page.

Please write back to the list and let us know if this works for you.

Regards
Dave

#3

She did help me a lot. I'm happy with my macro and the shortcut assigned to
it. Your method also works. But it doesn't preserve the filename, though.

I was just wondering why my default template is ignored when opening plain
text. After all, a plain text obviously doesn't come with a style. My
default template was supposed to take over and provide a style, right?
I thought so. But this doesn't happen.

This might not be an issue. It's just counterintuitive. Again, I'm fine with
workarounds.

If any one of you think this can be an issue, here is how to reproduce it.

1. Create an empty OpenDocument Text.
2. Modify its "Preformatted Text" style to double-spacing and serif font.
3. Save this ODT as a template.
4. Make this template your default.
5. Create another empty OpenDocument Text, and you will see that the
   "Preformated Text" style rightly conforms to your modifications.
6. Close your empty OpenDocument Text.
7. Open any plain text file.
8. This plain text file will not be double-spaced nor in a
   serif font. The "Preformatted Style" will not conform to your default
   template. It actually goes back to the hard-coded one.

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions.

nr

ps: There is nothing abnormal about my plain text files. They are just prose in
LaTeX that I want to edit using LibreOffice Writer. Writer is just great for
writing prose. Text editors are limited to single-spacing and monospaced
fonts, which is awful for prose writing.

#4

Template is not ignored, as it will be applied to any new document you
create, but not to a plain text document (or any other document based on
a different template).

A plain text document cannot have a template associated, as it is plain
text (so, only the document contents without any additional information
like font, spacing, margins, etcetera.

Best regards, Italo

#5

Yes, I use LibreOffice for plain text, or encoded text, on many different types of projects. For all the others, I use "Kate" on my "default" Ubuntu system.

Beyond the "plain text file" question, there is another question here, if I read the posts correctly.

You asked how to use your template "system wide". What do you mean by "system wide". All users on a single PC, or all PCs [Windows, Mac, or Linux] on a network?

If on many networked PCs, were you intention to manually set up the network PCs, or to have the template on a network server and each LO package go out to the "networked drive" for that default template.

I know that there are a lot of business networks that want each user's computer to have the same packages on it and maybe even use the same templates for their documents. This is an important question for LO to be part of a business network. Can you change the "Tools>Options>LibreOffice>Paths>Templates" to a networked drive or a file server? If so, how is that done, with examples? I do not remember if there are any references for this type of thing in the "guides" or on the wiki pages. Since this is one of the business "options" that may be required to deploy LO to their network, we need to have some good documentation for this, and other network deployment, question[s].

Since I do not use a networked drive or file server, I cannot test out any examples that I might be able to give.

#6

Sorry to disappoint you here. I don't have much to say about LO and
networking. By "system wide" I mean my particular laptop wide.

I was just wondring if I can fool LO Writer into displaying plain text
content as serif+doublespaced by default. Maybe by tweaking something under
/usr instead of ~/.config/libreoffice/

Thanks.
nr