I renamed a long .docx file I had just finished editing with LibreOffice Writer for a friend, but in the process of renaming it, it was inexplicably converted to a folder with a number of xml files in it. How do I get my edited document back? Please help, it is an important document! Many thanks. (And, why on Earth did this happen?)
Completely impossible to understand what happened unless you provide a lot of missing details. Which OS you use? How did you “rename” (in which program? in a file manager? in LibreOffice by Save As?.. Which specific actions you did? which name (and type, if Saving As) you assigned?) What does “converted to a folder” mean - i.e. where do you see that folder? in a file manager? isn’t it just showing you content of ZIP (which is actually what DOCX is)… etc.
Possibly screenshots could help.
Rename to just add the suffix of .docx . Files of docx and odt are sorts of xml files
Files of docx and odt are sorts of xml files
… rather compressed directory structures containing XMLs and some other files - e.g., PNGs, custom data for extensions, etc.
Simplifying to reassure. Now clarifying; almost certainly, it was the renaming in a file manager that changed the appearance, not LO.
Thank you very much. In renaming the file I had ‘lost’ the file type suffix .docx . Adding it restored the document.
That’s great to hear. Could you please click the tick by the answer to show your question has been answered. Cheers