[Libreoffice-bugs] [Bug 140521] New: FORMATTING: LibreOffice applies direct formatting to all text typed in place of old one

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=140521

            Bug ID: 140521
           Summary: FORMATTING: LibreOffice applies direct formatting to
                    all text typed in place of old one
           Product: LibreOffice
           Version: 6.4.4.2 release
          Hardware: All
                OS: Windows (All)
            Status: UNCONFIRMED
          Severity: normal
          Priority: medium
         Component: Writer
          Assignee: libreoffice-bugs at lists.freedesktop.org
          Reporter: mart.camm at gmail.com

Hi everyone,

this is the first time I report a bug. Please don't hesitate to ask for
clarification in case I don't express myself with the proper terms.

I found the bug on several versions of LibreOffice, specifically 6.4.4.2,
7.0.4.2 and also 7.1.0 which by the way I used to understand how the bug
worked. I could replicate the bug on two completely independent machines, both
running Windows 10 x64. I don't know whether the bug is present also in other
OS. I also tried to do the same with OpenOffice on my machine, but OpenOffice
worked fine, so I think we can totally exclude coincidences or some peculiar
fault of my machine.

It works this way: when you select a portion of text that you have written in a
certain style, be it just a word or a whole paragraph, and then directly type
in the new text you want to have without deleting the old one first,
LibreOffice applies direct formatting to the new text. Meaning: the new text
appears to be in the same style as the old one, but all its characteristics (ok
to be fair I tried with only some characteristics, like font and line spacing,
but I think it's fair to assume it works for everything) are registered as
direct formatting rather than simply paragraph style or character style.

How to replicate: type a text. Any text, in a certain paragraph style, for
example you could have a paragraph style with font Times New Roman bold. Now
select a part of the text, type in something else WITHOUT DELETING THE OLD ONE
FIRST, then change the paragraph style. For example, try changing the font
style to italic instead. Now you'll see that the new text you typed in keeps
the bold, registered as direct formatting and not style formatting.

This can wreak absolute havoc on a document, especially if it's a long one, and
especially if you relied on styles to format it, and I love LibreOffice and I
would love to see it fixed. :)

I would attach a document, and I can do it if somebody thinks it's necessary,
but it's a bug that I believe is best "seen in action"; if I send you a
document with some direct formatting in it I don't think it would be very
helpful for you to understand how the direct formatting got there.

As for version 7.1.0: it's very helpful to see what's going on! Download the
version, go to Tools-->Options-->Advanced and check "Enable experimental
features". Now you'll have the style inspector enabled (right bar, under
Navigator. Same bar where you can access the styles). This means you can see
the bug happening in real time. Have the style inspector open, and do the text
substitution as I described: where first there were only Paragraph Styles or
Character Styles, you'll suddenly see Direct Formatting too!

Workaround for the bug: delete the text first, then type in the new one. Still
bothersome though, especially if you have no idea that the bug exists in the
first place.

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