[Solved] Open document – Last modified position

[pauline]

There is, most likely, already some thread about this issue … but none of my magic words worked.
Shouldn´t WRITER automatically open a document (recently used or not) at the last edited position ?
Well, lately this feature doesn´t work anymore … or so it seems.
I can't remember when / why this has changed, but I´m quite sure it used to display the last input location.
How do I fix this, please ?

[RoryOF]

Go to /Tools /Options /OpenOffice : User Data and enter a name. Then OpenOffice should open at the last edit position.

[pauline]

THX for your quick response, RoryOF !
There IS an entry in my userdata … a 2-lettered-logo, though.
And only in the first of these three boxes.
But it´s the same as it ever was ...

Edit: I´ve just checked again: documents open displaying top of the page(s).

[acknak]

The logic is: if the user opening the document is also the author recorded in the document then Writer jumps to the last editing position automatically. If it's someone else opening the document, or if no user/author information is available, then open at the beginning.

You can manually restore the last editing view by pressing Shift+F5.

You can check what author is recorded in the document under File > Properties > General

[pauline]

Hi, acknak !
In my case, the "opener" and "author" is always the same user: myself.
In my documents properties there´s no info about the author.
I mean, I don´t use "digital signature",
and that´s the only place I can see that refers to the writer.
Edit: Ah, the Shift+F5-thing works, btw. Nevertheless, ...

[acknak]

Here's what it (File > Properties > General) should look like when you have a name entered in the user data and then create and save a document:

[pauline]

THX for the screen-shot, acknak !
My own files did not show my "logo" after the date stamps. But they do NOW !
Gist of the matter: there is this nice option under File > Properties > General > Security options and warnings > Options:
"Remove personal information on saving" … which I had checked !
Actually for a good reason:
AFAIK, a smart receiver of a document can "restore" all alterations of the text
(example: I think she is an idiot … delete "an idiot", write: "a very clever person").
Evidently, such precaution affects my username, too,
which, in the end, affects the cursor position when opening a document myself ...
Great events often come from little causes !

I found the extension "Magenta Anonymous" for this purpose:
"Gives you an extra entry in the files menu "Remove user information".
That removes all information about the user and user updates from the current document.
Handy, if you send documents to others but don't want your personal information to be stored in the document."

So, I appreciate your help, acknak: it got me on the right track.

[acknak]

...
Gist of the matter: there is this nice option under File > Properties > General > Security options and warnings > Options:
"Remove personal information on saving" …

Ack! I forgot about that one. Good catch!

In case someone else is looking for that option, it's
Tools > Options > OO > Security > Security options > Security options > Remove personal information on saving

... AFAIK, a smart receiver of a document can "restore" all alterations of the text

True, but only if document author has recorded the changes. That option is off by default, so normally a document won't contain the recorded changes and there won't be any way to recover them.

You can always check whether a document contains recorded changes: Edit > Changes > Accept or Reject ... will let you review each change. If you choose there to accept a change, then the previous version (before the change) is removed from the document. "Accept all changes" there will thus remove all record of the previous text.

[jliefeld]

RE: Opening Documents automatically at Last Modified (cursor) Position.

Prior to the last update to Open Office 4.1.0 my system did this. It always re- opened documents at the last cursor position when saved.
I have tried all the prior suggestions above - but cannot get this feature to work in version 4.1.0.1.

RoryOF Says: Go to Tools/Options/Open Office User data and enter a name. In 4.1.0 there is no "Options" available under "Tools".
But I can get to User Data via File/Properties/General. My user name is entered there so it should work but it doesn't.

aknak states "You can manually restore the last editing view by pressing Shift + F5. That does not work with my version. Nothing happens when I press Shift+F5, and when I save and re-open the document it opens at the top of the document rather than the last edited position.

Pauline wrote when she went to "File/Properties/General/Security options and warnings - remove personal information on saving". On my system. There is no "remove personal information on saving" option under the "Security" tab.??

Does anyone know how to get version 4.1.0 to reopen documents at the last edited cursor position.??

jliefeld

[acknak]

Are you working in ODF document format (.odt for text)? You must save the document as ODF for the auto-position to work.

The info you see under File > Properties is stored in the document. It's not the application-wide user info.

You can access the application settings through the preferences menu on the MacOS desktop: OpenOffice.org > Preferences > OO > User Data. I think you need at least one of the First/Last/Initials filled in there.

As far as I know, Shift+F5 should work regardless of whether the user info is available. Maybe the shortcut is different on the Mac, I don't know.

[jliefeld]

Thanks for the tips Achnak - But

I tried all the suggestions. The files in question are in ODF format.
Going into User data via the MAC desktop Preferences/OO/General/User Data --- I find that my user name is present -- First Last & Initial

However, when I re-open the file the cursor is positioned at the top os the document not at the last position when the document was saved.
Pressing Shift+F5 does nothing (except a little window flashes in the middle of the screen. It is so brief I cannot read it.

My previous version of OO is 4.0 and the Cursor always appeared at the last edit position when re-opening files.

Should I dump Version 4.1.0 and revert to the previous version????

John

[acknak]

Ok, so that all sounds right.

I've not heard of any problem with 4.1--it certainly restores the position for me. So I wouldn't switch just yet.

The next thing to check is that the user data matches what OO thinks is the author recorded in the file. I suppose it's also possible that there's some problem with the "last postition" as saved in the file.

