LibreOffice Writer Image handling is right now too complicated, e.g. it is to easy to resize an image and loose aspect ratio (keep aspect ratio should be default – no average user knows: SHIFT+drag image border).
Are there any plans to improve LibreOffice Writer image handling in the near future?
Those are bugs. Please consider filing a complete bug report for each issue when you encouter them: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/BugReport
I can add a million more reasons to improve image handling:
It’s not a bug. It’s obvious that keeping aspect ration should be the default. LO is packed with the worst possible default settings, created by people who design, but apparently do not USE, a word processor.
Another terrible default is that the default setting is to place images ON TOP of the text, covering it up. Good luck resetting that to a sensible, usable default setting that will apply to all of your "documents’. It’s impossible to achieve.
I would take exception to the OP’s comment about what the “average user” knows. I’m an average, casual, non-professional user and I’ve known for at least the last 25 years that you need to hold SHIFT when re-sizing an image in any program, in order to maintain its aspect ratio. I consider that to be common knowledge.
The real question is “should default behavior of scaling images be fixed or arbitrary aspect ratio?” The answer is clear. No one will be confused by default behavior matching the most frequent use.
I really wanted to use LO writer to design all the text in a book but the program is laden with bugs and lacking in features, which left me deflated. (not imagescaling but many other problems).
LO is a fantastic idea that suffers from teething problems well into its teens. The reasons to use any program over others is its ease of use, stability and reliability. I think LO is on the right track in terms of ease of use, save a poorly written manual and few quirks, but stability and reliability are not there. If those who help create it stop defending or ignoring bugs and poor design, LO will become a standard, the way Linux did.
A new set of intuitive image tools would be a great feature. I also find that when I make a Impress or Writer document with a lot of images it slows down very badly. I don’t find this in most other word processors/presentation software. It would be great if images were optimized for screen in some way to ensure good performance.
Not to mention that images will often not stay where you place them in a document even if you choose Position under Properties>Options.