Version: 7.0.0.3 (x64)
Build ID: 8061b3e9204bef6b321a21033174034a5e2ea88e
CPU threads: 4; OS: Windows 10.0 Build 19042; UI render: Skia/Raster; VCL: win
Locale: en-GB (en_GB); UI: en-GB
Calc: threaded

The most natural and fastest way to clear ad hoc formatting from a WRITER file SHOULD be to select ALL and apply "Clear direct formatting". But this cannot be done because the command (inexplicably) deletes page breaks as well.

(Even worse, the deletion of page breaks does not show up until the document is saved and reloaded: see Bug 73483.)

Imagine a book with many chapters, and it has become apparent that there is character formatting applied willy nilly throughout the document. The user wants to remove this leaving only the paragraph and character styles. To avoid losing page breaks, the user has to apply "Clear direct formatting", section by section, skipping the page breaks. A very time-consuming and tedious business.

IMV, the average user is likely to assume (wrongly) that "Clear direct formatting" only applies to text and should leave page breaks alone.

SUGGESTION: "Clear direct formatting" should NOT delete page breaks. Instead there should be another command, "Clear page breaks", to delete the page breaks separately.