But, if it were me, I'd just do a simple sanity check at this point, something simple that should definitely work. I'd create a new document, add some text to make several pages (dt, F3), save the file with the cursor on some later page, then File > Reload and see if the position is restored. If so, then your OO is working and the problem is something in the other document. If not, then there's something wrong with your OO. If that's the case, then I'd try a fresh OO settings profile, and if that doesn't help, then I'd re-install.

[RoryOF]

The User data and the author data should be checked to confirm they are the same - no trailing spaces or different full stops.

[jliefeld]

Thanks Acknak and Rory.
I created a new file and the cursor loads at the last edited position.
So the problem is with the file not my version of OO.
When checking "File/Properties/User data" there is a difference between tho two files.
In the new file the creation date is listed, followed by the authors name.
in the problem file the creation date was listed, but there was no author identified.

I "Reset" the "User Data" and now the author is identified, along with the creation date.
BUT BUT BUT The cursor still loads at the beginning of the file not the last cursor position.

I will continue to try to find the problem within the file.

Thanks for your help
John

[RoryOF]

A quick workaround that might fix the problem: open a new Writer file - verify it has the correct author. Then /Edit /Select All in the old file, Copy and then Paste into the new file. If the new file is OK, ditch the old one.

[jliefeld]

Thanks again - RoryOF.

I tried doing a "select all" - copy and then paste into a new document.
I also tried using copy, leaving out the first line of document and then pasting it into a new document.
Neither of these worked.
The Cursor still insists locating at the top of the document no matter where it was last positioned when the document was saved.

This issue is not worth any more of my (or your) time.

Thanks

John Liefeld

[acknak]

The only other thing I can think of is: if you can attach a copy of your document, we can take a look and see if some reason pops out.

You're right, it's a minor problem, but if it's due to a bug, it would be nice to get to the bottom of it so it could be fixed and prevent the problem happening again.

[jliefeld]

Open Document - Last Modified Position

Well here I am again.

Aug 1 I created a new document. Its a daily log of my drug use and pain symptoms for bulging discs in my lumbar spine. I edit it everyday, sometimes 3 times a day.
Up to the 7th page the document always opened at the last modified position. But then after 7 pages it started opening at the top of the first page, just like the file in July that we previously discussed.

So the problem of not returning to the last modified position when opening the document is specific to the length of the document.

Does anyone have suggestions about why this might be happening??

John Liefeld

[RoryOF]

File format? If not OpenOffice format, try that.

[jliefeld]

The file is an .odt format.

John

[acknak]

It's not the length; must be something else. The last editing position is always restored for me, even with large documents.

After the document opens, does Shift+F5 restore the position?

Where does the cursor finally end up when you open the file?

Check under File > Properties > General > ... Is the user name shown there (for created/modified)? Does it match what's entered under Tools > Options > ... ?

Edit: PS:

If you're routinely editing an important file, do make it a habit to save backup copies regularly. You should be prepared to completely lose the file where you made the last set of changes.

[jliefeld]

Hi:

After opening the document the cursor is positioned at the very top.
Shift + F does not restore the last edited position.
Under Tools > there is no "Options" alternative available.
My version is 4.1.0

John Liefeld

[thomasjk]

On a Mac its under Preferences, IIRC.

[John_Ha]

Actually for a good reason:
AFAIK, a smart receiver of a document can "restore" all alterations of the text
(example: I think she is an idiot … delete "an idiot", write: "a very clever person").

This is not correct. Once a document has been closed, all changes are fixed. No "undo" data is stored in the closed, saved document.

It's easy to prove - close a document, re-open it and try the undo - it is greyed out. Reading content.xml shows that no "undo" data stored.

I think you are confusing this with "redacting text by adding black rectangles or images over the text". They can usually be removed.

[RobbieJackson]

I found that it made a difference the Layout I was using to View the file.

If I use View / Print Layout the cursor returns to the last editing position ok.

If I use View / Web Layout the cursor goes to the top of the file. (Except if the last position was on the first page display in the file - in that case it shows the cursor at the correct line).

I've tried it out a few times, and this seems to be the case, but haven't checked it extensively.

[roytuthill]

I FOUND IT!! My issue was wanting to reopen where I left off and window size / position. Found on a 2013 site.

You need to save it as a Workbook when you close. Only need to do this once! I suggest before you try that you first create a duplicate in case you mess something up.

So, make everything like you want it, then Save As, and change the file type to whatever Workbook you want. I had two to pick from.

Anyway, now it opens on whatever row I left off!!!!!

YEAH, after 3 months of having to reset position every day.

[Vana Runedottir]

Sorry to post on a closed topic, but I'm trying to apply the solutions described above to see if I can fix this problem in an odt document I'm writing. What's a Workbook? Is that a Mac thing? I'm on Windows 8.1 with latest OO (4.1.5) My document is 1439 pages long so far, so I was also suspecting that the last modified position was getting lost (and opening at top of page 1) only after I'd exceeded a certain length as it worked properly for a long time. Shift-F5 doesn't find the last modified position after opening. I only view it in Print layout, and my author name and document owner/editor names match.

Edited to add: I decided my document may be better split into two, so I saved it as new files Part 1 and Part 2, still in odt format. ALl settings were the same, but I deleted half of the document from each one. And they both open properly at my last edit point, indicating to me that Writer could have a bug here with long files.

[Bill]

Workbook