Libreoffice Base missing tables

English
#1

I am running Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS
Libreoffice Base 26.4

I have a database that works fine.
I am tring to make a backup copy and when I do there are no tables

I close my Libreoffice completely
I copy the 3 files:
MyMusic.odb
MyMusic.odb.properties
MyMusic.odb.script

When I open the copy .odb file it contains my Queries and my Forms but no Tables
I have also tried making a copy from within base by closing all tables, Queries and Forms and doing a Save As.
But the Tables are still missing
Does anyone know what I am doing wrong?

If I go to:
Tools-Options-Advanced I have Use Java runtime environment
and the screen shows Ubuntu 21.0.10 (Not 24.4)

If I run java -version at a terminal I see:
openjdk version “21.0.10” 2026-01-20
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 21.0.10+7-Ubuntu-124.04)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 21.0.10+7-Ubuntu-124.04, mixed mode, sharing)

Thanks
Dave

#2

Do you use an external HSQLDB? Then there are up to five files for the database and the one file for Base itself:

Databasename.backup
Databasename.data
Databasename.properties
Databasename.script
Databasename.log

and Databasename.odb

If you have only copied *.properties and *.script there are no data in the tables.
If you open the Base file it will look for the data file in the path, which is connected to the Base file. Have a look at Edit → Database → Properties.

#3

Sorry I should have listed the db type. It is an a HSQLDB embedded.

#4

There should never appear

If you are using an internal HSQLDB database all data are in the file MyMusic.odb.
.
The other “names” (properties, script, also backup, data and log) you could see when opening the file MyMusic.odb with a packing application. Then you could have a look inside the *.odb-file and see a folder “database” with all this different files (properties, script …).
.
Hope you didn’t install hsqldb.jar in the class path of Java?

#5

I don’t think that I installed hssqldb.jar in the class path of Java.
A quick Google search says to run to following to check
echo $CLASSPATH
When I run this I do not get any results. I also tried it with sudo and also got no results.
I am new to LibreOffice. I have been a longtime Windows/Access user but want to move off of Windows. I must admit is is a bit of a challenge at times.

The .odb.properties and .odb.script files are definitely present. Their timestamps are also updated if I open the db and close it But they are not just .properties and .script. They are xxx.ODB.xxxx

#6

I just opened Base and went to create a new db. My only option is HSQLDB Embedded. I know earlier you mentioned external. I thought that I should mention that I don’t have that as a option. Should I and should I be using that?

#7

If I run a SQL command SHUTDOWN COMPACT just prior to closing the db the tables are present if I make a copy of that database. Not the best solution. If this is the proper way to close my db, I am disappointed that I have to manually take this step before shutting down/closing my db. I’ll look into a macro to do this for me. Im going to make this as solved. Thanks for your input.

#8

SHUTDOWN COMPACT is included in LO since LO 3.6. So this should run automatically when closing the database file.
For saving data with internal database I have created a macro. It will copy the *.odb-file to the backup folder when opening the Base file. Copying a Base file while the file is still opened by LibreOffice wont show the data you have added since opening the file. HSQLDB will be copy in memory. All changes will be made in memory. When closing the Base file it will be written in the Base file…
Please show the version of LO you are using. Mine here:
Version: 25.8.4.2 (X86_64)
Build ID: 290daaa01b999472f0c7a3890eb6a550fd74c6df
CPU threads: 6; OS: Linux 6.4; UI render: default; VCL: kf5 (cairo+xcb)
Locale: de-DE (de_DE.UTF-8); UI: de-DE
Calc: threaded
.
You could get it through Help → About → Version information

#9

Hi RobertG, I am running
Version: 26.2.0.3 (X86_64)
Build ID: afbbd0df0edb6d40b450b0337ac646b0913a760c
CPU threads: 12; OS: Linux 6.17; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3
Locale: en-US (en_US.UTF-8); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded

I accepted the default HSQLDB Embedded when I started using Base. I should have done more research but I do remember the Firebird was listed as experimental and unstable so I went with the default. I have since done some searching and have been reading that HSQLDB is getting phased out in favor or Firebird, so I thought I would see if I could convert to that. It was not as difficult as it was to go from Access to Base. The short story is I have moved to Firebird Embedded and it seem to be working much better. In fact my queries seem to run faster and I haven’t had any crashes since switching. I have ~17k records in one of my tables and it would frequently stop responding and cause my entire linux system to go into fallback mode, I am running with 16GB of RAM. I am much happier using Firebird embedded.
Thanks for your help.

