Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

When I started to work today using most recent copy of Libreoffice, I was not able to open a couple of files; the Ascii dialog box comes up, meaning the file is not able to be opened by writer. I tried opening it from different locations, tried rebooting, etc.. Finally was able to open the files perfectly well by switching to OpenOffice. What is wrong with Libreoffice and what can I do about it?

Very difficult to say without seeing the file. Can you upload it here so that LibO users can test it (see How to attach a document here)?

What version of LibO? What OS? You should give those information in the forum signature.
It seems that the very new versions of LibO are not enough checked regarding quality. They even advise not to install the X.Y.0 versions for production work! So it may be such a bug.

I guess we'll find out if you can post a sample file, but it may also depend on what file format you're using: .odt, .doc, .docx, or something else.

Was the file passworded?

Sorry for lack of information: was running Win 7 home premium, Libo 3.5.6.2. The problem happened on my HP laptop; no problem running same libo on my university desktop under WinXP. My files are always saved as .doc. There was no password issue. If this is a bug, I guess I will have to "back up" to earlier version of Libo or just stay with OpenOffice. Thanks for all the help. Will try to be clearer or more informative in future.

Working & Saving as .doc (or any format other than ODF, .odt for text) will always carry some risk. There will always be a higher risk of problems like this when you use the foreign file formats.

Safest approach: Work & save in ODF, then export a copy as .doc as needed. Treat these exported files as "disposable" and always make the definitive edits to the ODF version.

That does mean a bit more effort, but it's not terrible.