r/libreoffice

I'm new to libreoffice, trying to get away from MS.

• MacOS Tahoe 26.4
• LibreOffice Version: 26.2.3.2 (AARCH64)
• Build ID: 70e089b17412e4cb7773e41413306b17a2328c34
• CPU threads: 8; OS: macOS 26.4; UI render: Skia/Metal; VCL: osx
• Locale: en-US (en_US.UTF-8); UI: en-US
• Calc: threaded

There IS no doc yet, question applies to LibreOffice, not to a component.

CAN I HAVE MORE THAN ONE "PLACE" or can I only have "Desktop?"

Sorry this is elementary; If there's a "new user setup" document or manual, I would appreciate someone pointing me there, but so far I'm stuck at the beginning.

On my Mac, when I go to Finder, in the left menu I have a few folders mapped there, i.e. "Desktop" and "My Stuff;" my old windows brain thinks of this as desktop and c: drive. The files in My Stuff are categorized in folders for things like "Medical," "Financial," etc., generally things that are completed, no longer pending (like on my desktop). I'm trying to figure out where I set up Places in LibreOffice; I have LOTS of documents created and filed in these folders, but I can't figure out how to get to them from Libre Office. I guess I could locate the file on Finder, then use "open with" but that seems cumbersome.

When I open LibreOffice, go to File/Open, the only place I see available is Desktop. I guess I want to know how to "map" to other locations on my HD where I frequently save files.

Thanks for any help!

I regularly need to import and modify large .docx files. Doing this deletion manually would be insane. Existing macros didn't work at all. Here's a macro which does:

Sub DeleteConvertedStyles()
    ' Deletes any custom style whose name starts with "Converted" followed by digits
    Dim oDoc As Object, oFamilies As Object, aFamilyNames As Variant
    Dim i As Integer, j As Integer, oFamily As Object, aStyleNames As Variant
    Dim sStyleName As String, oStyle As Object, nDeleted As Integer, nTotal As Integer
    Dim sMsg As String
    
    oDoc = ThisComponent
    oFamilies = oDoc.StyleFamilies
    aFamilyNames = oFamilies.getElementNames()
    
    If MsgBox("Delete all custom styles named 'Converted##' ?", 4, "Delete Converted Styles") = 7 Then Exit Sub
    
    For i = 0 To UBound(aFamilyNames)
        oFamily = oFamilies.getByName(aFamilyNames(i))
        aStyleNames = oFamily.getElementNames()
        nDeleted = 0
        For j = 0 To UBound(aStyleNames)
            sStyleName = aStyleNames(j)
            ' Match "Converted" followed only by digits (e.g. Converted1, Converted42)
            If Left(sStyleName, 9) = "Converted" Then
                Dim sRest As String
                sRest = Mid(sStyleName, 10)
                If IsNumeric(sRest) Then
                    oStyle = oFamily.getByName(sStyleName)
                    If oStyle.isUserDefined Then
                        On Error Resume Next
                        oFamily.removeByName(sStyleName)
                        If Err.Number = 0 Then
                            nDeleted = nDeleted + 1
                        Else
                            MsgBox "Style '" & sStyleName & "' is in use – cannot delete."
                        End If
                        On Error GoTo 0
                    End If
                End If
            End If
        Next j
        If nDeleted > 0 Then
            sMsg = sMsg & "Deleted " & nDeleted & " from " & aFamilyNames(i) & vbCrLf
        End If
        nTotal = nTotal + nDeleted
    Next i
    
    If nTotal > 0 Then
        MsgBox "Deleted " & nTotal & " styles named 'Converted##'." & vbCrLf & sMsg
    Else
        MsgBox "No matching styles found."
    End If
End Sub

All Power to the Brotherly Chinese Communist Chatbot (which generated this code)

Does anyone know if the is a LibreOffice MCP server on the roadmap? So we can hook up LibreOffice to Anthropic Claude, ChatGPT or other AI.

As I understand it LibreOffice already has a good API (UNO Bridge). So shouldn’t be too hard to add a MCP on top of that.

Microsoft Office 365 already has connectors, so would be really nice if LibreOffice got something similar.

I have 6 days to solve this issue before QB locks me out. I thought I purchased a lifetime license for the Desktop version, but I got a warning yesterday telling me that I have 7 days to renew my subscription or else. Ugh.

After the most recent nonsense I've experienced from QuickBooks, I want to leave Intuit and MS completely out of my business accounting moving forward. I would love some help with either finding a batch of templates that would help me set up accounting for a small bicycle repair shop OR a guide that might help me along the path.

If there is such a thing as paid templates that offer form-based entries for new customers, items, services; PDF generation of invoices; easy generation of various financial reports; basic cash flow, sales tax, and so forth.

Thanks!

Found this detail coverage on TDF & Collabora dispute & fallout. The article is already past the subscriber paywall period, and is now available for everyone to access & read.

