Graphic interface of Writer Very Unstable

contrawise · August 25, 2020, 3:36pm

Writer. Mac OS installations, now on two different machines, running two different versions of Mac OS. The interface is behaving so badly it is impossible to edit. Worked fine for about 3 months, then went wonky. This is my second query about this problem. Pieces of the editing window disappear and reappear with various mouse movements & clicks.

I had hoped the problem might somehow be due to some corruption in the OS. Installation was running on OS 10.11.6. I migrated the installation to a new computer, with a fresh installation of OS 10.13.6. Identical bad behavior. So Apparently not an OS related issue. I have uninstalled and reinstalled with a fresh downloads. No joy. I can only guess that something is left behind when the the previous copy was trashed, and is infecting new installations. I don’t have the intimate knowledge required to be certain everything is removed before installing a new copy. Is there a doc that lists all the places to look?

This is the Office app I was hoping to use for the rest of my life. But I am at wits end. Thanks in advance … !

anon73440385 · August 25, 2020, 4:07pm

Would you mind to mention your LibreOffice version this time?

igorlius · August 25, 2020, 4:26pm

Please provide some information of your installation.

The Information can be found in the Top Menu under “Help” → “About LibreOffice”
Just post a screenshot of the window if you are unsure what to post.

It should look something like this

anon73440385 · August 25, 2020, 4:33pm

I migrated the installation to a new computer

Does this mean, that you copied over your LibreOffice user profile along with your user directory? If yes - have you ever reset your LibreOffice user profile?

contrawise · August 25, 2020, 6:25pm

Sorry about omission of version info. Accidentally deleted it.

Version: 6.3.6.2

Build ID: 2196df99b074d8a661f4036fca8fa0cbfa33a497

contrawise · August 25, 2020, 6:34pm

The installation was copied to the new computer using Apple’s migration assistant. As far as I know, it copies all existing files, libraries, etc from old computer to new.

I have never knowingly reset my LibreOffice user profile.

contrawise · August 25, 2020, 7:40pm

Starting in safe mode, editing works as expected.

As for resetting the user profile …
The info on doing that recommends backing it up first. Using the help page at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/UserProfile#Backup_first
There are a couple of ways given to find the Profile. I’m not finding it.

The Library > Application Support folder has folders for a number of applications, but LibreOffice is not there. There is the System > Library folder, which - unsurprisingly - doesn’t have it either.

I was unable to find a Library folder under my user name on either computer.

Searching from the LibreOffice menus, as described in the document - starting with “Tools” - there is no “Options” item. So the given path breaks down at that point. Is this perhaps outdated info?

I seriously doubt that there is anything in my profile that I would miss if I simply reset it. I don’t believe I have made any use of any of the options listed as Profile Folders.

contrawise · August 25, 2020, 8:06pm

Problem is fixed. I found the User Folder and replaced the Profile. I set my system up, ages ago, so that the User Library always showed. Somehow, that got undone. And I had forgotten completely that the User Library is hidden by default! Why, oh why, does Apple do that?!?!

contrawise · August 25, 2020, 8:13pm

I think some revision is in order for the document:

https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/UserProfile#Backup_first

The info for the Menu Path to find the User Profile is incorrect for the current version.

anon73440385 · August 25, 2020, 8:52pm

The info for the Menu Path to find the User Profile is incorrect for the current version.

As usual on macOS always replace Tools -> Options by LibreOffice -> Preferences

contrawise · August 25, 2020, 9:24pm

How does one discover this “As Usual” replacement? Shouldn’t it say this in the document? I can’t speak for others, but it would have saved this dunce a lot of time.

anon73440385 · August 25, 2020, 9:29pm

LibreOffice is a community project depending on voluntary contributors. If you know how to enhance information, join the community and contribute with your experience. This document is yours as well …

mikekaganski · August 26, 2020, 7:14am

As far as I remember, the dialog appearing at the entry to safe mode does allow to backup the profile, or navigate to the profile, without any complex actions - just expand the Advanced section:

contrawise · August 25, 2020, 8:40pm

Restarting the app in Safe Mode helped to narrow the problem down. The problem was caused by a corrupted User Profile. Removing the profile folder causes the app to replace it with a fresh copy on the next restart. For some users, information and settings could be lost. Keeping a copy of the corrupt User Profile could aid in saving settings and data that are important to the way a particular User uses LibreOffice.

igorlius · August 26, 2020, 7:48am

Glad you found a solution / fix. for your problem.

igorlius · August 25, 2020, 4:34pm

Hello,

i have to admt, that i am not sure if i understand your completely, but
you can always try re-starting Libreoffice in “Safe Mode”

Hope that helps.

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