Cannot delete single line of text at foot of page

[PETERTHEEATER]

I have a multipage text document. At the foot of the last page is a centred line of text (which I inserted at some point) I want to delete it but cannot select it.

The text appears to be in a Text Box yet no matter where I click I cannot open the presumed box.

The problem text is outside of the actual text area below the Page Number (Added using Insert Page Number)

I have tried deleting text above and using DELETE at the last character space of the previous page and the first character space of the following page. Whatever I do I always end up with that problem text at the bottom of the page even if I delete everything to reduce the document to a single page!
Consequently, when I print the doc it is always there.

Clearly, I have selected something to cause this problem but what, I know not.

Using MS Windows 11 - Document was originally created in Open Office and imported into Libre Writer but so were scores of others in the same format which are OK,

Comments welcome but please give the full path if your suggested solution required selecting from Menu options on the Toolbar. Thanks.

[ajlittoz]

It is quite difficult to diagnose without at least a sample file. From a general perspective, it is usually a bad idea to insert text boxes because they are drawing objects, not text (despite their names), and they coexist with difficulty relative to your text. It is possible that this text box (if it is one) has been sent to the background and, if you have other “objects” at the same location, the object in the foreground is selected preferentially.

Have you checked with the Navigator (in the side pane) what your document contains effectively?

If you’re out of clues, attach a reduced version of your document.

While doing this, mention the exact LO version (like 24.2.34.56 – this is an example, not a real release number). Don’t tell “latest version” because “latest” is highly dependent on platform and update pace.

[Wanderer]

@PETERTHEEATER

even if I delete everything to reduce the document to a single page

Then save this version under another name and upload it here, so we can inspect that “box” instead of guesswork.

[PETERTHEEATER]

Thanks for the above comments.
I have ‘fixed’ it in a practical if unprofessional manner.
I selected the entire document CONTROL - A
Copied it to Clipboard
Opened a NEW blank document in LO.
Pasted from my clipboard.
Result was some breaks in sentences of the main text, easily fixed,
Scrolling down to the problem text I was able to Select and Delete it.
Renamed the new doc with that of the original but Version 2.
Saved and Closed
Closed original doc and deleted it.

[ajlittoz]

For the rest of us, it would be interesting to know the cause of the problem so that we can benefit from your experience. Can you provide a reduced version of the original for study?

[PETERTHEEATER]

How do I attach a document to a reply?

[PKG]

@PETERTHEEATER

[PETERTHEEATER]

Thanks Belltrag 6

Attached is a copy of the document, redacted, and reduced to a single page. The problem text is at the foot of page.

Windows 11 (10.0 build 22631)

Libre Office Version 24.8.2.1 (X86_64)

Ruislip AAP history.odt (14.7 KB)

[EarnestAl]

As @ajlittoz suggested, look in Navigator. There you can select the object (Text Frame 1) by double clicking the name and then delete it or change the Wrap from Through in Background to anything else.

I could also delete it without going to Navigator by selecting the last paragraph and the two above it and pressing Delete.

[ajlittoz]

@EarnestAl already gave you the procedure to follow.

Here are the conclusions of my analysis:

• you used a text box
  From the context you apparently wanted to caption some image. Don’t proceed like you did. First text boxes are external to main text and contents is ignored by all Writer functions (such as TOC and equivalent to build list of figures, …). Text frames are the ad hoc tools for side notes or information and they can use all formatting features which text boxes can’t (they are limited to a reduced set). Second there is a built-in caption feature which also numbers captions automatically.
• your text boxed in anchored to the last paragraph
  The last paragraph is very special: it can’t be deleted. It has also other special properties. Since your last paragraph is empty, it is next to impossible to select the anchor. This means that if you delete text backwards (with Bksp), your text box remains anchored to the last paragraph and continues to exist; symmetrically, if you add a new paragraph, it is added before the last mark and again your text box remains anchored to the last paragraph. The text box will stay in last position for ever.
• wrap mode is set to Through
  This makes the text box practically “transparent”. It is impossible to select it, even at huge zoom factor and clicking on a character stroke. This mode sends it in a kind of “super background” below any other object.
• position
  This is a mystery for me: its vertical position is set at 1.85 cm below the top of the paragraph area. It should then follow the anchoring paragraph when text is modified. But it stays locked at bottom of page. I must modify the parameters to recover normal behaviour. I suppose that the text box was located on another page and drifted to the present position where it became locked.

You also have a lot of direct formatting which could have played a major role in the mishap.

I recommend you read the Writer Guide to discover the features offered by the application. Above all, apply styles on your text because it provides a more regular formatting approach (with more power and comfort) than direct formatting. Note that styles are ubiquitous in Writer (paragraph, character, page, frame and list), contrary to Word which offers only paragraph styles.

[PETERTHEEATER]

Thank you Posters for you comments and the final comprehensive diagnosis. Yes, I musthave selected to insert a Text Box ignorant of the potential prolems in Writer, Lesson learned!

I do have the writer guide.

regards to all

[ajlittoz]

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