Slow scrolling in LibreOffice Calc
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 3:30 pm
Hello:
Just a couple of paragraphs to express my appreciation for the work you all do.
So ...
Most if not all came with [LibreOffice], so I went with the flow (so to speak).
It always had some issue but I tried (most times succeeded) to work around them.
This year, another one cropped up after an update so I tried upgrading to the latest version but it did not go away, It seemed to get worse.
That and some really unneeded UI changes got me.
No sense going into the details, but I decided it was enough and uninstalled it.
While I was looking into the different uncompressed directories still present in [/tmp], inside the main one I came across a file labelled [README_en-US] which (rather unsurprisingly) had this neat little tidbit:
Downloading/installing [OpenOffice] on [Devuan] was a breeze, worked properly out of the box, did not bitch about anything and opened my spreadsheets without failing in any: [*.xls], [*.ods], [*.doc] and [*.odt].
It even helped me weed out a hidden problem in one of my older [*.xls - MSOffice '97] spreadsheets where quite a few [dates] had been marked as [text], ie: ['01/01/2001] instead of [01/01/2001], probably (?) when they were first opened/saved by [LibreOffice] and as a result did not resolve properly in [OpenOffice]. Being [date] not the same as [text] and used to calculate interest, it made proper sense that it did not.
And most gratifying: the last problem I had with [LibreOffice] is not present in [OpenOffice].
ie: snail slow spreadsheet scrolling, to the point of making [Calc] #"$%& totally unusable.
So, unless something really tragic happens, it will be [OpenOffice] from now on.
I am not a power Calc/Writer user, just a grey-bearded chap who needs to write up relatively simple papers and spreadsheets for a number of work related activities. ie: clearly not a professional writer or an accountant*.
Even so, I really did not need the grief and waste of time this last issue brought me, days on end trying to find a solution and finding nothing of use, much less if the cause was [LibreOffice] favouring "nice-looking graphics" over a properly working UI.
Cannot help but wonder about what other compromises LO are willing to accept to achieve their nice-looking graphics target.
Please keep up the good work, [OpenOffice] is not dead or dying.
It just needs thoughtful care.
BTW:
I find the graphics in [OpenOffice] to be much nicer looking than the ones in [LibreOffice].
Please do not mess with them.
Best,
JHM
* thank the gods for that. 8^P
Just a couple of paragraphs to express my appreciation for the work you all do.
So ...
Been a [Linux-only] user for ~12 years or so with quite a few distributions, from an early [Ubuntu] to where I am now, [Devuan Linux daedalus].--------------
Thank you!
--------------
Most if not all came with [LibreOffice], so I went with the flow (so to speak).
It always had some issue but I tried (most times succeeded) to work around them.
This year, another one cropped up after an update so I tried upgrading to the latest version but it did not go away, It seemed to get worse.
That and some really unneeded UI changes got me.
No sense going into the details, but I decided it was enough and uninstalled it.
While I was looking into the different uncompressed directories still present in [/tmp], inside the main one I came across a file labelled [README_en-US] which (rather unsurprisingly) had this neat little tidbit:
My next step was purging [LibreOffice] out of my system, with prejudice.LibreOffice wrote: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Graphic Performance
----------------------------------------------------------------------
By default, LibreOffice favours nice-looking graphics over speed. If you experience slow graphics, switching off 'Tools - Options - LibreOffice - View-Use Anti-Aliasing' may help.
Downloading/installing [OpenOffice] on [Devuan] was a breeze, worked properly out of the box, did not bitch about anything and opened my spreadsheets without failing in any: [*.xls], [*.ods], [*.doc] and [*.odt].
It even helped me weed out a hidden problem in one of my older [*.xls - MSOffice '97] spreadsheets where quite a few [dates] had been marked as [text], ie: ['01/01/2001] instead of [01/01/2001], probably (?) when they were first opened/saved by [LibreOffice] and as a result did not resolve properly in [OpenOffice]. Being [date] not the same as [text] and used to calculate interest, it made proper sense that it did not.
And most gratifying: the last problem I had with [LibreOffice] is not present in [OpenOffice].
ie: snail slow spreadsheet scrolling, to the point of making [Calc] #"$%& totally unusable.
So, unless something really tragic happens, it will be [OpenOffice] from now on.
I am not a power Calc/Writer user, just a grey-bearded chap who needs to write up relatively simple papers and spreadsheets for a number of work related activities. ie: clearly not a professional writer or an accountant*.
Even so, I really did not need the grief and waste of time this last issue brought me, days on end trying to find a solution and finding nothing of use, much less if the cause was [LibreOffice] favouring "nice-looking graphics" over a properly working UI.
Cannot help but wonder about what other compromises LO are willing to accept to achieve their nice-looking graphics target.
Please keep up the good work, [OpenOffice] is not dead or dying.
It just needs thoughtful care.
BTW:
I find the graphics in [OpenOffice] to be much nicer looking than the ones in [LibreOffice].
Please do not mess with them.
Best,
JHM
* thank the gods for that. 8^P