Document prompt on template update

[eighty2]

It’s not only the prompt (on opening document after template modification) to accept modifications made or refuse their take-over.
These are the prompt along with save to file operation which effect this (at least if it concerns the “Keep Old Styles”-half of the prompt, the another one not tested).

I needed to learn it on empirical way while the expectation was to learn it from Writer documentation. Designing with LO, 2nd Edition tries to communicate it, but doesn’t in way sufficiently clear. Writer Guide 7.5 doesn’t undertake a try at all, rather it conveys the impression answering prompt would be sufficient. Writer Help seems to have no chance to communicate it as template modifications and propagation of those to linked documents apparently not its objective.

Template modifications take-over in document is a process which runs completely under hood, user gets only the prompt. It is that opacity which may lead to understanding this or that sort when related Writer documentation passages are read.

[ajlittoz]

And what is the question?

There two types of data in a template: styles and initial contents.

Initial contents is what fills a new document when created from the template. Later modifications to initial contents will never be forwarded to existing documents because it could destroy what you entered.

Styles replace the corresponding definitions in your document if you accept the update. Replacement is strictly based on style name. Styles which do not exist in the template are not affected.

I assume you expect the new definition of styles to be immediately effective in the document. This will be the case provided you have no direct formatting. I remind you the precedence rule:
paragraph style is overridden by character style which is overridden by direct formatting.

Consequently, if you adopt template workflow, you must also restrict yourself to use exclusively styles to format your documents. Contrary to common belief, direct formatting requires super-guru-expert skills to succeed reliably. Mixing direct formatting and styling is a speedway to formatting nightmare.

Direct formatting must be reserved for “exceptions” in your text, such as one-of-a-kind page break, numbering reset, but never to apply bold or italic, paragraph space, indents, …

PS: I don’t understand your remark about save operations. As far as I know, there are no questions there about styles. A save operation always copies the current state of the styles.

[eighty2]

Thanks for remarks.
In my mind: just answering the prompt is not sufficient to get user answer effective in permanent way. To have it effective in permanent way subsequent save to file is necessary.
Former completion of related Writer documentation reading didn’t provide me with this understanding. Rather I had the filling answering prompt is decisive moment which results in document change hard to undo (unlinking document from template) - “hard to undo” under assumption TemplateChange extension doesn’t exist.
The real behavior learned by a coincident.