Bug 100093 - Calc appends path for data linked cells automatically and incorrectly (in a path containing spaces).
Summary: Calc appends path for data linked cells automatically and incorrectly (in a p...
Status: RESOLVED INSUFFICIENTDATA
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Calc (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
4.2.8.2 release
Hardware: x86-64 (AMD64) Linux (All)
: medium normal
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords: needsDevAdvice
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2016-05-27 17:23 UTC by Jim@HiTek
Modified: 2018-05-02 15:51 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Error Message (49.49 KB, image/png)
2016-05-31 16:08 UTC, Jim@HiTek
Details
Spreadsheet in the ODS format that does have the problem. (6.50 KB, application/vnd.ms-excel)
2016-05-31 21:54 UTC, Jim@HiTek
Details
ODS Libre SS (28.45 KB, application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet)
2016-05-31 21:56 UTC, Jim@HiTek
Details
Test link with the ODS extension. (17.23 KB, application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet)
2016-05-31 21:58 UTC, Jim@HiTek
Details
Test link with the XLS extension. (13.00 KB, application/vnd.ms-excel)
2016-05-31 22:00 UTC, Jim@HiTek
Details

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Description Jim@HiTek 2016-05-27 17:23:02 UTC
Libre Calc Version: 4.2.8.2 used in Ubuntu 14.04

Imported several Open Office spreadsheets into a Ubuntu machine from Win10. There are several links in the main SS that go to other SS's in the same directory. When I open that main SS, I get this error:

"The following external file could not be loaded. Data linked from this file did not get updated.

file:///home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/Propane 16.xls"

Note that Calc added "/home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/" 8 extra times. It will keep adding that path whenever I 'Save'. The addition will be there the next time the SS is opened. So far I've tested it to 10 times and it appends 1 redundant path to the original path each time I save and close the SS.

It does the same thing for all the other external files I use too. They are all in the same directory as the main SS that's calling them.

What's funny is that even though it gives me an error message that it can't find the cells data? It puts in the right data. The other thing that's funny, is that it correctly adds the redundant path info. And it just keeps growing.

How do I get around this issue?? Thank you.
Comment 1 Buovjaga 2016-05-31 09:08:22 UTC
Please attach example document.

Set to NEEDINFO.
Change back to UNCONFIRMED after you have provided the document.
Comment 2 Jim@HiTek 2016-05-31 16:08:22 UTC
Created attachment 125421 [details]
Error Message

Error message generated upon opening main SS which has many links to external SS's. All SS's are in the same directory.
Comment 3 Buovjaga 2016-05-31 16:25:28 UTC
I mean the document, not a screenshot.
Comment 4 Jim@HiTek 2016-05-31 16:49:13 UTC
Not sure what you need an example document of? I've attached the error message though.

As shown in the attachment, the error is the number of times the path is appended to with additional "/home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/".

When I xferred the spreadsheets from my Win10 HDD, those links were working fine.

I have found a work around. Turns out that Calc does not like the Directory structure. The dir tree was a copy of the old dir tree on my Win10 HDD as I copied and pasted onto the Ubuntu HDD.

In order to solve the problem, I created a new directory: "Home/jim/Documents/Spreadsheets/" and placed copies of all my SS's there. Then I changed the pointers in the cells and it worked. Changing 'Path' in 'Tools' 'Options' never seemed to make any different with the error.  

In other words, Libre Calc does not like the path(s) I was using. 

This works: 'file:///home/jim/Documents/Spreadsheets/'
Doesn't work: 'file:///home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/'

Now that I know what the problem is, I'll mess with paths until I find something that works for me.
Comment 5 Buovjaga 2016-05-31 20:35:56 UTC
(In reply to Jim@HiTek from comment #4)
> Not sure what you need an example document of? I've attached the error
> message though.

In every case that there is a problematic document, we need it to examine the problem.
Comment 6 Jim@HiTek 2016-05-31 21:54:54 UTC
Created attachment 125424 [details]
Spreadsheet in the ODS format that does have the problem.

In order to recreate the problem, there are 4 spreadsheets. Two of them will call (link to) data. The 3rd and 4th will just store that data. Two are saved as ODS documents, and two are saved as XLS documents. I imported them all of my original SS's from a Win10 machine and they are all XLS extensions. I'll try to send the four SS's I created for the test but right this bug report form seems to only allow one attachment at a time.

You'll have to edit the two files MainTest files to put in the appropriate path on your computer. I'm new to Ubuntu and I'm still learning the path structure. I created the files and put them in a directory as close to root as I could in their own folder called TestSSFolder directly under 'Home' but the links added 'Jim' as part of the directory path. So you'll have to set up yours on your own.

I have found from testing that the XLS sheets are the ones that keep appending to the paths in the links. The ODS sheets don't do that. 

I do want to keep my SS's as XLS in order to be able to easily go back and forth between my computer and my clients computers. Most of which still use the old XLS formatting.

