Page count differing, same document - diff pc..?!

[ICDahlgaard]

I have a strange problem with the exact same document in OpenOffice Writer v. 4.1.5. on Windows 10, is 15 pages on one pc but 26 on another.

Font is the same. Font size is the same. Page format is the same. Linespacing is the same. _EVERYTHING IS THE SAME_

What on earth am I missing?! D:

I really hope someone can help me here, I'm super confused!

Best regards
/Isa

[RoryOF]

Where is the difference occurring? Do the first pages match? What happens on page 15? Does it match?
You are able to see the file(s) - we can only guess.

What file format are you using?

Edit: Also, turn on /View /Non printing characters - that same command turns that display off - and see if there is a column of backwards P characters on the last pages.

[Bill]

I'm super confused!

So am I. How are you coming up with the "page count"? Are you printing the documents and counting the pages that are printed?

[robleyd]

Are you sure you physically have the same fonts on both computers? Check using the Fonts option in the Control Panel.

[Bill]

Another guess: Changing the state of the "Print automatically inserted blank pages" option will change the page count on the Print dialog if the document has automatically inserted blank pages.

[RoryOF]

If the original document has a sequence of Right Page styles, then the automatically inserted blank pages could be responsible, as Bill suggests,

[John_Ha]

Changing the state of the "Print automatically inserted blank pages" option will change the page count on the Print dialog if the document has automatically inserted blank pages.

I searched Help with blank and automatic to find where that option is and I cannot find it. Where is it? And where is it in Help?

Setting the View to Book View shows what is happening. IN the image below I have two Left pages (pages numbered 2 and 4) and AOO automatically adds the two blank Right pages (numbered 1 and 3) to maintain a book layout with Right - Left - Right - Left.

Edit: Ah! It's in Tools > Options > Writer > Print. But I still cannot find it in Help or the Writer Guide.

[RoryOF]

/Tools /Options /OpenOffice Writer /Print, under the "Other" setting: "Print automatically inserted blank pages"

When one drills down into the Help files (use Help off the above link)
one gets

Print automatically inserted blank pages
If this option is enabled, automatically-inserted blank pages are being printed. This is best if you are printing double-sided. For example, in a book, a "chapter" paragraph style has been set to always start with an odd numbered page. If the previous chapter ends on an odd page, OpenOffice inserts an even numbered blank page. This option controls whether to print that even numbered page or not.

Note: the path from /Options onwards is under Preferences on a Mac.

[John_Ha]

It is very difficult to find in Help as searching with print, automatic, blank or page does not find it. I had to go to Index and it appears under Printing > left/right pages.

[Bill]

On my system the "Print automatically inserted blank pages" option is also on the Print dialog. If I select File > Print to open the Print dialog and select the OpenOffice Writer tab on the dialog, the page count is shown on the left side of the dialog under a page preview. The "Print automatically inserted blank pages" option is on the right side of the dialog. If the document contains automatically inserted blank pages, the page count changes immediately when the option is checked or unchecked.

[RoryOF]

On my system the "Print automatically inserted blank pages" option is also on the Print dialog.

Agreed, now that you point this out. I have not investigated whether the Options setting I detailed above overrules the setting in the print dialog, or whether the two settings have exactly the same effect.

[Bill]

The settings appear to be synchronized. There's probably only one setting that's being displayed in two different places. If one were to override the other, I would expect the setting on the Print dialog to override the setting in Options for one print job.

[John_Ha]

The settings appear to be synchronized. There's probably only one setting that's being displayed in two different places. If one were to override the other, I would expect the setting on the Print dialog to override the setting in Options for one print job.

But if the same file behaves differently on two PCs it suggests a User Profile difference. It may therefore be that the Tools > Options ..., one, which is saved in the Profile is active; rather than the one which is saved in the printer dialogue and hence in the .odt file.

I think there is another option which allows the user to save, or not to save, printer settings in the .odt file.

[RoryOF]

I confirm Bill's findings - both of these settings do exactly the same thing - they enable printing or not of automatically inserted blank pages.

Explanation: Why is this setting necessary? If one is printing a long document single-sided, blank pages are usually superfluous and one does not need to print them.

If one is printing duplex (= double-sided) then blank pages should generally be printed, so that odd numbered pages are to the top of the print stack, or if printing a booklet, on the right of a book opening. If an automatically inserted blank page is not printed, suddenly one can find that even numbered pages are on the right of a book opening - this is disconcerting when reading! When an automatic blank page is omitted, a reader (particularly in legal circles) can panic that a page may have been omitted from the narrative or the exposition of a case.

[Bill]

But if the same file behaves differently on two PCs it suggests a User Profile difference. It may therefore be that the Tools > Options ..., one, which is saved in the Profile is active; rather than the one which is saved in the printer dialogue and hence in the .odt file.

I think there is another option which allows the user to save, or not to save, printer settings in the .odt file.

There is no such option in Tools > Options > Load/Save > General, but there are options for "Load user-specific settings with the document" and "Load printer settings with the document". When I unchecked the "Load printer settings with the document", documents still loaded with the setting stored in the document, but when I unchecked the "Load user-specific settings with the document", documents opened with the setting in Tools > Options > OpenOffice Writer > Print, so the option to print automatically inserted pages seems to be a user-specific setting.