File names and locations change mysteriously

[eleanorb]

I pick a file name from the list in Recent Documents and continue work on it, but later it has a problem saving it ("may have been changed") and then I see that I have several versions of a file in different places? What is going on, and how can I get control of it?

Also, some of the paths of files have changed - is there any way I can edit the Recent Documents list directly, or do I just have to put in the new addresses one by one manually?

I'm not a new user, but I do seem to have slipped a wheel somewhere... would someone be willing to guide me?

Thanks,
Eleanor

[keme]

Are those "different places" folders with names such as "...\Documents\..." and "...\Recent\..."?

If so, the seemingly multiple locations may be different paths to the same location (in other words, what looks like several files may be one and the same.)

Typically, you will have a "Documents" folder which most apps will save to by default. You will also have a library named "Documents". The system will also maintain a list of recently used files. This list exists as a collection of file links.

A library is a tool provided in Windows to consolidate your storage spaces. By default the Documents library holds only the Documents folder, so they appear as the same. You can include other folders in the library.

[eleanorb]

Thanks for your help! I have two problems, perhaps: First, I recently changed the path where most of my OO files live, so now I have to replace the Recent Documents list somehow. Also, I see that there are three versions of one of my files, and I'm not sure how that happened — if I always use the list to retrieve a file and then save it (back to the same spot, right?), then I can't understand how there get to be so many... Eleanor

[RoryOF]

The Recent Documents list normally lists the last ten files on which you have worked. If you modify a file and use /File /Save As, it should complain that you are trying to overwrite an existing file - the earlier version of itself. When one edits a file it is usually sufficient to use /File /Save; /File /Save As is used to name a new file, to change the name of an existing file, or to move the location in which a file is Saved.

If one has an existing file in a particular location, /File /Save As will allow one to Save that file in a new location. There will now be two copies of that file on your computer in different places, and these will show up on /File /Recent Documents as two separate files of the same name. To avoid confusion, exit OpenOffice, use the Operating System File Search to list all copies of that file and decide which you wish to edit; note its file path. in OpenOffice /File /Recent Documents should show you the file paths to the listed documents to allow you select the correct file.

[Hagar Delest]

At the end of the Recent document list, there is an option to clear the list.
Start with that and see if you still have troubles.

[RoryOF]

Do as Hagar says, but first, use the operating system search facility to list all instances of the file in which you are interested; note its location (path) and open only the last revision, or the largest version. A problem with multiple copies of a file is that one can lose track of one's revisions; you may need to transfer intermediate revisions from earlier copies to a definitive version, incorporating all your thoughts. Then delete the older versions. Best to give the definitive version a new name. Also, you may find the timed/dated backup extension of use.

You can download it from
viewtopic.php?p=406045#p405921

Note that you must invoke it separately using its button; it does not replace the standard save mechanism.

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