Comments lost in LibreOffice writer

Drengur · Newbie Joined: 18 Aug 2011 Posts: 1

Hello.

I have just finished writing pages upon pages off comments to a .docx file. Like an idiot I saved it only as a .docx file. When the recepient opened the file he could not see the comments.

I reopened my file and could not see them either. Is there any way I could retrieve the lost comments?

Thank you.

therabi · Super User Joined: 01 Sep 2010 Posts: 562

The translation to anything other than ODT is not perfect. Your best option is to save as DOC when your done to send to others, always keep the ODT format for your working copy. If you need 100% compatibility then you will need MSO.
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TMonk · Newbie Joined: 09 Sep 2011 Posts: 1

Same thing just happened to me - hours worth of work !
What is unacceptable is this: For as long as OO/ LO has the docx document open you are fine: all comments are there and you can save (WITH NO WARNING OR MOANING) but then as you save for the last time and close up ( AGAIN NO WARNINGS like "you'll loose all these fine comments you have made unless you also save in ODT format... ) it's all LOST.
A programmer that throws data away as so much garbage simply because the user saves in a not-fully-supported file format ought to be taken out back and shot!
At the VERY LEAST provide a warning.
Better would be to do that + automatically, from the moment the first comment is inserted, save the data in a restorable odt shadow file.

Comments like "Well compatibility isn't perfect" .... that is just so much arrogance kicking someone with both knees on the ground. I'll accept that compatibility isn't 100% - no problem - BUT DONT LEAD ME TO BELIEVE NOTHING IS WRONG AND NO DATA IS BEING LOST when in actual fact I'm being taken for a ride.

To the programmer: How about

if (comments exists && stupid-user-saves-in-DOCX)
{
Do something intelligent so the poor sod desn't loose data when this app closes
}

is that so hard?

it may be open and it may be free but by jay this sort of geek-thinking (or rather non-thinking) is exactly why MS can still ship their expensive rubbish.

Seriously short on Zen and possibly in need of anger coaching,
sincerely
The Monk
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ybrevic · Newbie Joined: 15 Nov 2011 Posts: 1

This happened to me as well, and I'm really pissed. My feelings are the same as TMonk!

My confidence is LO is really blown with this. How many other gotchas (errr...I mean minor incompatibilities) are there that will rise up and bite the unaware.

I recognize (and appreciate) the great effort of all the LO contributors, but if this is to be a tool to be used by those of us without those technical skills, we should not be hung out to dry without any warnings.

[quote="TMonk"]Same thing just happened to me - hours worth of work !
What is unacceptable is this: For as long as OO/ LO has the docx document open you are fine: all comments are there and you can save (WITH NO WARNING OR MOANING) but then as you save for the last time and close up ( AGAIN NO WARNINGS like "you'll loose all these fine comments you have made unless you also save in ODT format... ) it's all LOST.

Greengiant224 · Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:23 am Post subject:

TMonk posted:

floris_v · Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:59 am Post subject:

Your best bet is to file an issue about this at the LibreOffice website - you'll find that and more useful information here: http://user.services.openoffice.org/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=74&t=13490.
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peterroots · Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 2:20 pm Post subject:

If I try and save a document as .docx or even .doc a popup appears that says "this document may contain formatting or content that cannot be saved in the Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP/3003 file format. Do you want to save the document in the format anyway?
Use the latest ODF file format and be sure all formatting and content is saved correctly"

Of course if I untick the Ask when not saving in ODF format I won't get this message any more. But then I would only do this if I had a) read the message b) understood it c) thought I would be likely to remember it.

I rarely use Microsoft formats but have seen this, or similar messages for as long as I can remember using both OOo and LO
Just how explicit do you want a warning, while remaining polite and printable?
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J_L · Newbie Joined: 01 May 2012 Posts: 2

floris_v · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 9:38 pm Post subject:

There's a simple rule: if you need to keep compatibility with some software, use that software. OOo was never intended to be fully compatible with MSO. The developers don't claim that it is, the official download site doesn't claim that, either. Only the commercial websites where you can download it (sometimes not even free), make that claim. If you need to cooperate professionally with people who work with MSO and send you their files in MSO format, there's no alternative - get MSO yourself.
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J_L · Newbie Joined: 01 May 2012 Posts: 2

Hmmm. I do have a copy of Word on one computer, but would much prefer to use open source, so I have installed Libre Office on another computer. It's great. This is just an issue of user friendliness, so people don't have their time wasted - surely that's in everyone's interest? If a user opens a *.docx file, and Libre Office makes it possible to add comments to that file via Insert>Comment, it would seem to me to be a good idea to warn the user - at that time - that they will lose their comments unless they save to a different format (*.odf). A specific warning would be great in that instance. Also it might be nice to add a link on the general warning dialogue, linking to a list of incompatibilities. That might be too hard to implement and maintain, just an idea.
It's not that Libre Office should be 100% compatible with MSO, just that people don't like nasty surprises. Please bear in mind that a very high percentage of Libre Office users will be sent or need to send MSO files at some stage. Not much point telling them they should all get MSO.

floris_v · Posted: Tue May 01, 2012 10:24 pm Post subject:

It would be great, and it might be implemented if the developers had an infinite amount of time and resources. As it is, they have a hard time fixing existing issues in OOo/LO itself and adding new features. Neither OOo or LO is compatible with MSO 2007 and higher - you can expect that none of the features added to MSO in the 2007 version have related features in OOo/LO.
http://johnlamansky.com/tech/buy-cheap-microsoft-office/
MSO home and business now sells cheaper than WordPerfect standalone in the 1990s.
Please, make life easy for yourself and stop bringing in politics in business. Just make the decision that works best for you, regardless of your open source preferences.
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