Duplicate Color Palettes in Drop-Downs

[AndrewB1]

I’m currently running LO 7.1.8.1 having upgraded the current PC all the way from LO version 3 (yes, it is time for a new PC)

Under the “palettes” drop down (in text highlighting dialog) I see a number of duplicated pallet names, but the colors on offer differ between identically named pairs.

My preliminary research revealed that for each palette there is a corresponding .SOC file, so I went hunting.

I find I have .SOC files in:
C:\Users<user>\AppData\Roaming\LibreOffice\3\user\config
C:\Users<user>\AppData\Roaming\LibreOffice\4\user\config
\LibreOffice\share\palette

The files in the “palette” folder all post-date, and quite different to, those in the “config” folders (which are themselves largely identical).
[I’m guessing that there was a major architectural change between V4 and V5+]

Can I, should I, remove the .SOC files from \AppData\Roaming\LibreOffice\x\user\config, or even the entire “config” folders, to clean up my palette drop-downs? Is there a better way?

Is there any risk of breaking old documents?
I’m guessing it would be safe as I would expect a document to save its colors internally as absolute values and not as names linked to an external lookup table.

[Hrbrgr]

I find I have .SOC files in:
C:\Users\AppData\Roaming\LibreOffice\3\user\config
C:\Users\AppData\Roaming\LibreOffice\4\user\config
\LibreOffice\share\palette

Regarding the user directories, it should be noted:
3 = for version LibO-3
4 = for versions LibO-4 to LibO-">4" (the designation was also retained after version LibO-4 until today)

\LibreOffice\share\palette

are the palettes supplied by LibO, but they may differ in versions. If you like older SOC files you can rename them and put them in the user directory.
Note: Problems may occur if colours in different colour palettes have the same name but are accentuated by colour. See also the link below.

Can I, should I, remove the .SOC files from \AppData\Roaming\LibreOffice\x\user\config, or even the entire “config” folders, to clean up my palette drop-downs?

The very first thing you should do is copy the (all) directories you mentioned and rename them (e.g. directory-OLD).
Then you should delete the older directories (from 3).

Is there any risk of breaking old documents?

I can’t make a statement about that. That is the reason I gave for backing up the directories. After the changes indicated above, you should make a test with a relevant document. You can contribute to clarification by posting your result here.

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Further informations on colour palettes

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Hint:
The more own changes you make to LibO, e.g. colour palettes, the more you should make sure to save the current user profile (directory).
LibreOffice user profile

[AndrewB1]

Thanks, especially for the link.
So, in the old days, LO copied the supplied set of palettes into the \user\config folder on startup, but nowadays LO leaves them in “share” and the user copies across those they wish to keep?
Time for some experiments.

[Hrbrgr]

…and the user copies across those they wish to keep?

The vast majority of users did not make this “hard break” between LibO3 and LibO7.1.8.1 and therefore did not have your current problem.