Styles & formatting menu vanished

[Tom]

Dear Everybody

At present, I use Open Office Writer at Kubuntu Intrepid (8.10). Version number: 2.4.1. This is a quite new version, I think. Till yesterday, the STYLES AND FORMATTING menu worked perfectly well for me. I use it frequently. But ever since today, I do not at any more manage to access this menu: not via the icon, also not via FORMAT > Styles and formatting, also not via F11. I still do see the Styles and formatting icon via the formatting toolbar. (VIEW > Toolbars > Formatting). However, in the field, immediately next to the toolbar, I can click at only a number of profiles - standard, heading 1 and a few more. But the tabs via which I can choose for the page and numbering profiles, have completely vanished. I do also not any more manage to unfix or fix the styles and formatting icon - it is completely stuck where it is now. Who can help me out of this stagnation? Is there any bug related to this issue?

Thanks for your answers. Respectfully Yours,

Bas roufs.

[Bas Roufs (basroufs)]

The problem still not has been satisfactorily resolved!! Several very practical functions I used to access via 'Styles and formatting' seem to have vanished. By example the connection I could make between the headings and the numbering system - another tab in the 'Styles and formatting" menu in previous versions of Writer. By means of 'Numbering 1' in combination with the headings I could work with paragraph numbers - heading 1 worked with one level ("Paragraph 1"), heading 2 worked with two levels ("Subparagraph 1.1"), heading 3 with three levels (1.1.1.), etc.
In the same document I could even combine e.g. "numbering 1" for paragraph numbers with "numbering 2" for numbers for the provisions in some legal document, like this:

Provision 1 - Basics
1.1. Text, text, text
1.2. Text, text, text.

Provision 2 - Details
2.1. Text, text, text.
2.2. Text, text, text.

If I would insert a new provision in between 1 and 2, Provision 2 would automatically become 3, 2.1. would become 3.1.

But ever since OpenOffice has been upgraded to it's latest version, I simply do not manage any more to access such functions. Please, reply!

[Chris Cheney (ccheney)]

Do you still have this problem with the new version of OOo in the ppa at https://launchpad.net/~openoffice-pkgs/+archive ?

[Bas Roufs (basroufs)]

> Do you still have this problem with the new version of OOo in the ppa at
> https://launchpad.net/~openoffice-pkgs/+archive ?

A few days ago I installed exactly the same new version of O.0. in
exactly the same Kubuntu 8.10, but at another computer, a laptop.
There, I did find again the complete styles and formatting menu.
So, the question remains what happened with OO writer the desktop PC,
and especially, how to fix the problem with the vanished styles and
formatting menu there. Could it be a viable option to un-install and
then re-install OO Writer? If so, how?

Thx. for replying,

Bas Roufs.

--
===============
Viaconsensus
Bas G. Roufs M.A.
Van 't Hoffstraat 1
NL-3514 VT Utrecht
M. +31.6.446.835.10
T. +31.30.785.20.40
<email address hidden>
===============

[Chris Cheney (ccheney)]

Bas,

If it works fine on one system but not another with the same version of OOo then perhaps moving/removing the ~/.openoffice.org2 and ~/.openoffice.org directories would help resolve the problem.

Thanks,

Chris Cheney

[Bas Roufs (basroufs)]

Hello Chris

> If it works fine on one system but not another with the same version of
> OOo then perhaps moving/removing the ~/.openoffice.org2 and
> ~/.openoffice.org directories would help resolve the problem.

In which way would you recommend me to do so? Apt-get purge as root
and reinstall via synaptic or adept?

Thx., resp. yours,
Bas.

--
===============
Viaconsensus
Bas G. Roufs M.A.
Van 't Hoffstraat 1
NL-3514 VT Utrecht
M. +31.6.446.835.10
T. +31.30.785.20.40
<email address hidden>
===============

[Chris Cheney (ccheney)]

You just type in a terminal window:

rm -rf ~/.openoffice.org ~/.openoffice.org2

Be careful when using 'rm -rf' in general because if you typo you can remove things you should not.