Digging into drama at The Document Foundation (LWN.net)
https://lwn.net/Articles/1066418/

I have 3 chapters with Heading 2 numbering using 1.1 2.1, X.Y where X is chapter number and Y is sub chapter. I have successfully created Heading 2 numbering in Chapter 2 but I cannot make the numbering in Chapter 1 and 3.

Numbering on Chapter 1

Here is my numbering on chapter 1. It starts from 2, I didn't use any Heading 1 before chapter 1 and the page style before chapter 1 is also different. Any idea why? I only use Index Heading children on previous pages. Not one Heading 1.

Also, somehow, Chapter 3 heading 2 numbering continues from Chapter 1 heading 2.

https://preview.redd.it/ujx8bxij972h1.png?width=398&format=png&auto=webp&s=f0ad93c1cb64aefbec28651452fd1d2eef9cac98

Here is my list headings. As you can see, chapter 2 numbering is correct while other chapters are wrong. At first, I thought its because I use Heading I before chapter 1 but after I deleted those and change it to other style, Heading 2 Chapter 2 still starts from 2.

Whats even weirder is when i promote heading 2 in chapter 3, it starts from 3.

Before

After

Tried following this community post on Ubuntu forum.

https://askubuntu.com/questions/309201/writing-numbered-headings-in-writer

But i still cant make the other chapter numbering.

LibreOffice won't open...

Hello everyone,

I'm having a problem with the latest version of LibreOffice. When I try to open it, it loads for a few moments and then nothing happens. The Task Manager shows that the program isn't even open. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling it, and even reverting to the previous version, but it doesn't solve the problem... I have a good PC, and it was working perfectly a few weeks ago... Oh yes, I'm on Windows 11 😅

I used Word for many years, growing with new versions. Then I bought a used laptop with Windows 11 and discovered that to type basic documents I needed to pay for later Words. I installed LibreOffice. This turned out to be a real hassle. It was nothing like Word. I loaded a Word doc and tried to edit it and save as an odt in Libreoffice. An example: I wanted to add page numbers starting a few pages in. The first attempt put "2" at the bottom of the first page, and then numbered consecutively. I am aware that in changing from Word some invisible feature might be causing this. I just wanted to have the first page blank, the second numbered "1" .. and so on. I got nowhere. All this was so simple in Word, but Libre seems to use a very different structural concept and language in programming, with heaps of add-ons, a common phrase "there are three ways of doing this" (but for me none worked). I am old - 79 - and where once I was on top of these things I find I do not speak the new language. I am being squeezed out of IT technology. Today I will finalize my doc in Libre, save it as a pdf, and hope that I can do the simplest page numbering in pdf24. Oh, I cannot find how to display page numbers on a document in Libre, that is, a display that does not get printed and is visible outside the doc on screen. With my limitations libreoffice is just dreadful.

I created a Write file and exported it to ePub so that I can read it in my kindle. I put in a Table of Contents that detects all headers. But, when I export it to ePub and send it over to the Kindle, there is no ToC. Any tips?

I was using libreoffice for writing for a while but then my laptop started to malfunction, however I managed to save my WIPs to a USB. When I get a new laptop, given that these WIPs will be from an old version of libreoffice will I be able to upload them onto the new laptop with the updated version? I presume it won’t be an issue but I thought I’d ask so I don’t get disappointed if I try and it doesn’t work.

Trying to fully move away from the whole office crack cycle and use proper free tools instead.
 
Right now I’m testing:
LibreOffice
WPS Office
 
LibreOffice feels more open/privacy-friendly, but wps office sometimes handles DOCX formatting better for me What do people here actually recommend long term?  Best practices would be really appreciated!

I've never been fantastic at charts, but something odd is happening today that I've never seen before. Below is a nerdy thing I'm doing for my D&D group...

Original chart

I don't want to fill the post with images, so - see on the left, there's the big brown segment with the 15000 in it? I'm trying to turn that red via Edit, Format Data Series > Area, selecting a red color + Ok. And that happens, but the ice-blue segment in the same bar changes colors at the same time and I don't see why.

The ice-blue is the segment I changed just before this one, but it isn't selected anymore so I'm not sure why it keeps getting tweaked. Any ideas?

Linux Fedora 44, KDE Plasma 6.6.5, Calc version 26.2.3.2 (X86_64), the file is .ods and I'll try to attach it. Please advise if you need anything else. TIA!

The file: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/m4vmpl0opl8n6ewp6arfn/War-Effort.ods?rlkey=vhqapq7j1ey3mwqs1380llony&st=7y043589&dl=0

While piecing my document together, I go to style the numbered subtitles but instead of just changing the font, size, bold etc, it creates a text box of it and totally messes up my numbering/bulleting. Please help. Im going crazy.

https://preview.redd.it/7xxcayg2aw1h1.png?width=548&format=png&auto=webp&s=2a41f0994241f1f0f87e0452c54fd27e3ef4e465

Just updated to Ubuntu 26.04 and now the TeXMaths extension (which I use extensively to prepare my lectures) gives the error in the image when trying to use it for inline equations.

Am I missing some update that will make it run, or it is just bugged in the current version and I need to wait for the extension to be patched?