[Solved] Taskbar icons: can't add or pin recent files

[Spook]

"Recent files" in the menus of Write, Calc & Base are awkward, requiring a number of time-wasting and tedious clicks, getting Write up in a window first, etc. As I work in Write almost all day everyday -- with frequent forays into Base & Calc, I sorely (as in deeply annoyed ) miss being able to pin frequently-used files to Write, Calc and Base in the taskbar and one-click them into life.

In 4, I've been able to restore the icons to the taskbar (after your upgrade demolished them YET AGAIN! ) but the boxes to enable sticking files to these icons, and the menu to run up the number of files I can stick in the icons, seem to be gone. At least I haven't found these. Can I get these essential features back in 4?

And kindly stop your upgrades from demolishing the taskbar icon operations <i>and</i> the keyboard-macro assignments.

Also, a couple of questions:

1. Occasionally, if I copy and paste a block in a text file that includes an end paragraph, when I save the file as a doc file Write crashes and I lose the info. (Because word processors allow so many formatting tricks to enable organizing programming code for quick recognition by human eye, I edit programming code in Write, using colors, etc. and keep the main file as a doc file. But, of course, the code file is confined to the text file. So I work in the text file and when it's right, I save all of the formatting colors and other engineering tricks for quickly recognizing code as a doc file -- or, in the case where Write crashes over a copied & pasted block that inadvertently contained an end-paragraph -- and why shouldn't I be able to copy and paste such a block??? -- I lose all of that formatting work. )

2. For a long while I've thought that, eventually, you'd add a feature that Word has long had, to break a document into two windows. On a longer document, this allows finding, copying and pasting within the document MUCH quicker and easier. Is that in the works anytime soon?

3. I'd still like to be able to reset the default font color that comes up when Write first loads. Is that in the works anytime soon?


Thanks

[Hagar Delest]

kindly stop your upgrades from demolishing the taskbar icon operations <i>and</i> the keyboard-macro assignments.

Do you mean the Windows taskbar? Do you have screenshots to explain what happen exactly?
Note that the shortcuts configuration can be saved and then restored. I did it because I've macros linked to shortcuts too and it worked fine to get my configuration back in 4.0.

1. Occasionally, if I copy and paste a block in a text file that includes an end paragraph, when I save the file as a doc file Write crashes and I lose the info. (Because word processors allow so many formatting tricks to enable organizing programming code for quick recognition by human eye, I edit programming code in Write, using colors, etc. and keep the main file as a doc file. But, of course, the code file is confined to the text file. So I work in the text file and when it's right, I save all of the formatting colors and other engineering tricks for quickly recognizing code as a doc file -- or, in the case where Write crashes over a copied & pasted block that inadvertently contained an end-paragraph -- and why shouldn't I be able to copy and paste such a block??? -- I lose all of that formatting work. )

Please remember that the .doc import/export filters were reverse engineered. This is not a format that was designed to be compatible with anything else than MS Office.
If you need to work in .doc, then stick to MS Office.

2. For a long while I've thought that, eventually, you'd add a feature that Word has long had, to break a document into two windows. On a longer document, this allows finding, copying and pasting within the document MUCH quicker and easier. Is that in the works anytime soon?

There is an enhancement request for that. If you don't find it with the search feature, tell us. You can vote for it too (up to 2 votes per issue).

3. I'd still like to be able to reset the default font color that comes up when Write first loads. Is that in the works anytime soon?

Create a default custom template. See: [Tutorial] Creating a new default template.

And please, avoid asking several questions in a single topic. See Survival Guide for the forum.

[Spook]

Yes, the Windows taskbar. I've indicated the 3 icons within the black rectangle.

How are these icon configurations, including "sticking" frequently-used files to them, pinning them, maxing the number of files that can be "stuck" to them; as well as resetting them from scratch in 4 after they were already lost in the upgrade from 3; then how to save and restore them?

Saving and restoring key assignments to macros is probably a very similar problem and solution?

Re: .doc saving crashes, I see that the formatting is retained in odt files. It's unimportant to me whether they are doc files or odt files, or what they're called, as long as I don't lose all of the formatting. So I'll see if I have any similar problem with odt files. Thanks for the clarification on support for the file types.

Created the new default template. Thanks again.

Will try to keep it one topic per msg in future.

[Hagar Delest]

Do you mean that it used to work differently with former version (taskbar)?

[Bill]

Bug 122809 - Windows 7, 8 Jump list "recent document" support

[Spook]

Hagar: Yes, it worked great in OO3. I could right-click on any of the 3 icons and display the most recent files menu -- complete with the capability to pin the file permanently to that menu. And the 3 menus displayed only their respective files (write, calc and base), without having to look through a mishmash of all of them to find the file I want.

I think Bill may be onto it, but I don't see how to fix them.

Right now, the only thing on these menus is the same for all of them, open or unpin the icon from the taskbar. They're now officially useless. Any way to get them back?

