[libreoffice-design] Contribute to libre office design and test

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Hi everyone


I use Libre Office frequently since some years, and have exprience starting with wordstar, and then 
MS-Word etc. since ~1990. Actually I don't use Microsoft's office tools - no license, no 
willingness, and I write docx if required (for publishing in some journals) - with Libre Office, 
stored as docx. Sometimes I also use Open-Office, to compare it. This results in many experience.


A second one, I am developing a tooling to draw Function Block graphics, evaluate it inclusively 
code generation, and the drawing tool is Libre Office. It is enough proper to use it, but some 
details may be to improve. 


By the way, I am German, can read and write English, but of course sometimes with small mistakes :-(


Just, I have viewed to1) Copy Deployment- it is a quest of installation.


I have searched to the newest versions of LibreOffice, have installed the newest 7.6.4 and this 
version was bad. I was angry, it was in usage to insert images as link, etc. (see next), and I want 
to use the proven 7.5.9. 


But the official installation support is only via a Win-Installer.exe. Ok, this is for stupid 
people, they are happy if Windows cares about all. But I want to have the versions (newest, the 
older one, maybe more) in parallel.


I have tried it, it works, the copy deployment.


* copied the file from the original „Program Files“ to another specific location.


* Deinstalled Libre Office via Windows with remove the files on the orginal location


* Started my copy, it works!


* Copied the file to another computer, started, works!


* Tested have different versions, works!


The problem is not that it is not supported, the problem is, it is not documented.


The wording „copy deployment“ comes from a brainy colleague. I say this is a very concise 
designation for this approach. Sometimes the wording „portable installation“ or such is used, but 
it is not clearly what is meant with that. The copy deployment means that the software runs only 
with copying the program file folder. This is possible by a lot of tools, and it is supported also 
by a lot, for example for Eclipse for exampleeclipse-java-2022-06-R-win32-x86_64.zip able to 
download, unzip and run.


But it seems to be that such a “copy deployment” is seen as dirty. And that is a bad opinion. Why a 
software should be placed in a registry of an operation system – no reason. The copy deployment is 
usual possible since many epochs, I use it since also before 1990.


You should support and offer it as possibility in “expert mode”


2. link to images and relative links


I have seen that there is a warning on insertion of images as link (in the newest version 7.6.4) 
that it isnot recommended, unsafe, etc. Tested just in version 7.5.9.2 this message does not come.


I have the feeling that some people in the developing have the opinion, that links from the 
document are bad. Embedded images are better. And that is wrong! Why:


1) If I offer a text for publishing, the Editors of the magazine want to have images as files. In a 
high resolution. Because they have its own publishing process. If I write the text first with 
embedded images, I have a lot of trouble to extract it afterwards or find the originals.


2) If I am working on a documentation, sometimes I should correct the text, improve it, but should 
also improve some images. The images comes from another source. (For example Libre Office draw, or 
also from a snipping of a scope or what ever). It is very more simple to work independently on the 
images, update it on file system, then press “Tools – update all” in Libre Office, and have the 
correct result. Without effort.




I work with independent linked images since many years. In the past there was a reason, that 
MS-Word crashes on too much content, but this is not the reason to outsource the images. The reason 
is the working flow.




Please do not hinder working with linked image, improve it!




Relative links


There is a assumption that linked images and links to other documents are unsafe, because it is not 
guaranteed that the files are existing. This is generally true, but it is really true often 
forabsolutelinks. Whenever the document and the files are transported (copied) to another computer, 
work with it, and the locations on the hard disk are not exact the same. Only the stupid user (in 
German Otto Normalverbraucher) locates his files in the original recommended folder of Windows. 
Real true users have there specific location.


That’s why absolute links are bad.


What about relative links:


* If I copy the whole directory tree of a project, and the tree has a well defined structure, which 
is anyway necessary, the relative links work. Only on a dirty working flow they are problems.


* More as that: Windows supports since ~Vista symbolic links (which are supported from Unix from 
beginning), using mklink /J name path. This works proper, also on network drives, but it seems to 
be not familiar for some windows users. Also, it is sophisticated for the stupid user, but the 
expert user should know and understand it. And it is able to explain!! Using this symbolic link 
capability it is possible to place the link used by a LibreOffice document near the document 
folder, to have a simple relative link there. The responsibility that the symbolic linked folder is 
proper, this is in the hand of the owner who knows its file system. This work should be done only 
ones, if some is wrong or changed in the file tree structure. That is the advantage. That’s why I 
would favor this approach.


* But just, using relative links are supported from Libre Office!! nice!!. In the internal 
content.xml there are contained relative links if“Tools – Options”there“Load/Save - General – Save 
URLs relative to file system”is checked. That is proper !!!


* But in the document the links appears as absolute one, and I should look in the content.xml to 
see whether they are relative and how they are written. That is stupid.


* It may be better to see the links in the document (in properties of an image) as it is. 
Additional, nice to have, the absolute location should be written out (as only information, 
helpful). Then I know what is happen!!!</p>
* It means that the dialog box for “Image – Properties” on tab “Rotation” should show the real used 
relative path, should make it possible to enter or adjust a relative path, if relative is generally 
selected in theLoad/Save - General – Save URLs relative to file system”, and should show the 
absolute path which results in an extra line below this field. Then I know what is happen. And for 
the stupid Otto Normalverbraucher (the average consumer) there should be a hint to help.


* Why the file link is contained in the tab“Rotation”? In the past I mean that the file link was 
contained in another tab. In “Options” (should try in an older version). However, this fact shows 
that the link to the file is being neglected. And I'm afraid that it will soon no longer be 
accessible. Then I'll have to look for another Office tool


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It may be happy you write back where I can enter this opinions to discuss it in this forum and with 
some developers etc. - to improve LibreOffice in future.


Best regards, Hartmut Schorrig


My living point: Hösichleite 16, 91361 Pinzberg, Germany.


My phone 0171 1244373, my website:www.vishia.org




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