Just started trying to use the default LibreOffice installation.
I was sent a .doc file and opened it in LibreWriter. But it doesn’t seem to display correctly. I can’t fill it in as it has inserted a load of boxes that limit text input. I tried printing it and oddly the print out seems much more like how I think it should look.
Below is a screenshot from Librewriter, and then underneath that a photo of the print out. Is LibreWriter buggy like this, inserting boxes where there shouldnt be any, or it a setting I can adjust somewhere? I haven’t looked at OnlyOffice yet but was going to, maybe that would be the same. I’d like to stick with as much of the default installs as possible while I learn Fedora, so if I can get Writer to be usable I’d stay with it.
thanks
In addition to what @jakfrost has said, when asking this type question the only way someone would be able to confirm or test what you have experienced would be if you were to attach the actual file in question or at least a link to it so others could compare their results.
It may easily be that the file should be opened with libreoffice draw or libreoffice calc instead of writer.
Ok, sorry. I heard people on here discussing the merits of OnlyOffice and LibreOffice recently so I thought I’d ask, but yes you’re right, I should (and will) hunt down LibreWriter community/support. Thanks.
PS…
well it’s a Word Document so I assumed it must surely need writer, but you know what they say about 'assumption’s
Your problem starts already here. When you get a document other than .odt you have to ask the creator of the doc that he should convert and test before sending you. That is why open document standards have been created.
Now you just converted it from a .doc without knowing how it should look like.
Exactly, and .doc files are different than .docx, so I suggest sending the file to us so we may be able to investigate. Even the libreoffice folks will require that before they can provide any information or answers.
Ok, that makes sense. But I am in the UK, and if you think I have any hope of asking the govt quango jobsworths who sent me the doc to convert it, well let’s just say I find that idea quite amusing
No matter, I’ll just print it this time and post it back! I will have to spend some time learning more about this stuff as it’s going to be an ongoing issue I suspect for me. thanks for the replies
Your call.
I suspect more than one of us could provide a solution instead of the work-around you propose, but it is up to you should you choose to try that.
Without the actual file we really have no means to assist.
Not really a call, i simply can’t share the file, otherwise I would as I’d love to know what’s going on! I’ll no doubt have a similar experience with a less sensitive doc in future, thanks
The Register lives off similarly amusing tales. Some countries have accessability requirements that have the effect of forcing governments a big business to use standards conforming document format. Ask organizations that support visually impaired users to about issues with .doc format government forms.
LibreOffice is the de facto successor to OpenOffice. If it doesn’t work in LibreOffice, you’re very unlikely to have better luck with OpenOffice. The thing about doc format is it doesn’t work the same across Microsoft Office. I once had a vendor send us a technical .doc document and my coworker couldn’t open it in their version of Microsoft Word, but I was able to open it in LibreOffice, save it to docx, and then they were able to read it in Microsoft Office.
If you’re dealing with a form, @computersavvy’s suggestion about trying LibreOffice Draw is a good one as it has better support for pdf forms, etc. You might also try saving it as docx or odf and re-opening it and see if it then behaves better.
Thanks very much, that’s interesting.
I have never seen LO Draw - notice it’s not installed by default. I looked up a few videos on it and it looks very complicated but I will install it and have a play to see if it does help display the file better.
Nothing in the images you posted of that file appears sensitive in any way.
Again we cannot provide serious assistance but only platitudes without the actual document to test in a different environment.
Another thing you could try (might or might not work) is use libreoffice to convert or export it to pdf then try the free (as in beer, but closed source, I think) masterpdf editor.
So, looking at your examples, I think @hamrheadcorvette has the right idea. It appears the table formatting from MS is changed when brought into LibreOffice. Liklely some fields are kept to expected lengths, such as date fields, or account numbers, etc…
I personally have had to use MS office files as per my customers requirements on several projects, some of which had macros or even visual basic scripts. It was the macros and scripts that were always the rub point for me, they didn’t usually translate well. As for the .doc or .docx format, I always open the .doc then before editing I saveas .docx. Just a habit I kept.
Correct, because the images i posted only showed the parts that don’t show sensitive stuff. It contains personal data of various people and since the document was created by someone else, I can’t send you the true original document without including the sensitive contents, hence the screenshot approach. I’d share if I could, as I’d love to know what people think. Another document will come along one day, soon no doubt.
