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System: LibreOffice7.2.2.2, Ubuntu21.10

Problem: No LO help function whatsoever: no F1, no local help files, no links to online help. In LO menus for tools/option, no paths to help files are displayed.

Does anybody know how to install local help files and configure LO to invoke help via the F1 key?

N0rbert
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rob grune
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  • How LO was installed? Please add output of `which lowriter`, `apt-cache policy libreoffice`, `snap list | grep -i libreoffice`, `flatpak list | grep -i libreoffice` to the question. – N0rbert Dec 01 '21 at 07:18
  • Can you access `file:///usr/lib/libreoffice/help/en-US/text/swriter/main0000.html?System=UNIX&DbPAR=WRITER&HID=SW_HID_EDIT_WIN#bm_id3147244` or `file:///usr/lib/libreoffice/help/en-US/text/shared/05/new_help.html` from a browser? That is what I get when I press F1 (with the function key). Also, did you try `Help -> Libreoffice Help` in the menu? – Archisman Panigrahi Dec 01 '21 at 07:35
  • @Norbert: LO meta package was installed from the Ubuntu repositories, using Synaptic. The command and return are as follows: $ which lowriter, apt-cache policy libreoffice, snap list | grep -i libreoffice, flatpak list | grep -i libreoffice grep: flatpak: No such file or directory grep: list: No such file or directory – rob grune Dec 01 '21 at 08:50
  • @Archisman: my system shows no such directories or files. Help -> Libreoffice Help gives error: Firefox can’t find the file at /tmp/lu22856naly1x.tmp/NewHelp0.html. – rob grune Dec 01 '21 at 08:55
  • What is your locale? What is the output of `dpkg -S /usr/share/libreoffice/help`? – N0rbert Dec 01 '21 at 13:47
  • The LO: locale is set to en-GB; the UI is set to en-GB. The output of $ dpkg -S /usr/share/libreoffice/help ... is ... libreoffice-help-common, libreoffice-help-en-us, libreoffice-help-en-gb: /usr/share/libreoffice/help – rob grune Dec 02 '21 at 00:55

1 Answers1

-1

Solved. Purged LO. Reboot. Installed latest 7.2.3 release via snap install. New release functions with full offline help. ... But... not all is well. For this release, no font previews show in the font selection box; in fact, no text shows at all. To mitigate this bug, I must disable the font preview via tools/option/view menus. Disabling preview enables font names to show in the font selection box. But even with this, the most recent fonts are no longer listed at the top. Seems LO is full of bugs now.

rob grune
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  • Have you tried the Libreoffice Fresh PPA? – Archisman Panigrahi Dec 04 '21 at 06:26
  • No. Why a new ppa? Are not snaps supposed to eliminate buggy ppas? – rob grune Dec 05 '21 at 08:17
  • 1. PPA's are not new, neither is the official LibreOffice PPA. 2. In general, snaps are [more buggy](https://askubuntu.com/q/1218441/124466) compared to PPAs, as many basic functionalities often do not work out of the box. – Archisman Panigrahi Dec 05 '21 at 09:10
  • 1/ The versions between PPAs appeat to be identical. 2/ hmm, you may have a point. Snaps, though, are maintained by Canonical, and I have found these to be as stable as the repositories. Snaps install and uninstall cleanly, unlike all others. If Snaps require more disc space, I have not encountered this. Flatpaks have been a tad buggy, and do not always uninstall cleanly. Thanks for your comments. – rob grune Dec 06 '21 at 02:53