Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

I have a Mac , I was writing a paper that suddenly my laptop battery died, later when I turned my computer on, the recovery came up, but the version it recovered is a very elementary one , what should I do to recover the last version?


Title Edited. A descriptive title for posts helps others who are searching for solutions and increases the chances of a reply (Acknak, Moderator).

If OOo didn't offer you to recover the file, then I guess the only way to recover the last version is to retype it...

Check the backup folder of the profile (see [Tutorial] The OOo user profile). Else, if in the system temporary folder there are folders like sdftmg.tmp with a file with the same name inside, make a copy and rename it as .odt.

When I go to /Users/<user name>/Library/Application Support/OpenOffice.org/3/user there are 3 versions of my file when I click on them, It asks me what charachter set to us, whatever I choose the file is empty , it also happens when I open all other ooo files that are not related to the file and are in tat folder,they open as empty with whatever charachter set I choose

I dont seem to have a system temporary folder where is that?

The temp folder path is listed in Tools>Preferences>OOo>Paths.

When I go to /Users/<user name>/Library/Application Support/OpenOffice.org/3/user there are 3 versions of my file when I click on them, It asks me what charachter set to us, whatever I choose the file is empty , it also happens when I open all other ooo files that are not related to the file and are in tat folder,they open as empty with whatever charachter set I choose.
And I do not have the temp folder on my mac

You can access the preferences/options with the standard Mac keyboard shortcut "⌘," or with menu OpenOffice.org, Preferences. Then see OpenOffice.org, Paths. My recommendation is not to open/rename anything in the Backups or Temporary files folders directly, but first use Finder to make a copy (Option+Drag, say to the Desktop) and open/rename that.

I found my temp and everything , can you please again say what I should do? I tried whatever in previous replies were suggested but still can't get the last version open

The last version is probably lost. The temp file you have found is the last version that you computer remembers.

It is lost is not a proper answer!!! well the temp file has many files in it like: svbbp.tmp and so on. In my backup folder I have three versions of my file but when I want to open them it asks which character set to use... and opens all empty even for other ooo files that have no problem

You may need to rename the tmp files to .odt before trying to open them. Squenson didn't say "it is lost"; he said "it is _probably_ lost".

when I changed .tmp to .odt, again like when I want to open files from backup it asks for which character set? which on should I choose?

niloo wrote:when I changed .tmp to .odt, again like when I want to open files from backup it asks for which character set? which on should I choose?

Forget it. Your file is lost; start rewriting.

Why forget it? because you don't know the answer?

niloo wrote:Why forget it? because you don't know the answer?

Because the file is gone for good. At least the content you once wrote, so there is no other answer. If you're beyond the point of recovering it, you have to start to write it again.

When OOo asks for a character set, it's usually because the file only contains the # sign. That's unfortunate but yes, your last version of the file is probably lost. There is nothing you, me, the other participants in this forum can do. This is a nasty bug in OOo that strikes from time to time, fortunately very rarely and which has not yet been found. The best workaround is to save your work often and make regular backup copies with a time stamp added in the name of the file.

I saved it many times though, I started rewriting it. Thanks to everyone for trying to help though

To recover files that you have deleted on your Mac, use Backup and backup your files to a hard drive, an iDisk, or a DVD/CD. Choose a backup plan in the Backup window, select the files you want to restore, and click Restore. You can also use FileSalvage and Data Backup 3. They will allow you to easily back up, restore, and synchronize data.