Recent documents going to downloads & documents files

[MarkP]

Greetings, When I type up a New Document and save it to the 'Recent Documents' (under files) it has also appeared (been saved) on my Downloads and or Documents on the Internet. I don't want them there...only want them on Recent Documents. When I delete the file from Downloads, the body also disappears from the Recent Documents file (but the title remains)! How do I stop new Open Office (OO) files from transferring OUT of OO and on to Downloads and Documents?

[keme]

"Recent documents" is not a storage space where you can save files. It is merely a sort of "memory" or filter which remembers what you have recently worked with, and where (in which file/folder) it was stored at the time.

I never thought of selecting Recent documents as a save target, so don't really know how it would work, but I suspect that your file may be sent to the most recent folder you opened/saved a file in.

The "Recent documents" memory is also persistent, even when you delete the file. Much like If you read a book and then put it in a shelf. If the book is subsequently moved, or stolen, you may still remember having read it, and where you put it.

[RoryOF]

It may be helpful for you to read

Writer for students (several languages)

/File /Save As opens in the last folder in which one Saved a file; in your case this may be either Downloads or Documents. The file, once Saved AS (i.e., given a name in the process of Saving) will then appear in Recent Documents.

If you wish to Save elsewhere - say, for example, on your Desktop (not recommended as a matter of course, but OK in this instance for demonstration), you must use the Navigation methods of /File /Save As to go to that folder, then enter a filename. The file will now appear as an icon on your desktop, and also on the Recent Documents.

You had a previous long thread which showed you had difficulties in understanding Recent Documents and related matters. I strongly urge you to read and consider the above document. It will save you a lot of problems in your use of OpenOffice.

[MarkP]

Thank you both. Yes I have read the info. I prefer having my files in recent documents as I access and update them often. The files are taking up room in/on my Downloads and/or Documents files in my Internet ? section. It is annoying that they are also there and I can't delete them without losing the text on the original files in Recent documents. Oh well.

[MarkP]

PS...I have never 'save as' my Open Office files...I just click on 'x' to close then I click either 'discard' or decide to keep the file (sorry, forgotten the wording of that option). That is why I can't understand how the files leave Open Office.

[Hagar Delest]

Your files are actually stored in the Documents or Download folders.
The recent document list is a mere list of shortcuts pointing to the files stored on your HD. The proof is that if you let the cursor above a recent document entry of that list, an info-tip should appear, giving the path to the file.

[RoryOF]

Why you should think your Downloads and Documents folders are "on the Internet" puzzles me. They are folders on your computer, and as such should normally be accessible only from your computer. For them to appear "on the Internet" implies that they may be visible to the entire world of Internet connectivity, and that appearance can only take place if you have made specific alterations to their permissions and connectivity, which you perhaps have not knowledge to do.

On a computer, files are stored in various folders on the hard disk(s) of the computer. These folders are each given names for ease of use, such names typically reflecting their intended use, but the name not actually enforcing that use. This reflects Real Life. You might have a filing cabinet beside your desk with many folders in it, in which you intend to store important documents. But you are still at liberty to take any such document and place it where you wish - the filing cabinet cannot and does not cause you to place a document in the appropriate folder.

Your passport, for example: you might intend that it should live in folder "Personal Documents"; but when you returned from holiday, it was placed on your bedside table, and from there was tidied into the drawer of the bedside table, where it now lives. And when you come to travel abroad, you have to search the entire house for it. Similarly with computer files. A program, in this case Open- or Libre-Office, will Save a file in the last folder used.

It is your responsibility to remember the structure of the filing system on your computer and the possible location of your files. To help with this, the program keeps a Recent Documents list; this is merely a list of the last ten files you have used. And it allows you access any of those files by clicking on its entry in the list; but it is merely a list for convenience, not a storage location.

[keme]

In a cloud based office suite, typically Google G-suite or Microsoft M365, you type in the content of your document and it is instantly stored. You can change the document name at will. It is stored on your cloud storage and you don't usually worry about putting it into a folder. The document name will appear as recent in the list.

In a locally installed office suite, typically LibreOffice/OpenOffice or Microsoft Office, you type in the content of your document. To store it for future use, you need to save it somewhere on your computer. If you quit without saving you are warned about data loss and offered to save anyway, or to discard. When choosing to save, you are presented a dialog where you can select where to save your document (a folder within the computer's file system), and what to name it (file name). The file name will appear as recent in the list.

You seem to be using a locally installed app, but with the mindset for a typical cloud service. In either case, the "Recent documents" list is not where it takes up storage space.

• In cloud systems it is commonly stored within "My files".
• On local storage it is usually in "Documents" or a subfolder there, or in "Downloads" if you edited a file you downloaded.

In either case, the "Recent documents" entry is merely a pointer into that storage space. Just that in cloud systems it sometimes appears more "integrated", so the pointer into storage looks exactly like the view of actual storage space. In other words: What looks like two storage locations is just two paths into the same storage location.