Recovery seemed odd

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paulapooh7@aol.com
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Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2015 9:36 pm

Recovery seemed odd

Post by paulapooh7@aol.com »

I opened a file that I keep on a flash drive and as I opened it a box came up saying these files will be recovered and listed the file I opened.. I had never seen that before and had no idea why they might need to be recovered but I didn't want to lose the file so I hit ok and it said it was recovered, and that that when I sign in again it would work " or something like that" ... it scared me a bit thinking it did not come from open office and was a way to get my password to my document... anyone know if this really happens and is ok? Thanks so much.. Paula
open office4.1.1 on windows 7
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RusselB
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Re: recovery seemed odd

Post by RusselB »

This can happen if you close down a computer (usually a laptop) or if you remove the flash drive before Open Office has finished writing the information to it.
Open Office uses a compressed data format (aka zip) to store your file data and formatting information. These files (and a few others) are written to a compressed file, which you see as a .odt file (for Writer, .ods for Calc, etc.)
If you are getting that on a flash drive, then it suggests that all of the data may not have been written, and Open Office is attempting to recreate the last known good file from the information in the temp directory (see Tools -> Options -> Open Office -> Paths for the exact temp directory name)
Did the recovery dialog ask for the document password? You didn't say one way or the other. If it did, then that means enough of the file was recovered that it recognizes that it is a password protected file.
I personally don't use passwords on individual files, as I have a hard enough time remembering all of the passwords I do have to remember.
The safest option that I can suggest, is that you ensure the computer is not connected to the internet or any other data sharing method (eg: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth) and see if the file recovers under those circumstances.
As to does it happen, the answer is definitely. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of posts of a similar nature. Most of which refer to the file being composed of nothing but # signs.
OpenOffice 4.1.7, LibreOffice 7.0.1.2 on Windows 7 Pro, Ultimate & Windows 10 Home (2004)
If you believe your problem has been resolved, please go to your first post in this topic, click the Edit button and add [Solved] to the beginning of the Subject line.
paulapooh7@aol.com
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2015 9:36 pm

Re: Recovery seemed odd

Post by paulapooh7@aol.com »

No, it did not ask for my pass word but said, the next time you sign in with the password it would work, this was after it said recovery complete. I was on a computer and I always use the button that lets me know its safe to remove now. Thanks so much for your help.. I do feel better :) Paula
open office4.1.1 on windows 7
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