Files will not open

[jlittle]

OP, wtb32141, if you get really desperate:

1. odt files are a compressed archive that can be opened using ark, the "KDE Archiving tool", and this shows the various aspects of the document that are in .xml files.
2. The odf2txt command line utility (in the repos) can extract text from odt document.
3. The unoconv command line utility (in the repos) can convert documents to a variety of formats. It uses the LibreOffice libraries to do this, so I would not be surprised if it strikes the same errors as LibreOffice does.

[Schwarzer Kater]

[…] I’m not sure if LibreOffice is broken or not but you will have a better chance with a new install.
[…]

The quickest and safest way to determine if the culprit is LibreOffice itself would be to download and use a LibreOffice AppImage from the official website as mentioned above…
And if LibreOffice itself is the culprit the more recent version from the official *Ubuntu Jammy backports repository could certainly be worth a try.

[wtb32141]

Schwarzer Kater's words "The quickest and safest way ..." appeal to me; so that's what I will do. I have work to do on my home today and maybe tomorrow, but I will get to it as soon as I can. This problem already has cost me 3 weeks of work. I sincerely appreciate all of the suggestions that folks have offered.

[wtb32141]

Jeff, I have used Synaptic, and I like it. A newer version of LibreOffice is available than the one I now have; so I most likely will go the uninstall-reinstall route that you suggest. First though, I'm going to try AppImage, about which I know very little, but I'll read about it on the internet.

[Schwarzer Kater]

AppImages

• download the AppImage you want to use
• e.g. put it into your "home" directory into the "Applications" sub-directory (create the "Applications" directory first, if it does not exist)
  - in fact it does not matter where you put AppImages within your user's directories, you could also put them onto your "desktop" to have easy access for example (but "Applications" is an "unspoken" default)
  - also see the suggestion below
• to start an AppImage open the "Applications" directory in your "home" with Dolphin and double-click the AppImage you want to use
• press "Continue" if a dialog box appears and asks you if you want to use it

PS: AppImages could be compared to something like a standalone ".exe" in Windows - they don't work quite the same though.



--- additional info (not directly relevant for your indirect question "how to use an AppImage")


AppImages are not shown in your Applications Menu like e.g. Flatpaks and Snaps are - here is a suggestion for that:

in KDE Plasma add the "Folder View" widget to your panel - just put all AppImages into one folder before (like in an "Applications" folder in your "home" directory) - and display the "Applications" folder in this widget…
You will still have to double-click the AppImage in the "Folder View" widget window to start it, but I find that much more convenient (and the third-party tools to integrate AppImages within your Applications Menu are not … very good - to be polite).

The "Folder View" widget in your panel could look something like this:

[JeffRedd]

Jeff, I have used Synaptic, and I like it. A newer version of LibreOffice is available than the one I now have; so I most likely will go the uninstall-reinstall route that you suggest. First though, I'm going to try AppImage, about which I know very little, but I'll read about it on the internet.

wtb32141, You can install it as a AppImages like Schwarzer Kater suggested but if you are not able to do that you can always install it from Discover (Software Center).

[wtb32141]

The Verdict--Bad news for me!!! I ran the LibreOffice AppImage. I opened Chapter 40.odt. I added "--Testing" to the Chapter's "Introduction". Then I told Writer to save the file. A progress bar opened at the bottom of the screen, and I started the stopwatch. After it had gone 2 minutes, I stopped it (by rebooting the computer). No need to waste more time. Now I will have to test each of the 43 files that comprise that book to see which ones are corrupt. I have multiple backups. The more recent ones also will be corrupted. I have been using computers since 1981. This time is the first problem like this I've encountered.

[Schwarzer Kater]

So the culprit does not seem to be LibreOffice itself, but the files…

Did you already try what claydoh suggested in post # 37?

To toss another idea that may help, if the file is corrupted, might be worth it try opening the 'bad' file, then copy the text into a new document, and see how that new one behaves.

[wtb32141]

"Did you already try what claydoh suggested in post # 37?" No I didn't, but I will and I'll post the result here.

[wtb32141]

To that corrupt Chapter 40.odt text I added to the Introduction "--Testing Claydoh's Idea". Then I saved the file. The saving went smoothly--no problem at all!!! So I have a question: "If file X is corrupt, why does copying file X result in an "un-corrupt" copy of file X? In other words, how does copying the file eliminate the corruption? That's why I did not test Cladoh's idea when he first suggested I copy the corrupt file. It did not make sense to me then, and it doesn't make sense to me now! But it worked!!!

I'm going to do this exercise all over to be sure that I got it right! I did it all over, and I got the same result!

[Schwarzer Kater]

Really glad to hear that!
I hope you can "save" all of your work this way. And don't forget to make proper backups.

[wtb32141]

I have new info to report re the problems I've described in this thread re (1) the opening of .odt files and (2) the saving of those files. I have said that I have used LibreOffice's Writer to write a book on Einstein. The book consists of 43 files (40 chapter files, a front-matter file, a sources file, and an index file). Post number 67 supra reports on a problem with Chapter 40.odt that the AppImage detected. I copied that file, and the copy was free of problems. So yesterday I used the AppImage to test each of the other 42 files. On each of those 42 files, I did the following: (1) I opened the file, (2) I edited the file, (3) I saved the edit, (4) I reopened the edited file, (5) I reversed the edit that occurred in step 2, and (6) I saved that edit thereby restoring the file to its original content. I encountered NOT ONE PROBLEM with any of the 42 files! So my conclusion is: With the exception of Chapter 40, I do not believe that the problems I reported on opening and saving .odt files were due to those files.

[claydoh]

If file X is corrupt, why does copying file X result in an "un-corrupt" copy of file X? In other words, how does copying the file eliminate the corruption?

Because there is a lot of extra data in the document, outside of the text. Edit history, formatting info, and changes. Plus more edits and the like. A new document file starts with an empty slate, with only the text and formatting copied over.

Open one of these files in Ark and you can see all the different elements included.

Personally, I think you have been a little bit lucky or blessed to never have had serious issues with files over the years. I am envious , even though it has not been a common thing for me at all.