Files not opening

[ElsaAbby67]

> A problem has occurred with existing files not opening with 4.1.15. in
> properties it states 'open wtth Qpen Office 4.1.14 How can I get them to
> open with 4.1.15. Also 4.1.15 will not open my existing pdf files. Also,
> sometimes I get the message that Open |Office is not responding and I have
> to close the programme. Can you give me some advice please.
> Thank you
> Helen |Hamilton

[FJCC]

What exactly happens when you double click on a file?
OpenOffice does not normally open PDF files. If you just want to view those files, you can open them in your browser.
Is there any pattern to when OpenOffice stops responding? Does it only happen with Writer? Is it associated with any particular actions like copying?

[ElsaAbby67]

All my files when double clicked an ASCII box appears and nothing else. Some documents say they are in One Drive but won’t open there. Help please.

[floris v]

Please tell us if all those documents are PDF - they won't normally open in OpenOffice (AOO). You can upload a sample AOO file for us to inspect.

[ElsaAbby67]

These are 2 of my files.
Helen

[FJCC]

The Family Tree document is corrupted. The Winter_Resilience document opens fine for me. Does that one not open for you?

[RoryOF]

I found the same as FJCC; was Family Tree Leach.odt saved on a USB key?

[ElsaAbby67]

Hi to both, no the files were not a usb key. It tells me it is corrupt but this only happened recently. I have previously opened this file a few times with no problem. I keep getting a box opening which says it is ASCII. Top line says Unicode, 2nd line says Times New Roman and the 3rd line is something USA. This comes up on screen when I try to open some of the ODT files. (Some odt files open no problem sometimes but will not open a second time unless I restart the computer. ). I have tried twice to uninstall and reinstall Open Office with no difference.
Helen

[floris v]

When you get a box asking for a file type, it means that something is seriously wrong with your file. Uninstalling and re-installing your software doesn't solve that. Both files opened in LibreOffice Writer 24.2.7.2, one perfectly readable; Family Tree Leach.odt was Chinese for me (literally, it just dumped Chinese ideograms all over the text area). Oddly, Writer didn't show a box asking for a file type. My archive program told me that the file is corrupt.

[RoryOF]

Normally the type of file corruption present in Family Tree ... arises due to a bad close down of OpenOffice, sometimes from a computer crash, but more often because of over hasty close down of a computer. It is best to formally close the program (/File /Close), honouring any prompt to Save an open file, then some few seconds later close down the computer. These few seconds are necessary to allow the internal Write buffers of the computer and hard disk flush.

It is possible that an undelete utility such as Recuva or PhotoRec might recover a partial file.

The reason for my question about a USB key was that a similar problem often arises when people work to storage on a USB key, and then take it out of the computer without observing the system's USB removal protocols. One can be surprised at how long the USB buffering can take to flush, so observance of USB removal protocols is essential.