#10

Having an embedded HSQL, everything is stored in MyMusic.odb. We don’t know where the other 2 files come from. MyMusic.odb.properties and MyMusic.odb.script indicate that you extracted the embedded database at some point in time. Only you can know. Have a look at the file creation and file modification dates.
MyMusic.odb is a zip file containing a database directory with four files named properties, script, data and backup.
The status bar of your database looks like this if it is connected to an embedded HSQLDB:
Embedded_HSQLDB

It looks like this if connected to an embedded Firebird DB:
Embedded_Firebird_statusbar

It looks like this if connected to a stand-alone HSQLDB:

Extracted_HSQLDB
Extracted_HSQLDB705×45 6.31 KB

IMHO, the latter is the best database connection you can have with LibreOffice Base. It is fast, it is stable, it has a lot more featues, the HSQL database engine is upgradable, it may be set up as a multi-user database, it plays very well with LibreOffice Base.

#11

Base_Files
Base_Files699×138 27 KB

hsqldb-firbird
hsqldb-firbird880×301 58.3 KB

Thanks for followup. I have moved to the Firebird embedded and am MUCH happier. I have attached a screen shot of my files associated with the hsqldb-embedded, as you can see the timestamp of all 3 files are the same, I just opened that files a few minutes ago. I Also get the message to migrate to Firebird.

#12

Do not migrate to Firebird automatically. Most of your queries and forms will fail for one reason or the other. Turn off “experimental features” to avoid the migration prompt. I still have no idea where Backup, DateMusic.odb.properties or DaveMusic.odb.script come from.
Nobody can tell anything about your problem from screenshots. You should upload DaveMusic.odb rather than screenshots.

#13

I did not auto migrate, I selected create a new Firebird embedded db and copied my tables over, that worked pretty good. I had to build my queries and forms from scratch, I never completed my forms in hsqldb anyway so that was not a big deal. The backup files is a moot point now. I am not using hsqldb now. I just uploaded the screen shot to show that there were in fact 3 files (not just the 1) and that they all had the same timestamp. I’m good now. But thanks for the followup, I do appreciate the help.

#14

That’s the way to go. You can drag queries forms and reports as well. Some queries and SQL statements within forms need to be rewritten. The relations need to be re-drawn.
However, I would avoid all kinds of embedded databases. Embeddedness more of a problem than the chosen brand of relational database. With or without “experimental features” being enabled, there is a way to create a new external Firebird database:

  • File>New>Database…
  • Connect to existing database of type “Firebird External” (although it does not exist yet)
  • In the next step, you can browse to an existing Firebird file or create a new one.

Unlike external HSQL, which consists of 4 files, an external Firebird DB consists of a single file besides the Base document.

#15

Thanks for those tips Villeroy, I have another question, it might be a bit off the original topic. If I were to switch to an external db, I would need to install a server. I briefly researched that before and decided to go the embedded route. I assumed it was the simpler route. If I were to switch which would server would you suggest? Is it a lot to maintain?
Thanks Dave

#16

AFAIK, databases like MySQL or PostgreSQL always run in server mode accepting and handling multiple simultanious connections.
This is not the case with Firebird and HSQL (which might be one reason why they are embeddable anyway).
HSQL in single user file mode:

jdbc.hsqldb.file.user
jdbc.hsqldb.file.user1114×43 9.22 KB

HSQL in server mode:
jdbc.hsqldb.server.user
jdbc.hsqldb.server.user1075×36 7 KB

#17

Thanks :slight_smile:

#18

At first: A server-database does not need a dedicated server, if you only need one user. You can run the software on the same computer, if you like - then connect to “localhost” as server.

My choice for databases, where I may need more than one user is MariaDB, as I have it on my webserver and can use it on my NAS also.

#19

Thanks Wanderer. I am currently the only user and assume it will remain that way, but you never know. I definitely need the NAS operability.

Impressum (Legal Info) | Datenschutzerklärung (Privacy Policy)   Content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license.