Can the new Start Screen in v4.2 be reverted to that in v4.1?

[Xmetal]

Is there (or are there plans for there) to be an option for the new 4.2 “startup page”? I think it is too big and I like the old way (any 4.x earlier than the new 4.2 version) and think it looked good. I would like to know if there was a way I could still have 4.2 (and i am assuming future releases) but all I would have to do is maybe check or uncheck some option

(The new start page = default ; Option somewhere to change it back to the prior 4.1 look is somewhere in the program options) is what I really mean. If not, depending on how much was changed “under the hood” for the new look, I think it should be an option. This is a minor issue, as I use Libre Office regularly and love it.

Thank you
-Xmetalfanx

[Dr.Shaver]

I, too, would like to see the old start screen again. Personally, I hate software that splashes previously used anything in front of me. If G**gle Chrome does this, there is no need for everybody else to do it. At least Mozilla Firefox lets you easily turn it off.

[crispydog]

Agreed! Keep it clean, or provide an option, please.

[kdawes01]

I agree with Dr. Shaver! It may be a design that’s “in” but I dislike it immensely. Also, I don’t like at all the “Mac-ification” of those icons. No file extensions visible! I frequently have different versions of the same file name in different formats - Having them all look alike is no help!
The Start Page ought to be easily customizable by the end user!

[JohnDeereGee]

This new startup screen has relatively large icons & along the left side are the individual applications in uncomfortably large text. Why? It’s visual bling, but adds nothing to my productivity. I’d like to pick my files from an efficient list rather than scroll thru a bunch of big icons. Even Windows Explorer lets you change how you look at file lists. At least provide an option to modify the startup screen to something more useful.

[aperson]

Strongly, strongly agree. I want the most simple-possible screens. I need better user-facing logic and intuition for many, many things. “What file I might want” is not one of them. It’s simply irritating.

LibreOffice is a great product, but there is SO MUCH low-hanging fruit in terms of improving cross-app. consistency/usability. Why did anyone spend any time creating this “feature?”

[Prince]

The right place to request for an option to have the old startup screen (or for any other matter) is https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=LibreOffice

[Nars]

The easiest way to revert the startup screen to a “blank” screen (similar to LO 4.1) is as follows (Warning: this is a “hack” but it is easily reversible with no damage done. Also, it affects all users, since it changes an installation file):

(these instructions are based on Linux, but it should easily be applicable to Windows as well - only the file path conventions will differ)

Edit the file <INSTALLATION_PATH>/share/config/soffice.cfg/sfx/ui/startcenter.ui
(if you’re paranoid, keep a backup of the file).

Search for “all_recent” and you should find (from line 350) the following section:

     <child>
        <object class="sfxlo-RecentDocsView" id="all_recent">
          <property name="visible">True</property>
          <property name="can_focus">True</property>
          <property name="hexpand">True</property>
          <property name="vexpand">True</property>
        </object>

Make all the True values False as above to get:

    <child>
      <object class="sfxlo-RecentDocsView" id="all_recent">
        <property name="visible">False</property>
        <property name="can_focus">False</property>
        <property name="hexpand">False</property>
        <property name="vexpand">False</property>
      </object>

Save the file and you’re done.

(note that the indenting may be different but that shouldn’t matter)

This made my LO 4.2 usable without the ugliness or the security issues of displaying the recently used documents. It also allows you to keep the recently used documents in the menu and that way get quick access to them as before.

I only hope that in the future this “feature” becomes an option configurable per user.

[manj_k]

Great! That works fine for me with LO 4.3.0.2 (RC2) on Windows 7.

You can customize the background color via menu

Tools → Options… → LibreOffice → Appearance → General → Application background.

I have added another screenshot to my answer here.

[JoeAlders]

Great!! It worked also for me on W7. Cannot understand why they changed the start screen to this one
if you want some privacy. They MUST change this is the next version or at least leave an option to the old one! Till then I will wait to pay my yearly donation…

[Azzie8]

Thanks - worked on win7. Unable to save in location. Copy ui/startcenter.ui to another location - edit, save and then replace original file with edited one.

[WordKiller]

December '15, and I can confirm this to work in LO 4.3.3.2 under GNU/Debian “jessie” (8.2). Kudos to Nars for this solution!

[oweng]

Not that I know of. Refer the answer by @Nars as my answer is now purely informational. The new start screen is a design change that …

has a cleaner layout that makes better use of the available space, even on netbooks. It allows the user to have a quick glimpse of recently-opened documents.

[manj_k]

See also: Can I supress the images on the start screen?

[ArneMS]

It is not only extremly ugly, but it is also a security breach. Other people may se what kind of document you are working on.
So please fix it, either by beeing able to not display these StartScreen icons, or have them replaced by small icons.

[Prince]

The security breach issue has been addressed: https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=80755