[Bill]

"Recent files" in the menus of Write, Calc & Base are awkward, requiring a number of time-wasting and tedious clicks, getting Write up in a window first, etc. As I work in Write almost all day everyday -- with frequent forays into Base & Calc, I sorely (as in deeply annoyed :x ) miss being able to pin frequently-used files to Write, Calc and Base in the taskbar and one-click them into life.

In 4, I've been able to restore the icons to the taskbar (after your upgrade demolished them YET AGAIN! :crazy: ) but the boxes to enable sticking files to these icons, and the menu to run up the number of files I can stick in the icons, seem to be gone. At least I haven't found these. Can I get these essential features back in 4?

I don't usually use the separate icons for Writer, Calc, etc., but I have added them to the Windows 8 Taskbar. Recent documents do show up on the jump lists, and I am able to pin them to the list by right-clicking and selecting "Pin to this list". I am also able to change the number of recent items that appear by right-clicking the Taskbar, selecting Properties, clicking the Jump Lists tab and changing the "Number of recent items to display in Jump Lists:".

And kindly stop your upgrades from demolishing the taskbar icon operations <i>and</i> the keyboard-macro assignments. :x

Those icons are added by the user. Since the installer doesn't even know they exist, I don't know how they could be upgraded automatically.

[Spook]

That's what I had in OO3, but isn't working in OO4 -- under Windows 7. The option fo "Pin to this list" does not appear, nor is the properties menu to change the number of items on the list. Can this be remedied in Win7?

[Bill]

That's what I had in OO3, but isn't working in OO4 -- under Windows 7. The option fo "Pin to this list" does not appear, nor is the properties menu to change the number of items on the list. Can this be remedied in Win7?

Sorry, I don't have Windows 7. I assumed it would be the same as in Windows 8. Does a file get pinned to the Taskbar icon if you drag the file and drop it on the icon?

[Spook]

W7 doesn't permit the file to be dragged down into the taskbar; only as far as to the taskbar but not into it. To get the icons to display, I had to go to the start icon, display OO progs in the menu and then drag those icons from the start menu into the taskbar, which is what I was instructed to do in OO3, and it worked in OO3 under W7. It seemed to work for OO4 under W7. The icons appeared as last time. But in OO4, no recent files, no pinning files and no menu in properties to max out the number of recent files. They will (only) display a new blank page.

Update: BTW, if it's relevant, I notice that the Firefox icon still works as it should, all the features now missing in Write, Calc & Base, in W7 (recent files, pinning and adjusting #).

Wanted to thank you, also, for the hint re: autotext. VERY useful in inserting formatted text. Big time time-saver.

[Bill]

W7 doesn't permit the file to be dragged down into the taskbar; only as far as to the taskbar but not into it.

If you can't drag a file to the taskbar, then pinning may be disabled. If I drag a file to the taskbar, Windows 8 creates a program icon if needed and pins the file to the icon. That's also supposed to work in Windows 7. A Windows 7 forum can provide more help if the problem is in Windows 7.

Windows 7: Jump Lists - Pin or Unpin Items

Windows 7: Jump Lists - Enable or Disable Pinning and Unpinning of Items

[Spook]

1. The enabling options aren't available in my Win7 Home Premium. None worked. An MS update (after successful validation) deemed itself not applicable to this system.
2. This feature works for Firefox, so I doubt it's a Win7 issue
3. This feature worked in OO3, so I doubt it's a Win7 issue
The solution continues to elude me.

[thomasjk]

I'm able to drag a file to the task bar with WIN 7 Home Premium.

[Spook]

thomasjk: do you have the features we've been discussing in OO4 under W7 HP? When you open a file with, say, Write, you can pin it to the Write icon in the taskbar?

[Spook]

Now THIS is ridiculous!

Yesterday, I gave up on this problem, hoping you'd solve it in OO5 or something.

I've done nothing.

This morning, it works!

No idea why. But I'm happy.

[tommykemper]

This is what I found:
* Opening an OpenOffice document through the File menu (File-->Open, or File-->Recent) will not put the document in the "recent" list.
* Going into windows explorer and opening the document there, will put the document in the "recent" list, where it can then be pinned.

Now I just open a newly saved document one time via explorer, then use the "recent/pinned" context menu after that.

[RodCarroll]

I am not sure if the others had the same issue as me, but their discussion helped. My problem was that I had the OpenOffice icon in the task bar and not the Writer icon. Doh! As soon as I installed the Writer icon, my recently used file showed up with a right click and I was able to pin it there. Thank you Apache and OpenOffice. Love you guys.

[Herbstkatze]

Hi,
The obligatory: OpenOffice 4.1.6 on Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit

Moving from MS Office to Open Office and I had the same question. Another solution, I found, was to go to the Start button and scroll down to Open Office, click on the down arrow and the apps appear, right mouse click on whichever, then click on "More" and you get the options as in the uploaded jpg file.
Regards

Herby
PS. Newbie to OpenOffice, I hope I haven't offended anyone with the post