Files renamed in LO Writer in Linux Mint

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#1

I’m not sure where I should post this question, so redirect me if appropriate.

LibreOffice has been my office suite for years on Windows. I keep my files (hundreds) in Google Drive.

I installed Linux Mint 22.3 on an old PC. Current version, 22.3. I connected Mint to GDrive and can see and access all my files. LO is installed, v24.2.

Here’s the problem: When I open a file, ‘test1.odt’ in LibreOffice Writer on Mint, it doesn’t load as ‘test1.odt’, it loads as ‘1SwZGeNW1CLTbEbXyc97t3g80K7eKheKN.odt’ or some other long string of characters in directories and subdirectories equally renamed. When I save it, the original file test1.odt is untouched, and a new file is created with that long string of letters and numbers.

What is going on? Why is LO seeing and saving the files in this way when Linux Mint sees them under their usual name? Is there any way I can stop LO from changing the name? I can’t navigate files whose titles I can’t make sense of.

Thanks for any help, and/or redirection

#2

How do you open the files, with LibreOffice open and then open the files or with the File Manager?

#3

I just click on the file in the File Manager.

#4

Try it with LibreOffice open and then open the files.

#5

@ejbSF
Open one of your documents in W$, erase contents leaving only a few characters in it. Save it on Gdrive under a new name.

Retrieve it from GDrive onto your Mint machine. Does it exhibit the same behaviour? If so, attach it here for analysis. I suspect something in metadata.

#6

Thanks for the replies. I’ve tried the following:

  1. opened the file from within LO writer rather than file manager. Still get the same results.
  2. Created a copy in windows (attached), deleted the text, opened it on the Linux mint machine. Same problem.

This problem isn’t limited to one file, every file I open in Linux is renamed.
Thanks for any help.

test2.odt (15.0 KB)

#7

what URL does it get ?

using Open Remote... ?

#8

I’m not sure what you mean by URL. The full file path?
I haven’t tried Open Remote, just opened the file with File->open per usual.

#9

Here Fedora 43 (Linux) with KDE Plasma desktop, LO 25.8.5.2

Your test2.odt file opens as “test2”. Have you transited the file through GDrive? I insist on the procedure:

  1. create a file on W$
  2. store it on GDrive
  3. retrieve it on Mint
  4. check the same garbled name appears
  5. if so, attach the file and tell the exact garbled name you see
#10

I’ve done as you asked. The file is attached. Here is the information:

  • This file was created in LO Writer 26.2 on Windows PC, and saved in Google Drive as test3.odt

  • File name when LO Writer opens the file in Linux Mint: 1AN6Xdqka1bp257qi4BYCQHtnJ49XebEB

  • Complete path: google-drive://ed.b***n@gmail.com/0ADmbUleiYWndUk9PVA/1AN6Xdqka1bp257qi4BYCQHtnJ49XebEB

  • Name after saved in LO Writer on Linux Mint: 1AN6Xdqka1bp257qi4BYCQHtnJ49XebEB.odt

1AN6Xdqka1bp257qi4BYCQHtnJ49XebEB.odt (16.5 KB)

#11

I don’t see anything special in the metadata.

IMHO, it comes from the way you connect to GDrive. It is likely that W$ mangles the filename on export to avoid name collision on the GDrive server. But the Linux utility is not aware of the mangling algorithm and can’t reverse the process to present the original name (or does not follow the correct query protocol to retrieve the name).

Which package have you installed to interface GDrive? Or how have you configured the mount point? If you didn’t, look at etc/fstab where all mount points are listed.

#12

So it seems, you use GVfs, and its google backend, to map GDrive to google-drive:// URI. Your problem is, that the URI is used to obtain the “filename”, and not some other GIO method that should be used for such virtual files?

File a bug report.

#13

I’m a linux newbie. I’m not familiar with the terminal, or mount points or packages. Just updating LibreOffice took me a bunch of searches and copy and pasting all sorts of terminal commands I don’t understand.
So, I don’t really know which way I connected GDrive to Linux. I’ll research it, but I just followed instructions I found on the net.
Mint runs brilliantly on my old laptop, better than Windows ever did. But if I can’t access my LO files there, it’s of no use.
Thanks for all your help.

#14

Making sure you're not a bot! #Graphic_Installation_(Preferred_Way)

#15

I used Linux Mint’s built in GNOME/Mint Online Accounts mount to set this up. From what I’m finding, LO has problems with this setup?

#16

If your goal is to transfer or share documents between your computers, use a USB stick for transfer (it is much more reliable and less painful than GDrive) or open a CIFS service on your Mint computer so that you can copy or share documents across your local network.

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