Why an ".odt" document was opened with Libreoffice Draw?

English
#1

Today, I tried to edit one of my “.odt” format files, surely with the filename extension “.odt”, when I clicked on it to open it, then it was opened by “Libreoffice Draw” instead of “Libreoffice Writer”.
*?&^% why this software Libreoffice Draw can NOT recognize the filename extension? Why the odt file was opened with a Drawing tool?

Don’t you think this is an annoying bug?

I searched this issue in Google, noticed that this same problem had happened several times, but NEVER been solved properly. I think this is a bug of Libreoffice itself. The software SHOULD recognize the filename extension and open it with corresponding software.

My Libreoffice is the latest v7.2 version, running on Windows 10.

Please FIX this bug, thank you.

(Edited by @Ratslinger - language please even abbreviations.)

1 Like
#2

Have you tried restarting your computer (Start menu > Power > Restart, NOT Power off) since Tuesday when it was Windows Update Tuesday (second Tuesday of the month)?

If problem still exists, then reset your user profile, see LibreOffice user profile - The Document Foundation Wiki . I prefer to close LO, navigate to and cut and paste the user folder to a backup location, and then start LibreOffice again. I then copy back into the newly created user folder, my folders such as autocorrect, templates, wordbook, etc, but not config.
Cheers, Al

BTW, the reason I reset my profile regularly is because I try to recreate errors other users have found in order to try and solve them.
If you aren’t doing this but need to reset user profile frequently then maybe it is corruption from another source, e.g. failing hard drive, files on improperly removed USB drive, not shutting down Windows at night (it pretends it doesn’t need to reboot, but just like a tired toddler, it will throw a tantrum if it doesn’t get restarted frequently).

#3

Which bug please? I mean what is its number, with a sample document attached that opens in Draw for you, and clear steps to reproduce, so developers could reproduce and start working on it?

By the way, LibreOffice does not rely only on file extension: this is common for files e.g. to have XLS extension, but be in fact a CSV or HTML; and LibreOffice uses further analysis of the file content.

#4

LO doesn’t use extension to hand over a file to one of its components (Writer, Calc, Draw, Impress, …). It scans the start of the file to guess the true nature of the contents and, according to this scan, launches the “appropriate” component.

Then either the extension was changed or file was overwritten, or you have an OS issue (see @EarnestAl’s comment).

Some .odt files will not open in LibreOffice Writer, but will in PDF reader [SOLVED]
#5

You might be best to post a sample .odt file that opens in Draw rather than Writer. Cheers, Al

#6

What you open might be a PDF that has been created from a text document. Since you are running Windows, you probably can not distinguish file types properly.
See Microsoft Hijacked LibreOffice!

1 Like
#8

What sort of document? If it is a pdf then LibreOffice will open it in Draw.

Can you get your friend to send the document, preferably in .odt format, but otherwise .DOCX, .doc, or any of the many formats that LibreOffice can open?

If you are still having trouble you can post a sample here.

#9

And this is no solution to the initial question. So, you must not use an “Answer” for an “I have the same problem” complaint. Your best option is to ask your own question (citing your OS name, LO version and problematic file extension) with a link to this one, showing your searched the site in quest for a solution.
When done, delete your non-answer. Thanks.

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