Subfolders in My Templates

[rudolfo]

Just recently after I have created my 7th template for OpenOffice (mostly Templates for Writer, but 2 of them are for Calc) I got a bit annoyed that I had to keep them all in one folder. Particularly Calc and Writer templates should really be in different categories or folders.

I was sure that there must be some mechanism, because I had 3 other folders in addition to my own "My Templates"

• en-US
• My Templates
• Presentation Backgrounds
• Presentations

Though this other 3 were from the over-all OpenOffice installation and I couldn't change them.
After some more trial and errror I figured out that the New menu behind the Command button on the right does sometimes create a new folder and at other times a new template file.
Some more inspection let me learn how to use the file groupuinames.xml to achieve what I want to have.
But there are a few things that are would like to see changed:

• The "real" folders in the file system (in my user profile) have names like "Untitled", "Untitled1", etc. Because frankly though the common recommendation in this forum is to always use "Organize Templates" I still have to copy files from and to the template directories directly on the OS level -- at least for a quick backup and restore operation. Currently I still change the OS directories to something meaningful and adjust the groupuinames.xml, but why is it not possible to do this in the UI?
• The templates have only one level of hierachy: Even if I select one of my own subfolders and click on New the new folder (or better category) will be on the same level as the original subfolder (in the Organize Template View).
  But also in the filesystem all folders will be direct subfolders of "My Template"

Code: Select all

template
+--- Manuals
    + bulkManualEnglish.ott
    ' PortraitManualEnglish.ott
+--- Spreadsheet
    ' SingleSheet.ots
+--- Untitled
+--- Untitled1
+ Letter.ott
' Letter-plain.ott

If Tutorials are talking about "Organize your Templates" they speak in the majority about organizing the styles inside the template (which is important, yes), but they rarely speak about how to organizes the template files.
Well, maybe I am the only one who doesn't think that the current handling is really intuitive.

And is there any chance that the further hierachy levels will be included in future versions of OpenOffice?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Rudolfo

[JohnV]

Do Tools > Options > OOo > Paths to find the path to your templates. Navigate there where you should see your template names. You can add a new folder (Windows - right click > New > Folder). Now in addition to My Templates, Presentations, etc., you will have the new folder.

[rudolfo]

Thanks for your suggestion. I gave it a try, but it's rather going in the opposite direction where I want to go. If I add more directories to the template path all template files that are in any of these directories will be shown inside OOo in "My Templates". And it is not possible to say either in the "Organize Template" or in the "New from Template" dialog if a template comes from the template folder in my user profile or if it comes from one of the other directories.
The interesting part about the additional template directories is that their child directories are directly appearing with the OS file system name in the template views. No need for a groupuinames.xml file.
In conclusion, if I would be very disciplined and have the templates in the additional template path only in the subdirectories, but not in the directory that I've added to the template path itself it would improve the structure of the template files. But I would still have only one hierachy level:

Code: Select all

 Templates
  +--- Spreadsheets
  |    +--- calculations
  |        + solver.ods
  |    +--- Layout
  |        + MainLayout.ods
  +--- Writer
       + smallPortrait.ott

if the above is the OS path layout, OOo would not show me the two subfolders "calculation" and "Layout". It would only have "(My) Templates", Spreadsheets and Writer and all on the same
level.

Rudolfo

[Hagar Delest]

Worth a report perhaps? It has been asked not that long ago: Nested template categories?

[JohnV]

Sorry, but that's the best I can do. Otherwise we are dealing with the internal mysteries of OOo about which I know naught.

[rudolfo]

Okay,
I had a look at the other thread that Hagar mentioned. And I just wonder how I could miss that one in my search, because it addresses exactly the same thing.

Anyways thanks for your feedback and I will add this to the wishlist of future releases.