Chris

[Chris Cheney (ccheney)]

We are closing this bug report because it lacks the information we need to investigate the problem, as described in the previous comments. Please reopen it if you can give us the missing information, and don't hesitate to submit bug reports in the future. To reopen the bug report you can click on the current status, under the Status column, and change the Status back to "New". Thanks again!

[Bas Roufs (basroufs)]

Hello Chris and everybody

> We are closing this bug report because it lacks the information we need
> to investigate the problem, as described in the previous comments.....

Recently I carried out an 'install from scratch' at a laptop, from
O.O. Writer 2.4.1., together with the rest of the Kubuntu 8.10 distro.
The first working sessions at that configuration revealed that O.O.
Writer does function properly there, including the 'Styles and
Formatting Menu'. So, I took into account that experience when fixing
the problem at the desktop - the problem reported to you via the
dossier "Bug #317195". I DID manage to solve it as follows: simply
removing and immediately reinstalling OpenOffice.org. First I removed
the existing OpenOffice configuration via a terminal command suggested
by you:
rm -rf ~/.openoffice.org ~/.openoffice.org2
Then, I gave in this command: "sudo apt-get install openoffice.org".
After giving in my root password, the rest of the re-installation
process went on smoothly. In the freshly installed O.O. Writer at the
desktop, the 'styles and formatting' menu functions perfectly well.
Probably, the problem has come into being after changing a few
settings within OO Writer via TOOLS>OPTIONS>OpenOffice
Writer>Formatting aids. But I cannot reconstruct any more which
mistake I made exactly. However it may be: it is perfectly OK for me
to close down the dossier "Bug #317195", because the problem has been
solved now anyway. The only question remaining now is: is there a way
to file the experience described above, in such a way that it can also
be useful by others who might experience the same problem?

Respectfully yours,

Bas Roufs..

--
===============
Viaconsensus
Bas G. Roufs M.A.
Van 't Hoffstraat 1
NL-3514 VT Utrecht
M. +31.6.446.835.10
T. +31.30.785.20.40
<email address hidden>
===============

[Bas Roufs (basroufs)]

Hello Chris and everybody

> We are closing this bug report because it lacks the information we need
> to investigate the problem, as described in the previous comments.....

Recently I carried out an 'install from scratch' at a laptop, from
O.O. Writer 2.4.1., together with the rest of the Kubuntu 8.10 distro.
The first working sessions at that configuration revealed that O.O.
Writer does function properly there, including the 'Styles and
Formatting Menu'. So, I took into account that experience when fixing
the problem at the desktop - the problem reported to you via the
dossier "Bug #317195". I DID manage to solve it as follows: simply
removing and immediately reinstalling OpenOffice.org. First I removed
the existing OpenOffice configuration via a terminal command suggested
by you:
rm -rf ~/.openoffice.org ~/.openoffice.org2
Then, I gave in this command: "sudo apt-get install openoffice.org".
After giving in my root password, the rest of the re-installation
process went on smoothly. In the freshly installed O.O. Writer at the
desktop, the 'styles and formatting' menu functions perfectly well.
Probably, the problem has come into being after changing a few
settings within OO Writer via TOOLS>OPTIONS>OpenOffice
Writer>Formatting aids. But I cannot reconstruct any more which
mistake I made exactly. However it may be: it is perfectly OK for me
to close down the dossier "Bug #317195", because the problem has been
solved now anyway. The only question remaining now is: is there a way
to file the experience described above, in such a way that it can also
be useful by others who might experience the same problem?

Respectfully yours,

Bas Roufs..

[Tom (tom6)]

Hi again

As you posted this as a Question and as a bug-report people are now automatically given your answer in a list with other questions and/or bug-reports whenever they post a new bug-report or question about OpenOffice. It's why it is better to post a bug-report rather than to possibly miss out on something that may turn out to be widespread and serious. Thanks for reporting this and for getting the answer back to us too :)

Many regards from
Tom :)