Re: AW: [libreoffice-users] Masterdoc/stylesheet struggles...

Wiebe,

That. Is. Wonderful - I can really do no more than share Harald's thoughts verbatim.
Together with Michael's (complementary? - I think so) thoughts on the XML structure, you summary 
makes this the most valuable thread on LO design philosophy I can recall (making me grateful that 
Rogier persisted in these masterdoc questions for months).

That said, such a powerful perspective makes me wonder if you have given any thoughts to the 
internal mechanisms by which styles are encapsulated, particularly the internal style tag versus 
the visible style name -- such that the same style name can be instantiated in multiple styles, 
each identified internally be a different style tag -- though visibly (through the Navigator) 
represented as the same style name, in a kind of style name overloading. Have you thought about 
whether those mechanisms are necessary:
- to make styles work basically?, or
- to compensate for lack of an enforcement mechanism to enforce precisely the 
template-as-sole-source-of-truth discipline that you show is needed to make LO work as designed?

Again: Thank you so much,
John

On 2026-03-30 15:18, LO.Harald.Berger@t-online.de wrote:
> Dear Wiebe,
>
> you've provided the best description of this topic I've ever seen.
> Even the otherwise excellent manual can't compare.
> Everyone should understand it now.
>
> Thank you so much.
>
> Best regards
> Harald
>
>
> -----Original-Nachricht-----
> Betreff: Re: [libreoffice-users] Masterdoc/stylesheet struggles...
> Datum: 2026-03-30T20:47:05+0200
> Von: "Wiebe van der Worp" <w@vanderworp.org>
> An: "users@global.libreoffice.org" <users@global.libreoffice.org>
>
> On 3/30/26 1:42 PM, Rogier F. van Vlissingen wrote:
> > And the funny part is, I switched definitively to what was then Open Office
> > ca. 2002, because I was trying to produce a book working with a master doc,
> > and it  made ms word crash repeatedly, but it all worked flawlessly in Open
> > Office.
> >
> > Unfortunately, it seems that we are having some issues, and I'd love to get
> > some intelligent guidance, and this seems to be a legit development issue...
> I recognise the problems you describe, but I think two different
> workflows are being mixed:
>
> free-form documents that are combined later
> controlled documents that share a single template
>
> LibreOffice works reliably for the second, but not for the first.
>
> What actually works (in practice)
>
> I produce forensic books (200–1000 pages) using Master Documents without
> issues. The key is strict template discipline:
>
> One single .ott file (the only source of truth)
> All .odt subdocuments are linked to only that template
> The .odm master uses the same template
> No manual style edits inside documents
> No copy/paste with formatting (use Ctrl+M if needed)
>
> When documents are correctly linked to the same template, Writer will
> ask on open:
>
> "Update styles?"
>
> That mechanism works well and keeps everything in sync.
>
> Important: if you want to change styles, do not edit them in the documents.
> Open the .ott template itself, modify styles there, save, then reopen
> your documents and accept "Update styles".
>
> Clarification about style names
>
> There seems to be an assumption that:
>
> "styles with the same name will automatically synchronise"
>
> This is not how Writer works.
>
> Each document contains its own copy of a style definition.
> Two styles with the same name (e.g. "Heading 1") are independent unless:
>
> the document is linked to a template, and
> you explicitly update styles from that template
>
> Without that link, same name does NOT mean same definition.
>
> What does not work well
>
> Combining documents that were not created from the same template
> Expecting automatic synchronisation based on style names
> Fixing styles afterwards with "Load Styles" (partial at best)
> Creating/changing column sections from the UI after content is written
>
> Those approaches lead to the inconsistencies described in this thread.
>
> Important limitation (real issue)
>
> The weak point in LibreOffice is template linking, not styles themselves.
>
> Templates are stored in the document as an absolute URL (in the XML).
> There is no support for:
>
> relative paths
> project-local templates
> configurable search paths
>
> This means:
>
> moving files breaks the link
> sharing documents breaks the link
>
> Practical solution
>
> To make this workflow robust and portable:
>
> Ensure all documents are linked to the same template
> Use a tool to relink templates when paths change
>
> This extension works reliably:
> https://extensions.libreoffice.org/en/extensions/show/27416
>
> For more control, this can also be scripted (rewrite the template URL in
> the document XML).
>
> I wrote a short note on this here:
> https://vanderworp.org/notes/libreoffice-writer-template-changing/
>
> Once that is in place, the system becomes very stable.
>
> Conclusion
>
> LibreOffice Master Documents are usable for large works, if:
>
> the template is treated as the single source of truth
> all documents remain linked to it
> style edits are centralised in the template
>
> Most reported problems come from breaking that model, not from the
> concept itself.
>
> Hope this helps clarify things.

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