Writer corrupts tabs in headers and footers when document opened

LibreOffice vVersion: 6.0.3.2 (x64) on a Windows 10 PC.

Each time I set the desired tabs in header and footer to one 6.5 inch right-aligned tab in each header and each footer (four total as a mirrored layout is used), correct tab persists in that session.

However close the document and reopen it in LibreOffice Writer, and the tabs in each header and footer have reverted to 3.46" center, 6.5" right or center, and 6.93" right. Am using the .docx file format.

Welcome to the world of compatibility!

M$ Word and LO Writer are based on different concepts. These are correctly translated when using the respective native format but are “equivalenced at best” when cross-saving because some concepts are absent from the other format.

The best advice is “always save in native format” and only export in foreign format when transmitting your document to other people. This advice is worth with any application.

As an alternative, if you can’t/don’t want to save as .odt, try .doc. The older M$ format is known to cause less trouble than the newer .docx.

PS: Don’t post as Wiki, it helps no one and you aren’t awarded karma points, preventing you from accessing site privileges.