Libreoffice writer adds blank pages on multiple inputs

[Kevin O'Gorman]

When I have multiple .txt files on the command line and start libreoffice writer, it adds (many) blank pages to the documents. These blanks contain nothing at all and I have not figured out how to remove them. But they are included when I print them.

I'm attaching a file on which this happens. It contains an anonymized fragment of the original, repeates a number of times. I suggest you create two copies, called perhaps junk1.txt and junk2.txt.

I use the command "soffice junk*" to load them into the writer, and I get the extra blank pages.

If, however, I just do soffice junk1.txt, I get a document of the correct size.

I can do that of course, but it is still an annoying and inconvenient error for my workflow.

---

One hint to debugging: if I do this:

for i in junk1.txt junk2.txt
do
  soffice $i &
done

I see the problem. If, however, I introduce a delay the problem does not appear. Like so:

for i in junk1.txt junk2.txt
do
  sleep 2
  soffice $i &
done

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 18.04
Package: libreoffice-writer 1:6.0.7-0ubuntu0.18.04.2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.15.0-43.46-generic 4.15.18
Uname: Linux 4.15.0-43-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.5
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: XFCE
Date: Mon Jan 21 13:58:01 2019
InstallationDate: Installed on 2018-10-18 (95 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Xubuntu 18.04.1 LTS "Bionic Beaver" - Release amd64 (20180725)
SourcePackage: libreoffice
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Olivier Tilloy (osomon)]

I can reliably reproduce the problem, and indeed waiting for some time (sleep 2) in between doesn't exhibit the problem.
This seems to be an upstream bug, would you mind filing it at https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=LibreOffice&format=guided and sharing the link to it here? Thanks!

[Kevin O'Gorman (kogorman-pacbell)]

Description:
I use LibreOffice mostly on Xubuntu.

When I have multiple .txt files on the command line and start
libreoffice writer, it adds (many) blank pages to the documents. These
blanks contain nothing at all and I have not figured out how to remove
them. But they are included when I print them.

I'm attaching a file on which this happens. It contains an anonymized
fragment of the original, repeated a number of times. I suggest you
create two copies, called perhaps junk1.txt and junk2.txt.

I use the command "soffice junk*" to load them into the writer, and I
get the extra blank pages.

If, however, I just do soffice junk1.txt, I get a document of the
correct size.

I can do that of course, but it is still an annoying and inconvenient
error for my workflow.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Create 2 copies of attached file (text file) called junk1.txt and junk2.txt
2. Use bash command "soffice junk*.txt"
3. Note extra pages

Actual Results:
Loaded file has extra blank pages at the end.

Expected Results:
No extra stuff at all

Reproducible: Always

User Profile Reset: No

Additional Info:

[Kevin O'Gorman (kogorman-pacbell)]

Created attachment 149064
sample file (see instructions)

[Kevin O'Gorman (kogorman-pacbell)]

Filed. https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=123297

[Xiscofauli (xiscofauli)]

Thank you for reporting the bug.
it seems you're using an old version of LibreOffice.
Could you please try to reproduce it with the latest version of LibreOffice
from https://www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-fresh/ ?
I have set the bug's status to 'NEEDINFO'. Please change it back to
'UNCONFIRMED' if the bug is still present in the latest version.

[Kevin O'Gorman (kogorman-pacbell)]

Sorry, I do not have a spare machine to download the software.

When I first reported this to Ubuntu I got immediate confirmation, and they suggested I re-submit to you. If you have the latest software, please give it a try. It will either fail or not in a hurry. Maybe 5 minutes max will any downloading and directory prep you decide to do.

I set it back to unconfirmed.

[Xiscofauli (xiscofauli)]

Thank you for reporting the bug. To be certain the reported issue is not
related to corruption in the user profile, could you please reset your
Libreoffice profile ( https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/UserProfile ) and
re-test?

I have set the bug's status to 'NEEDINFO'. Please change it back to
'UNCONFIRMED' if the issue is still present

[Kevin O'Gorman (kogorman-pacbell)]

I have a better idea. Instead of inventing reasons for me to mess up my settings why don't YOU try to confirm it. I sent all the stuff you'd need to try this. If it does not add blank pages for you with whatever settings you have, go ahead and mark it invalid. If it _does_ add blank pages, mark it confirmed and go from there.

[Beluga (beluga)]

No blanks here. I also tried with the gtk2 UI backend as that is what Xfce uses.

Could you link to the Ubuntu bug report? You can input it to the "See also" field.

Arch Linux 64-bit
Version: 6.4.0.0.alpha0+
Build ID: 1ce1c26dd98e6477139e08d1ebe89fa950ff5fb0
CPU threads: 8; OS: Linux 5.2; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3;
Locale: fi-FI (fi_FI.UTF-8); UI-Language: en-US
Calc: threaded
Built on 12 July 2019

Arch Linux 64-bit
Version: 6.2.5.2
Build ID: 6.2.5-1
CPU threads: 8; OS: Linux 5.2; UI render: default; VCL: kde5;
Locale: fi-FI (fi_FI.UTF-8); UI-Language: en-US
Calc: threaded

[Xiscofauli (xiscofauli)]

A new major release of LibreOffice is available since this bug was reported.
Could you please try to reproduce it with the latest version of LibreOffice
from https://www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-fresh/ ?
I have set the bug's status to 'NEEDINFO'. Please change it back to
'UNCONFIRMED' if the bug is still present in the latest version.