Three more files to follow...
Comment 7 Jim@HiTek 2016-05-31 21:56:19 UTC
Created attachment 125425 [details]
ODS Libre SS

SS #2 attachment with the ODS extension.
Comment 8 Jim@HiTek 2016-05-31 21:58:44 UTC
Created attachment 125426 [details]
Test link with the ODS extension.

3rd of 4 attachments. This is the file linked to by the MainTest.XXX files. It carries the ODS extension.
Comment 9 Jim@HiTek 2016-05-31 22:00:00 UTC
Created attachment 125427 [details]
Test link with the XLS extension.

4th of 4 attachments. This Test link carries the XLS extension.
Comment 10 Jim@HiTek 2016-06-01 05:04:21 UTC
I failed at proof reading...sorry.

The FIX was to open the main SS with it's XLS extension using Libre, then save it with a Libre ODS extension. Then when I opened that SS, and it asked me if I'd like to import the data from the other SS's (all with XLS extensions), it works fine.

It fails when I use Libre to open the main SS with the XLS extension. Asks me if I'd like to import, when I try that, it's giving me that error and repeatedly appends the path.
Comment 11 Jim@HiTek 2016-06-13 15:08:19 UTC
Received an em notice that this bug had an added "needAdvice" notification. I don't know what that means or who generated it.

I haven't changed the status of this bug as it's still a bug.

To Recreate the bug using LibraOffice Calc: 

1) Name or import a SS with a XLS file name extension (Ex: Expenses.xls), 

2) create another SS with either a xls or ods extension, (Ex: Gas.xls), 

3) In Expenses, set up cell(s) which link to Gas.xls (or Gas.ods), enter numeric data in the external cell(s),

3) than save the SS's.

Click to reopen Expenses.xls, it will ask if you wish to update links to other files. Click 'Yes'. It will give an error message "The following external file could not be loaded. Data linked from this file did not get updated."

The error will be generated because Calc appends the path to the external cell each time the SS is closed than opened.
Comment 12 Carlos 2017-04-04 14:14:03 UTC
Perhaps the problem is the space (actually the two spaces) in the problematic directory structure: 

Jim@HiTek said that the path without spaces, that is, 
'file:///home/jim/Documents/Spreadsheets/' worked fine
while the original path with the spaces didn't 
'file:///home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/'
Comment 13 Buovjaga 2017-04-12 15:51:20 UTC
(In reply to Carlos from comment #12)
> Perhaps the problem is the space (actually the two spaces) in the
> problematic directory structure: 
> 
> Jim@HiTek said that the path without spaces, that is, 
> 'file:///home/jim/Documents/Spreadsheets/' worked fine
> while the original path with the spaces didn't 
> 'file:///home/jim/Documents/My Spreadsheets/Spreadsheets 16/'

I created a test from scratch with such a directory structure having nested folders with spaces in them. No problem.

Tested saving and reloading multiple times.

Arch Linux 64-bit, KDE Plasma 5
Version: 5.4.0.0.alpha0+
Build ID: 86eb71c4789dc5ab0200f49f7e5bca512ef4adaf
CPU threads: 8; OS: Linux 4.10; UI render: default; VCL: kde4; 
Locale: fi-FI (fi_FI.UTF-8); Calc: group
Built on April 12th 2016
Comment 14 Jean-Baptiste Faure 2017-09-09 10:45:29 UTC
I think the easiest way to fix the problem is:
1/ configure LO to save links as relative paths: menu Tools > Options > Load/save > General
2/ to modify the links in menu Edit > Links... -> for each link click Modify button and choose the correct file in the current directory.
3/ save and close LO

Then you can check that your files open fine even if you move the three files in another directory.

Does that fix the problem for you?

Set status to NEEDINFO, please set it back to UNCONFIRMED once requested
informations are provided.

Best regards. JBF
Comment 15 QA Administrators 2018-04-04 13:08:58 UTC Comment hidden (obsolete)
Comment 16 QA Administrators 2018-05-02 15:51:47 UTC
Dear Bug Submitter,

Please read this message in its entirety before proceeding.

Your bug report is being closed as INSUFFICIENTDATA due to inactivity and
a lack of information which is needed in order to accurately
reproduce and confirm the problem. We encourage you to retest
your bug against the latest release. If the issue is still
present in the latest stable release, we need the following
information (please ignore any that you've already provided):

a) Provide details of your system including your operating
   system and the latest version of LibreOffice that you have
   confirmed the bug to be present

b) Provide easy to reproduce steps – the simpler the better

c) Provide any test case(s) which will help us confirm the problem

d) Provide screenshots of the problem if you think it might help

e) Read all comments and provide any requested information

Once all of this is done, please set the bug back to UNCONFIRMED
and we will attempt to reproduce the issue. Please do not:

a) respond via email 

b) update the version field in the bug or any of the other details
   on the top section of our bug tracker

Warm Regards,
QA Team

MassPing-NeedInfo-20180502