part of revising a document is setting its name, yet to change the name, one must exit the document and rename the file, or make a copy with a different name and remember to delete the original. ‘rename’ is a fundamental operation
The advantage of using “Save as” is that it creates a ‘paper trail’ of revisions, which is a Good Thing for both operational and legal purposes. And having to use a separate file manager to change the name ensures that it is a deliberate act, not done by accident. You make a good point about ‘rename’ being a fundamental operation but I can’t recall any office suite that offered it.
yes, it would be good if having renamed the document was added to one revision history for the doc. Having n files with n different names is not a very good way to keep a revision history for a doc. Firstly it isn’t clear in which order they go in. If one does a file system level copy operation on the files then that resets the file dates to the copy time, and it becomes impossible to know the order. It isn’t a good way to do a revision history.
"it isn’t clear in which order they go in "
Easy. I use Save As with file names like doc-whatever-rev01, doc-whatever-rev02, etc. Depending on the project, using a date code (20190823) instead of serial number is also useful. After a while, these methods become second nature and help to keep me organized. And without need to invoke the File Manager.
There’s this feature called “Save As”. It’s awesome. It lets you save the document, get this, with any name you want. It’s not just for saving in another format. Amazing, huh?
Seriously, the ‘rename’ function you are looking for is available under “Save As…”
That does a copy not a rename. As such the old file name persists. Having two files for the same source leads to ambiguity, which is why rename is preferred. ‘Save As’ followed by delete of the old file is a rename operation, but as the process is split between the file system and working on the doc, there is danger of accidentally deleting the wrong one and of race conditions with saves.
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Most operating systems will allow you to rename in an open file dialog by right clicking on the file you want to rename and selecting rename in the popup menu. Keep in mind that if file is listed in the recently opened files list and you rename it you wont be able to open it from the recent file list as the name is different.
error prone. If the file is open, and this is done, then saved. It is a race condition, and unclear which is the new one.
I totally agree that there should be a rename functionality. Google Docs have it.
I like how the rename is implemented there, not as a modal dialog but as a toolbar editable box. LO should take notice. I even like the idea that you can see the file name all the time, not the full path, just the filename. Not everyone puts a good title to their documents, the filename is sometimes the only usable “title”.
LO should have show filename/rename file as editable box in the toolbar. This way it can be easily removed/added if user finds it useful or not.
Yes, I am aware you can rename file outside LO, in a file manager. It’s a generic way but because of it also most laborious. It requires closing the file; opening file manager; locating the file, which might not be trivial if you have loads of them; then finally the file renaming; then opening the file again. This is a crime against efficiency. Clicking, clicking, clicking, searching, clicking, …all unnecessary! Computers were supposed to be about automation and removing repetitive tasks, not adding them.
[sarcasm]Sure, you can cut trees with a pocket knife but wouldn’t be an axe slightly more practical?[/sarcasm].
UPDATE 2019-08-26:
I filled a feature request: https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=127121
And it was already requested back in 2016: https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=103694
Please go there and follow enhancement 103694 !
Also it would be great to add a server configuration tools to LibreOffice, to allow Windows ActiveDirectory configuration; deployment of different mail servers to Amazon; and performing security checks of one’s network.
Mike, I guess the Online LO needs such things, honestly I don’t know, I use just the desktop LO where such functionality would be completely irrelevant, unlike renaming documents, which would be useful for many users.
If you want to discus the Online LO please start another thread.