[1000dead (1000dead)]

If it helps I don't think its specific to using the command line. I'm having the same problem of random blank pages being added using the normal GUI version. I think its a more widespread fundamental problem. This seems to mostly happen when there are a lot of pages and images involved. This is basically the same report I put in here:

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=98698

I'm using:

Libreoffice version:
Version: 6.2.7.1
Build ID: 6.2.7-1
CPU threads: 4; OS: Linux 5.2; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3;
Locale: en-GB (en_GB.UTF-8); UI-Language: en-GB
Calc: threaded

OS: Linux 0 5.2.11-arch1-1-ARCH

[Kevin O'Gorman (kogorman-pacbell)]

I just saw this. Sorry for the delay.

I use the version distributed with my Linux, and follow the versions
there. I'm never going to be at the bleeding edge, and I don't want to
mess with the support I get.

May I suggest that it's easier for you to do a quick load of the two
samples I suggested than it is for me to do an unsupported upgrade and keep
following thereafter. This is especially true if you run it under Ubuntu
or anything where you can use a command line like I did. This is a VERY
quick way to reproduce the problem or confirm it has been fixed.

On Thu, Mar 14, 2019 at 1:55 PM Xiscofauli <email address hidden>
wrote:

> Thank you for reporting the bug.
> it seems you're using an old version of LibreOffice.
> Could you please try to reproduce it with the latest version of LibreOffice
> from https://www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-fresh/ ?
> I have set the bug's status to 'NEEDINFO'. Please change it back to
> 'UNCONFIRMED' if the bug is still present in the latest version.
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1812754
>
> Title:
> Libreoffice writer adds blank pages on multiple inputs
>
> Status in LibreOffice:
> Incomplete
> Status in libreoffice package in Ubuntu:
> Confirmed
>
> Bug description:
> When I have multiple .txt files on the command line and start
> libreoffice writer, it adds (many) blank pages to the documents.
> These blanks contain nothing at all and I have not figured out how to
> remove them. But they are included when I print them.
>
> I'm attaching a file on which this happens. It contains an anonymized
> fragment of the original, repeates a number of times. I suggest you
> create two copies, called perhaps junk1.txt and junk2.txt.
>
> I use the command "soffice junk*" to load them into the writer, and I
> get the extra blank pages.
>
> If, however, I just do soffice junk1.txt, I get a document of the
> correct size.
>
> I can do that of course, but it is still an annoying and inconvenient
> error for my workflow.
>
> ---
>
> One hint to debugging: if I do this:
>
> for i in junk1.txt junk2.txt
> do
> soffice $i &
> done
>
> I see the problem. If, however, I introduce a delay the problem does
> not appear. Like so:
>
> for i in junk1.txt junk2.txt
> do
> sleep 2
> soffice $i &
> done
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 18.04
> Package: libreoffice-writer 1:6.0.7-0ubuntu0.18.04.2
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.15.0-43.46-generic 4.15.18
> Uname: Linux 4.15.0-43-generic x86_64
> ApportVersion: 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.5
> Architecture: amd64
> CurrentDesktop: XFCE
> Date: Mon Jan 21 13:58:01 2019
> InstallationDate: Installed on 2018-10-18 (95 days ago)
> InstallationMedia: Xubuntu 18.04.1 LTS "Bionic Beaver" - Release amd64
> (20180725)
> SourcePackage: libreoffice
> UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/df-libreoffice/+bug/1812754/+subscriptions
>

--
Kevin O'Gorman
#define QUESTION ((bb) || (!bb)) /* S...

[Qa-admin-q (qa-admin-q)]

Dear Kevin,

This bug has been in NEEDINFO status with no change for at least
6 months. Please provide the requested information as soon as
possible and mark the bug as UNCONFIRMED. Due to regular bug
tracker maintenance, if the bug is still in NEEDINFO status with
no change in 30 days the QA team will close the bug as INSUFFICIENTDATA
due to lack of needed information.

For more information about our NEEDINFO policy please read the
wiki located here:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/QA/Bugzilla/Fields/Status/NEEDINFO

If you have already provided the requested information, please
mark the bug as UNCONFIRMED so that the QA team knows that the
bug is ready to be confirmed.

Thank you for helping us make LibreOffice even better for everyone!

Warm Regards,
QA Team

MassPing-NeedInfo-Ping

[Qa-admin-q (qa-admin-q)]

Dear Kevin,

Please read this message in its entirety before proceeding.

Your bug report is being closed as INSUFFICIENTDATA due to inactivity and
a lack of information which is needed in order to accurately
reproduce and confirm the problem. We encourage you to retest
your bug against the latest release. If the issue is still
present in the latest stable release, we need the following
information (please ignore any that you've already provided):

a) Provide details of your system including your operating
   system and the latest version of LibreOffice that you have
   confirmed the bug to be present

b) Provide easy to reproduce steps – the simpler the better

c) Provide any test case(s) which will help us confirm the problem

d) Provide screenshots of the problem if you think it might help

e) Read all comments and provide any requested information

Once all of this is done, please set the bug back to UNCONFIRMED
and we will attempt to reproduce the issue. Please do not:

a) respond via email

b) update the version field in the bug or any of the other details
   on the top section of our bug tracker

Warm Regards,
QA Team

MassPing-NeedInfo-FollowUp