Load Styles From File doesn't load Numbering

[deonholt]

I created a document with a unique numbering style: (Document A)
Level 1: Numbers
Levels 2-5: Different bullets; all different

To test, I changed some margins and font in Document A and saved it.

I created Document B, clicked on the Numbers drop down which selected 1. as the style with an indent. I then typed: Level 1 and hit enter. On the second row was now 2. and I hit the tab key. It shows 1. which was moved a bit to the right.

With this still open, not saved, I clicked on the little down arrow of the styles toolbar and selected Load Styles from the list. the Load Styles pop-up box opens. I selected From File and made sure all boxes are checked, Overwrite included. I then chose the Libre Doc with the numbering I want to use.
The font and margins changed but not the numbering.

Surely I cannot do it partly right … or wil it just not work with my numbers/bullets mix?

What am I missing? Thanks.

[mikekaganski]

What is the name of your numbering style?

[deonholt]

Numbers drop down which selected 1. as the style Numbered List and I selected the one that shows:
1.
2.
3. …

[mikekaganski]

… and that was not a style. Styles are named sets of formatting, and are managed using style manager (F11).

[deonholt]

Why then, do you think, is “Numbering” an option to load styles from a file or templates.
Is there another why to do it?

[mikekaganski]

In Styles manager, there are several styles categories, numbering being one of those. There you may define or change proper numbering styles. See Writer Guide at Documentation, ch. 8 and “Working with list styles” under ch. 9.

[ajlittoz]

The button toolbars result in direct formatting, i.e. manual one-shot “anonymous” formatting. The buttons for bullet and numbered lists are equivalent to Format>Bullet & Numbering.

Since direct formatting is not a named style, it won"t be saved in templates and can’t either be loaded with Load Styles.

Writer works with several style categories:

• paragraph styles: define the base appearance of paragraphs (e.g. Text Body, Heading 1)
• character styles: override paragraph style for words (e.g. Emphasis,Source Text)
• frame styles: define properties of an area containing a picture, secondary text, …
• page styles: define attributes of a sequence of pages (header, footer, margins, numbering, alternation, …) (e.g. Default Page Style, First Page, Landscape)
• list styles (badly names): define numbering/bullet level attributes (e.g. Numbering 123); must be attached to a paragraph style to be effective
• table styles: are not “styles” formally but a set of macros, which causes behaviour differences (IMHO it is better not to use it for long term maintained documents)

Only styles named in the categories (except table “styles” because they are not styles) can be loaded with Load Styles.

These categories translate to a different small icons in the side style pane toolbar (from left to right). To display the list of existing styles, you first click on an icon. Hover your mouse over the icons to reveal the name.

Mastering the various categories is the key to taming Writer and making it easy to writer sophisticated documents. Follow @mikekaganski’s advice and read the Writer Guide.

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