LOwriter at first seemed to disappear post-reboot so i reinstalled it. when i finally found and launched LOwriter, it opened my docs with white font on black background opposite to how it was before.
step-by-step peculiarities/clues
for years i was able to search windows to find and launch libreoffice writer by typing no more than ‘libre’ then selecting the recently used ‘writer’ app, but post-reboot writer was no longer in the top 3 frequently used office apps. instead i see never seen before ‘draw, base and math’ as if the writer app had disappeared from win 11 post-reboot, so i assumed something non-human made it uninstall itself. did not verify this any other way.
so i downloaded latest libreoffice install 25.2.1 which installed with 3-4 errors (forgot details) and did not incl a launch icon on desktop (so i assume the install failed). so i ran the installer again in ‘repair’ mode which completed with no errors but also did not add an icon on desktop (seemed peculiar).
i did find a new item called ‘libreoffice impress’ (presentation) and launched it which opened a black background white font version of libreoffice writer i never use, but help identified it as libreoffice not libreoffice writer (also seemed peculiar).
needing to try something different and simple, i search windows again, but this time type libreoffice w’ (first time ever) which then lists libreoffice writer. i launch it. it opens LO writer, but again, it has these new inverted font/background color settings i dont use. when i open docs using ‘File > Recent Documents’ they all present with black background white font instead of the default opposite.
so it seems, LOwriter managed to get its settings significantly altered post-reboot without user intent or awareness which needs investigation.
now, i need to find how to flip the switch to reset whatever the writer app setting is involved to return the app to the default background font colors so all my documents will present properly when opened (no longer occurring) which appears to be the fallout of this ‘app issue’.)
so started asking google AI about next steps
To reset your Writer app settings to the default white background with black font, navigate to “Tools” > “Options” > “LibreOffice Writer” > “View” and then ensure the “Use default colors” checkbox is ticked; this will effectively flip the switch back to the standard color scheme.
but there was no “Use default colors” checkbox (presumably is a setting that got pulled or moved), so onto other ideas…
and Format > Page Style (paragraph style) > Font Effects > Font Color = Automatic (the correct setting, so nothing to change there) and there is no ‘Background Color’ either.
rebooted in safe mode changed nothing.
so, it’s time to open a case and/or bug and hope someone knows what this is and knows a fix for it.
the next day, another new issue presented itself which may be separate or related: the libreoffice writer (safe mode) toolbars all started blinking rapidly. video available.
