Comment 4 for bug 273695

The issue you describe is by design. There is presently no way to set a default bullet style. The "default" button you describe resets the bullet to its default state.

Rest assured this is a known issue, and the addition of the ability to set default bullets has been targeted for OpenOffice 3.1. For the record, it looks like the next version of Ubuntu will include the current version of OpenOffice (Version 3.0).

Please reference: http://qa.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=9437

As a workaround, I would suggest you press F11, or select Format->Styles and Formatting. If you click the 5th icon on the top of the "Styles and Formatting" window, it will display lists and numbering format options. You can set up a bulleted list the way you like, highlight it, and use the button on the upper right (New Style from Selection->New Style from Selection) to save your bulleting style. You can apply at will with the "Fill Format Mode" button, or by double clicking the style to enable it.

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions.