Libreoffice won't save to newer docx versions

[vicgab]

Version: 7.0.3.1
Build ID: 00(Build:1)
CPU threads: 2; OS: Linux 5.4; UI render: default; VCL: qt5
Locale: pt-BR (pt_BR.UTF-8); Interface: pt-BR
Ubuntu package version: 1:7.0.3-0ubuntu0.20.04.1
Calc: threaded

When working on a document in Writer and going to ‘Save as’ the newer versions I get is Word 2007-360 (docx). This has been causing some problems because some people I work with only use newer versions of Microsoft Office (2017+) and when they open my files the configuration is all messed up. I’ve seen people being able to save to Word 2007-2019 (docx), but I don’t have that. What can I do to fix this?

Edit: 2007-365 not 360, sorry

Edit 2: regarding ajlittoz’s questions. This document in particular uses a lot of text boxes. It is a template for a contract, so I cannot remove the text boxes. I’ve managed to ‘solve’ the problem asking a co-worker to fill the document and providing her with the required info. Thanks for the info on using styles vs direct-formatting.

[anon73440385]

Word 2007-360 (docx).

The export filter is “Word 2007-365 (docx)”, and this is name has been introduced (as far as I know) to eliminate the requirement to change the naming of the export filter every time Microsoft releases a new version of its office suite. In other words: this one is supposed to be the most recent version of the filter and to be newer than anything else (it replaced the name “Word 2007-2019 (docx)” and hence you won’t find it any longer). If my knowledge is true: I’d consider any error occurring with this filter a bug, if the resulting document cannot be used with recent version of the MS product.

[ajlittoz]

I’ve not heard of a “Word 2007-2019” format. The mess is probably not caused by the variant of the save format.

Word claims it can open .odt file. First workaround is to send an odt file to your recipients.

Second check is to analyse how you use Writer. There are differences in concepts between Writer and Word. If you use styles, these differences can be somehow mitigated because Writer is notified in higher abstraction terms about your formatting. If you practise extensive direct-formatting, no matter how you tweak Writer, you always lose formatting when exporting.

Compatibility issues arise when a document contains sophisticated tables, numbering and other not so simple “objects”. Tell us more about your document structure. Do that editing your question and making clear what you’ve added. Don’t use an answer which is reserved for solutions.

[anon73440385]

[Conflicting edits - First comment continued …]

Last version using “Word 2007-2019 (docx)” filter name was LibreOffice 6.2.8.2 (as far as I could determine on my test installations)

[ajlittoz]

@vicgab: text boxes are the culprits. Text boxes are graphic “decorations” which break text flow. Never, never, never use them unless you are perfectly aware of the consequences, all the more if you’re a newbie and don’t master all the subtleties of such complex and sophisticated applications like document processors.

Text boxes are usually substitutes for ignorance of the right feature. Your “text boxes” are probably recurrent place holders for contractor’s name or other customizing data. This should be handled with fields. When such inserts are constant over the document, you enter their value only once in File>Properties. They are retrieved with a specific field category.

Text boxes are the most reliable way to mess up formatting as you experience. Text boxes are only tolerable in one-page forms designed for this sole usage.

[ajlittoz]

Additional info: text boxes have no direct equivalent in DOCX. No matter what you do, they can’t be forced into .docx.

On the other hand, fields are known both in ODF and DOCS.

[dick_freebird]

I am still having this problem (as of 20230318) on an up-to-date install of LibreOffice (7.4.5.1) and there’s more to it than text boxes. I can’t get a .doc or .docs to save with even a blank new document or a single “a” in it. My filesystem is clean, writable and under 2% capacity on every drive. And I can write the same files to .odt format in the destination folder.

Seems to be something funked up about the Word formats that has not to do with content.

[ajlittoz]

This is not a solution to the original question. So, please, delete this “non-answer” and reformulate as comment under the question.
If you prefer, you can ask our own question, as it seems a bit different from the one here, with a link to this one. To improve your chances for a solution, mention OS name, LO format (given) and save format (apparently .doc – what is .docs?) and describe more thoroughly the issue so that we can try to reproduce it.