Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

This has happened several times, and always with an .odt file that I'm using to store information from a game. Since the game is constantly updating, I have to continually change information in the file. Every so often, I save changes and close the file, with the intent of retaining the most up to date information. However, every now and again, with no advance warning, when I go to re open the file, instead of simply reopening with the information where I had left off, I get the "Welcome to OpenOffice" introduction, and have to register my copy all over again (my name, initials, etc). then I get a popup box about the settings, THEN it will open the file -- but now all I see is one or two pages of nothing but ######## 's. The last time this happened was this morning :p, and it's not the first time I've lost the information in that file and been forced to reconstruct it from the game page. Why does this keep happening?

The usual reason for this is due to shutting down the system too quickly.
The Open Document Format (.odt in this case) is not a simple process, and requires more time to write the information correctly than a simple process.
There's no 100% guaranteed method to prevent this, but if you follow some simple base lines it will reduce the amount.
First off, use the File -> Save (Ctrl+s) to save the file before closing down Open Office, rather than going to close it down and using the feature that saves an altered document when the program is closed.
Secondly, allow a couple of minutes for the saving to complete. Personally, I like to grab a drink while the file is saving.
Thirdly, if you are using a USB connected device, ensure that you follow the correct protocols when removing the device.

The fact that you sometimes are asked for the name & initials (etc.) means that your user profile is being deleted or damaged, which is uncommon in relation to the appearance of the documents containing ####
I suggest that you get your hard drive checked for bad sectors as this could be an indication of potential hard drive failure.

Welcome to the community forum. Sorry you're having such trouble.

If OO is asking for your user info again, there's something very odd going on. The name/user info prompt means that OO has not found its user settings profile. The profile is stored in a regular folder within the user's files. If the profile is not being created, or it it's being created but damaged or lost between sessions, it seems very unusual.

Normally that would be a separate problem from the file/document damage (the #s) but since they seem to be happening together, I wonder if the game is somehow interfering with OO's access to files? Are you running both programs at the same time?

Edit: PS:

Oops! Too slow.