Sometimes I happen to find documents containing sections with elements that can’t be edited.
I attached an example I found. As you can see in the first 2-columns-section there is a black separator line that cannot be removed or edited (or added)
Indentations also work differently when they are simply a classic indentation, or when they become a series of dots, how can you change that behavior?
sections.odt (7.8 KB)
You must document -you about Writer (Tabs and Section) you can do it with the Help and Guides
You must edit the sections:
https://books.libreoffice.org/en/WG248/WG24806-FormattingPagesAdvanced.html#toc20
Not indentations. You must edit the tabs:
Given that the page style is Converted3 I suppose the section was inserted in Word and contains some carry over.
If I right click and select Edit Section > Options, I see that separator line is set to None but the line is showing. If you set a new line, close the dialogue, reopen the dialogue and set line to None, the Word separator line will go away.
The empty section is easiest to deal with if you remove it and then add a new one
As @EarnestAl points out, your document originally was created under M$ Word as a DOCX. This means the Word-structure is carried over and very likely the Word workflow-induced formatting too. Word is very poor in high-level formatting directives. Notably it completely lacks the notion of character styles which is replaced by direct formatting.
In addition you didn’t use paragraph styles. When you consider the number of useless sections and direct formatting, this 1-page document has a considerable negative performance impact on my computer (slow lagging scrolling).
Sections in Writer are used when you want a different number of columns compared to what is provided by the page style. Consequently inserting 1-column sections in a 1-column page does not make sense and is performance-harmful. This is the case of sections names Text Section, Section 2 and Section 3. In fact, Section 2 is a 3-column section but it empty – can be removed altogether.
I don’t understand this question. In Writer parlance, an indent is spacing at left or right of paragraph and also the optional different left spacing on first line.
I assume you’re talking about the “alignment” caused by pressing Tab which jumps to the next tab(ulation) stop. This tab may optionally be associated with a leading line, either continuous or dotted. This is set in the paragraph style properties when you create the tab.
Unfortunately, your document is completely direct formatted (Default Paragraph Style used everywhere with manual formatting superimposed). You can’t then modify the tab properties centrally. You must edit this individually (or by groups after selecting part of the text).
Apparently, your target document is a very large one. If you keep on working in the way exhibited by the sample, you won’t succeed (or it will take you a very very long time with a lot of pain). I recommend you read available documentation, starting with the Writer Guide followed by Bruce Byfield’s Designing with LO which clearly explains the philosophy and benefits of styles.
The advice concerning MS Word “carryover” has already been given. That is important to be aware of. Also the link to official documentation. Do read it! It takes a little time, but most likely will save you a lot of hassle.
Another reason for “MS Word avoidance” in this case: Word’s sections and Writer’s sections ARE NOT THE SAME. They are partly used for the same/similar purposes, but also for clearly different purposes. When searching for “section solutions” on the internets, make sure that the advice is pertaining to the app you are using.
The separator line element is a section property. Editing of section properties may appear a little convoluted. See the link provided by
The separator line, specifically, is a column property in the section. Select the Columns tab in the Edit section - Options dialog and set separation line style to None.
As also mentioned by others, you need to edit the behavior for tab stops in paragraph properties, preferably by way of styles. Find attached my slight edit of your sample, where ToC-row and ToC-heading styles are added.
Note also the difference between a tab (which takes effect for the specific text position where it is entered) and an indent (which is a paragraph property, takes effect for the entire paragraph, and may be inherited by next paragraph).