Lost document

Issues with installing under all versions of MS Windows
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patrickelvin
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Joined: Tue Aug 13, 2019 6:25 pm

Lost document

Post by patrickelvin »

I have been successfully using this excellent programme for 5 years It saves documents as you work on them then are findable under recent documents but suddenly a document I use every day with a title has just disappeared , from my document files. ANY IDEAS how to recover . It is not in my recycle bin and was last used yesterday 12 August
openoffice TM 4 on windows 10
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RoryOF
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Re: lost document

Post by RoryOF »

Is it missing from OO's /File /Recent documents? if so, it should still be in the directory in which it was originally saved. Start OpenOffice from Programs button, use /File /Open and its navigation buttons to navigate to that directory, select the file and press Open. It will open, and once again appear on Recent Documents, which shows only the last ten files opened.
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.15 on Xubuntu 22.04.4 LTS
John_Ha
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Re: lost document

Post by John_Ha »

1. Start
2. Type some characters of the file name in the Search box - or type *.odt to find all .odt files.
3. Press Enter.
LO 6.4.4.2, Windows 10 Home 64 bit

See the Writer Guide, the Writer FAQ, the Writer Tutorials and Writer for students.

Remember: Always save your Writer files as .odt files. - see here for the many reasons why.
patrickelvin
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Re: lost document

Post by patrickelvin »

it is missing from recent documents and my main my documents so no amount of typing in the title is revealing it
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RoryOF
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Re: lost document

Post by RoryOF »

Then, as soon as possible, use the methods set out below to try to recover it.

You may be able to recover a previous version of the file - see [Tutorial] How to find and un-delete AOO temporary files for detailed instructions on how to

a) use Previous Versions (W7 and later) to recover previous versions of the file ;

b) recover your file as it was when you last opened or saved it, or as it was when it was last saved with AutoRecovery;

c) find previous versions of the file in the folder it is located in, but which have since been deleted;

d) un-delete the temporary files AOO wrote while you were editing the file, and then deleted. This will recover your file as it was when you last opened or you last saved it.
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.15 on Xubuntu 22.04.4 LTS
patrickelvin
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Re: lost document

Post by patrickelvin »

thanks been to your tutorial opened control panel but it does not have folder options in the menu . <i have windows 10
openoffice TM 4 on windows 10
John_Ha
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Re: lost document

Post by John_Ha »

patrickelvin wrote:it is missing from recent documents and my main my documents so no amount of typing in the title is revealing it
Try the search as suggested. What is the point of asking for help and then rejecting the help given?
patrickelvin wrote:thanks been to your tutorial opened control panel but it does not have folder options in the menu . <i have windows 10
Google for help on Windows 10.
LO 6.4.4.2, Windows 10 Home 64 bit

See the Writer Guide, the Writer FAQ, the Writer Tutorials and Writer for students.

Remember: Always save your Writer files as .odt files. - see here for the many reasons why.
patrickelvin
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Joined: Tue Aug 13, 2019 6:25 pm

Re: lost document

Post by patrickelvin »

For John Ha not sure which part of your help I ihave rejected .I have tried everything including *odt. and all permutations of the title. Would be grateful if you could enlighten me as I have not deliberately or consciously rejected your kind advice
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floris v
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Re: lost document

Post by floris v »

It might have been saved somewhere else, for whatever reasons. Your best bet is still to search all folders for your missing file.
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If your problem has been solved or your question has been answered, please edit the first post in this thread and add [Solved] to the title bar.
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patrickelvin
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Re: lost document

Post by patrickelvin »

my problem not solved .I am vaguely aware that you can reset your computer foro a date before the docuoment disappeared can anyone help with that¿
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robleyd
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Re: lost document

Post by robleyd »

See the instructions in the tutorial linked above re Restore Previous Versions - in the second Edit box
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John_Ha
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Re: lost document

Post by John_Ha »

Set View hidden files to ON just in case you have made it a hidden file. Now:

1. Do a search for a word which you know was in the document as W10 will then find all documents with that word in them. Sort by date.
2. Look in the recycle bin
3. Search with *.* and sort in date order.
4. Check all disks if you have more than one disk.

If none of those find it then you have managed to remove all trace of the document from your PC.
 Edit: You can look at the last 100 or so files you saved by

1. Set View hidden files to ON
2. Open C:\Users\xxxxxx\AppData\Roaming\OpenOffice\4\user\registrymodifications.xcu with an XML editor (eg Notepad ++ with the XML Tools plugin)
3. Pretty print (Plugins > XML Tools > Pretty Print with line breaks)
4. Search for file:

This finds the last 100 or so files which you saved with AOO.

Code: Select all

<item oor:path="/org.openoffice.Office.Histories/Histories/org.openoffice.Office.Histories:HistoryInfo['PickList']/OrderList">
	<node oor:name="8" oor:op="replace">
		<prop oor:name="HistoryItemRef" oor:op="fuse">
			<value>file:///C:/Users/John/Desktop/2019kostenverkopen_saved%20by%20LO.ods</value>
		</prop>
	</node>
</item>
 
LO 6.4.4.2, Windows 10 Home 64 bit

See the Writer Guide, the Writer FAQ, the Writer Tutorials and Writer for students.

Remember: Always save your Writer files as .odt files. - see here for the many reasons why.
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Hagar Delest
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Re: Lost document

Post by Hagar Delest »

Have you checked the backup folder of your profile if you had the option checked for "Create a backup copy" in the Load/Save options.
See: [Tutorial] The OpenOffice User Profile.
LibreOffice 7.6.2.1 on Xubuntu 23.10 and 7.6.4.1 portable on Windows 10
ducksoupe
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Re: Lost document

Post by ducksoupe »

Regarding Lost documents. IIts a pain. but I save as ODT file in folders on several drives I have. I also put it in my outlook files. It is a pain, but if you do it is securing your file as you go.
open office 4.1.7 installed on windows 8.1
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