Right now LibreOffice starts in a format where you can open a big block of white surrounded by gray as if you’re writing on a piece of paper against a gray desktop. I almost never use this format and want to just right into the format you see when you click “View - Web Layout” where the text fills up the LibreOffice window.
Is there a way to set this to default that way?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Is there at least a ticket for this option? Can’t seem to find one. I find it very annoying as well. Version: 4.3.0.2
I have filed this enhancement request as a bug:
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=103326
Please check on it occasionally to confirm if it is still required because sometimes a bug is considered possibly solved by updates. You will know because a ‘confirmation’ comment gets attached to the bug.
To avoid using a Macro, you can follow those explainations (it’s for openoffice, but it still works on libreoffice)
http://user.services.openoffice.org/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=50050
To put it short :
This works for creating new documents, and the layout is saved along with the file if it’s .odt, but when you open a .doc file it always opens in Print layout. 
I don’t know of any preset option in LO, but you can accomplish the same result this way.
Open Tools → Options → General and check “Enable experimental (unstable) features”. Then go to Tools → Macros → Record Macro. Once you click on it, macro recording will start so make sure you do only what you want to be saved, that is clicking on View → Web Layout and nothing but this. After that click the button “Stop Recording”. Save the macro in My Macros → Standard under the name WebLayout for example.
Now go to Tools → Customize, click on Events tab and select LibreOffice in “Save In” box. In the events list select “New Document” and click on “Macro…” button. Now choose the macro you created under My Macros and click OK. Do the same for “Open Document” event. After you’ve finished with everything, click OK to exit Customize window.
The next time you create new or open existing document, view will automatically be set to Web Layout.
This workaround is not an option for those who don’t want a Java Runtime Environment installed.
Like the comment from user “endolith” below, I found the template solution only works for new documents.
Existing documents always open in Print View, even if they were previously saved in Web View.
As evidence of this, if I open an existing document and change it to Web View, the “File/Save” option will remain grayed out, indicating that attribute isn’t stored as part of the document.
Good news: The above workaround works for me without installing Java Runtime Environment, because the web_view macro is already there: Macro Library > My Macros > Standard > Module1 > web_view
I’m running LO version 5.3.7.2.
More details on the macro:
https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/viewtopic.php?t=68077
Completely agree that this is annoying.
I created a keyboard shortcut (I chose alt + shift + w) to toggle between “web layout” and “print layout”.
To do it, go to the following:
Tools > Customize
then choose in the box that opens up the boxes
Category > View
then choose
Function > Web layout
and then
choose the keyboard shortcut of your choice from the box “Shortcut keys”
…
I don’t understand why this view mode is called “Web layout” to begin with – IMHO it should be called “Continuous view” or “Default view”, with “Print view” being the secondary option.
I would also like this. None of the solutions suggested here work as well as just having an option to have Writer always default to Web Layout.
I found a solution here :