Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

I typically work with editing long documents, and fairly often stumble across an item that needs to be fixed in multiple places, but then I want to return to where I was to continue working. Or, for that matter, to mark where I am so I can start from there the next day. I remember a feature on old editing systems I've worked on (Atex, XyWrite) where you could mark a spot to return to. I would never need more than one place marked. Is there such a feature in Open Office, or does someone have an elegant work-around?

enovickas wrote:I want to return to where I was to continue working. Or, for that matter, to mark where I am so I can start from there the next day. … I would never need more than one place marked. Is there such a feature in Open Office, or does someone have an elegant work-around?

Use Insert → Bookmark. You can create as many as you like. Jump to bookmarks using the Navigator (F5). Read about those suggestions in Help → Index or in User Guides (PDF) or searching for topics about them in the Writer Forum.

If this solved your problem please go to your first post use the Edit button and add [Solved] to the start of the title. You can select the green checkmark icon at the same time.

If you enter your name and initials in /Tools /Options /OpenOffice /User Data (on a Mac. options is under Preferences) a file should return to the last cursor location.

Alternately, /Insert /Comment and enter some text; now use Navigator (F5 key) and you can jump quickly to any comment.

Ah, yes... searches are so difficult when the right word doesn't come to mind. I tried "mark" and "return" but didn't think of "bookmark."

I have to admit I was rather dismayed when I looked through the bookmark and Navigator instructions. Keep another window open on my already crowded desktop? One with a dozen inscrutable icons? Scroll through lists of irrelevant things? Oh, no. And I don't need "as many bookmarks as I like." I need only one that I can reuse, and reuse, and reuse. What would work would be 1) one keystroke to mark a spot 2) one keystroke to go back to the last marked spot. Really, should that be so hard?

Commenting won't work, because I use them often for... comments. Returning to the last location in a file solves only half the problem.

Now I'm off to look if someone hasn't shared a macro to do this. That is, if the bookmark commands recordable/programmable...

Click the "Set Reminder" icon in the Navigator (paperclip icon) to set a "reminder" at the current cursor position. Up to 5 reminders can be set. Open the Navigation Bar at the bottom of the vertical scroll bar and select the Reminder (paperclip) icon. You can then click the arrows on the Navigation Bar to move through the Reminders.

The Navigator window can be Rolled up so it is merely a short title bar by clicking on the down arrow at left of its titlebar and choosing Roll Up. To restore, same procedure but choose Roll down. Try entering Name/Initials in /File /Properties, as I suggested.

RoryOF wrote:The Navigator window can be Rolled up so it is merely a short title bar by clicking on the down arrow at left of its titlebar and choosing Roll Up. To restore, same procedure but choose Roll down. Try entering Name/Initials in /File /Properties, as I suggested.

The terminology and procedure may be slightly different depending on the system window manager. On KDE there is no down arrow on the title bar, but you can right-click in the title bar, then select More Actions > Shade.

If the OP has a second video output and any old monitor, it is worth plugging that on to the second output to give a two screen setup. The older monitor can hold all the sidebars and the Navigator - very convenient.

The code below shows how I do it. The two Sub are assigned to icons on a 'myToolbar' toolbar which is created for the three software modules Writer, Calc, and Draw and looks the same in all of them.

If I leave a position in a document having the idea to come back soon, I call the Sub 'memorizeCurrentSelection' by clicking on my arrow down to the cellar. Then I may go to whatever document I choose and work therein. A click on my arrow up brings me back to the selection I last ordered to memorize.

Of course there are lots of enhancements you may suggest, and in fact I once intended to work on some of the obvious kind. I didn't ... If you are less lazy, you may present your results to the community.