[libreoffice-users] Breaking of external links in Writer works poorly

I want to make a new version of a book I wrote in Writer around 2016. My master document has 16 
chapters with 68 images linked in (as distinct from embedded). The odt file is 6.4 MB and the images 
total another 5.4 MB, they are b&w line drawings in png format.

My standard practice which I've carried out many times over the last few years (but not in the past 
year) is to make a copy of the master odt file and then to break the links in that copy so that the 
images are embedded. Then I save the file and move the copy to a new directory and prepare the new 
edition.

This time, however, the link breaking doesn't work fully. To break the links, I go Edit > 'Links to external 
files', highlight all the links and click "Break link". Checking on Edit then shows 'Links to external 
files' greyed out and right clicking on any image and checking the properties doesn't show any path for the 
image. So all looks good and it appears that the links have been broken and the images are now embedded.

After moving to a new directory, the first 7 chapters were ok but the remainder showed missing images. 
Moving the file back to its original directory got all the missing images back again and Edit > 
'Links to external files' showed that half the images were, in fact,  still linked.

Various trials showed that breaking the links 1 or 2 at a time worked (as did right-click on the 
image and then 'Replace'). Attempting to break four or more links at a stroke appeared to work but 
saving, closing and reopening the file (without even moving to a new directory) show that the links 
are all still present.

I have repeated these trials many times using both LO 6.4.7.2 on UbuntuStudio 20.4.2 and also LO 
7.1.2.2 on Windows10. The result is always as I've described above. So I don't suspect a fault in 
my installations but I do wonder if something has changed within Writer since I made my original 
file in 2016  relative to the linking process?

Has anyone else experienced problems in this area?

Philip


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