I have a bunch of .png files that look like doc pages (I don’t remember how I got them), and they would make sense in a doc file, but I’m not seeing how to convert them into one.
I can paste the images into a doc file, but that’s not as readable, and not editable or text-searchable at all.
You can’t convert with Writer. An image is just an additional decoration to text.
However, if your .png have sufficient a resolution, you can have a try with various OCR applications to get a plain text version of the image text. Query the web with “OCR” and the name of your OS (which you didn’t mention). Be aware however that OCR is not 100% successful; you always need to check the result and fix the recognition errors.
From a quick look at my Linux distro repository, it seems tesseract has good reputation (available on many platforms, localised in several languages, good results).
Are you saying this because I should have mentioned the name of the OS I’m using? I think with LibreOffice being a multi-OS app, this isn’t a good default expectation for new posts, and if it were, then it should be a required drop-down.
Per your OCR suggestion, I’ll look into what I could try. I don’t think I need to mention my OS here for your suggestion, since you mention to search for one based on my OS anyway.
Since you make a Linux suggestion though, maybe you also have a Mac suggestion.
PS: My paragraph spacing (double newline) is not reflecting on the submitted post like it is in the edit box. (it’s only showing as a single newline). Sorry if it’s not as readable as I meant, this seems like a site bug.
Sadly no - I have not found a drop-down for OCR in the LibreOffice ask-site.
If you are willing to type a bit you could use google or your favorite search engine.
LO is indeed portable across platforms but there are subtle differences in implementation (amongst others, it must integrate smoothly with the OS, its UI widget collection, the window API, …). Sometimes these differences surface in daily usage, e.g. Ctrl key is replaced with ⌘ under MacOS.
Also my answer tried to find a solution outside LO because it is not possible internally.
From my quick web interrogation, I suggested tesseract because it is available on several platforms. There is a Mac port. Additionally, you can select the text language as it seems there are add-ons to improve text recognition when language is known.
From experience, double spacing is suppressed in comments. This looks like a voluntary feature of the engine (not a configuration option). To force extra space before a paragraph, type “<br>” at start of it.
You typed <br> to double-newline your paragraphs in this thread?
Yes (in the first item between “MacOS” and “Also my answer”)
More generally, you can use practically any HTML directive to “beautify” your post.
Exactly because LibreOffice is a cross-platform application, it is a good default expectation - and only if it weren’t, and only run on one single platform, then it would not be useful to mention your OS: if it were macOS-only, then who would need you to mention that you run a macOS?
It is not required, but it is listed in the site’s How to use this site.
Anyway, it’s good to just pay attention to polite hints given to you by experienced contributors who try to help you; and if you feel that something may be changed to improve the site’s experience itself, then post a separate question to the respective section.