[Solved] Writer file corrupt (won't open, can't recover)

[redeb]

Hi all,

A writer file I've been working on for some time was in the process of being recovered when I had some kind of glitch on my computer, interrupting the process (I may have shut down the computer too quickly).

So for the first time I am having a problem with OpenOffice that I feel wise to seek some advice regarding. The file appears normal in the folder on my Mac computer, but OpenOffice cannot recover it or it comes up as a blank document with nothing at all inside.

Poking around these forums I saw I could try unzipping, and that got 12 pictures from the document (one more than the most recent good copy of an earlier version of the document from three days ago), which is one more picture than the document had three days ago, but none of the text was recovered that I could tell.

I have read online that SysInfoTools Writer Recovery 2.0 might help (but I don't have a PC ... maybe will get some help from a friend with one if that program is recommended here). I have also noticed a moderator (AckNak, if I have that right!) suggesting posting the document here for others to try to recover or see what they could do with it, but it contains client-sensitive information (sensitive enough not to post publicly, but I could share one on one via email to get recovery help, if that were something possible to do).

Thanks much for any advice anyone : )

Redeb

[RoryOF]

Unzip the file and look in content.xml for text.

If nothing there I doubt that it is worth wasting money on recovery applications.

Also try the OpenOffice backup folder (given in /Tools /Options /OpenOffice.org : Paths) for arbitrary files. Rename these to .odt and see if they contain some of your text.

Edit: The /options path is under Preferences on a Mac

[redeb]

Wow. How cool is that. There was a copy in the following folder: /Users/myname/Library/Application Support/OpenOffice.org/3/user/backup/the-file-I-had-just-lost.odt

Breathing a deep sigh of relief. Thanks!

By the way, you're right. The free version of that other program did nothing more than just unzipping (it just got the same JPGs and no text).

Thank you very much ... and sorry for the double post (accident from being a neubee here and not realizing the first post had registered ... oops ... sorry).

Redeb

[redeb]

How can I delete my other post on same topic ... Anyone? Hate to waste people's valuable time with an extraneous item ... (I looked in my "View your posts" and clicked on the redundant post and there was a button for "delete", but it didn't allow me to delete!)

[RoryOF]

It won't allow you to delete as the thread is now "locked"; deleting needs Moderator privileges. I'll do it for you.

[redeb]

Thanks. Also, thanks again for pointing me to where to start looking for backup files. I wonder if this merits inclusion in any feature changes (i.e., there was a perfectly good copy of the file at that location I found, but OpenOffice's recovery feature evidently did not know that!!!).

[RoryOF]

As a general remark, if a file is of major importance or size, it is worth enabling OpenOffice's automatic backup mechanism. In addition, it is useful to have a backup policy - I would backup my major work in progress every morning and afternoon.

[redeb]

Just clicked "Always create backup copy" under preferences > load/save (is that right?). Totally agree about saving and backing up. I hit save in a file I am working in after putting anything new in (I don't wait for autosave), but I hadn't had such a file corruption before, so usually am not making a backup of things every day ... but that would have been a great thing to have done if I hadn't been so lucky in this case that there was a backup file already in place (somehow!).

[acknak]

I recommend that you don't rely on the "always create backup" option and instead make your own backups: when you save the file, periodically (as often as necessary) save to a new name. I add a date and letter to the file name; I can easily increment the date or letter as needed when saving a new version.

As you've encountered: OOo is not entirely reliable about saving data, nor is it reliable about recovering from a problem. You must always be prepared to lose whatever work you've done since the last complete save to a clean file. The same goes for any software, actually.

I've never lost a file myself, using OOo almost every day for years, but I've seen plenty of stories like this on the forum, and I make sure I have backups of important stuff.