Bug 139547 - Writer removes images from document during (auto)save operation
Summary: Writer removes images from document during (auto)save operation
Status: RESOLVED INSUFFICIENTDATA
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Writer (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
3.3.0 release
Hardware: x86-64 (AMD64) Windows (All)
: medium normal
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2021-01-11 17:19 UTC by Tommy
Modified: 2021-09-08 03:43 UTC (History)
1 user (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


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Description Tommy 2021-01-11 17:19:22 UTC
Description:
Images that were inserted into a Writer document were removed at some point.
This is an *EXTREMELY* severe problem: if the 'save button' in a program does not (reliably) work, then why would you use that program?

This is also not a new problem; as I found out that version 5 also suffered from this. Why this bug has not been solved is baffling to me... It is a *VERY* good reason *NOT* to use LibreOffice.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Take screen capture
2. Paste screen capture in document
3. Save document
4. Pick a random number N between 0 and 100. If N < 2 then some images are removed
Else: go to 1.


Actual Results:
As someone who codes, I *fully* understand the question. The problem is that the moment when the images were removed is unknown. It happened at some point in the past, and I don't scan the document for missing images each and every time I press "save" (or at each event of "autosave").

Expected Results:
Inserted images should *ALWAYS* be present. What is the point of a 'save' button that actually *removes* data during the operation? I don't recall a warning or error message like: "Hard disk full - cannot save document; free up some hard disk space and try again".


Reproducible: Sometimes


User Profile Reset: No



Additional Info:
The document that was affected was updated hundreds of times: often with small changes/additions of text and images. Total file size was less than 10 Mb.

Google-ing this bug, I noticed that this bug was present in previous versions of both OpenOffice and LibreOffice (version 7.1 caused random crashes, I had to go back to version 6.2.2.2). This bug is so severe that I would recommend *NOT* using LibreOffice to create documents that include images!!!

There may be a difference between: 
- inserting an image from clipboard (e.g.: a screen capture which is pasted into the document) and 
- "insert image" by using a file browser and pointing to an image file. Since I never used this option I cannot tell if this avoids the bug. But the coding path may be different.
Comment 1 Dieter 2021-01-26 07:36:18 UTC
Tommy, thank you for reporting the bug. To be certain the reported issue is not related to corruption in the user profile, could you please reset your Libreoffice profile (https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/UserProfile) and re-test?

I have set the bug's status to 'NEEDINFO'. Please change it back to 'UNCONFIRMED' if the issue is still present.

Please also paste informations from Help => About LibreOffice
Comment 2 Tommy 2021-02-02 17:03:45 UTC
A corrupt user profile...?!
Why would a user profile get corrupted? This is should never ever happen...
And: how can I tell if it is corrupted?

I have a portable installation (which prevents possible mixing between versions; mixing versions may cause some problems...). I just unzipped the file and started with 'Writer'. I hope that modifications in font, language (to Canadian) and adding a handful (literally!) of words to the spelling dictionary does not result in a 'corrupt user profile'.

The total profile size is about 2 Mb
The folder user\config\soffice.cfg contains a lot of subfolders but all these are empty.

Asking me to "delete the user profile" and then "see if it happens again" implies that:
- I need to make daily copies of the file that I am working on
- I need to inspect each and every file to check if images have gone missing
- I need to do this for an extensive amount of time (weeks/months)
I am sorry, but my employer does not pay/allow me to do this... I was hoping that for unofficial documents I could use LibreOffice (I am *not* a fan of MS-products), but if it cannot reliably save documents I cannot use it anymore.

BTW: that this event is rare does *NOT* imply that it can be ignored; it just means that it may be more difficult to trap the error.

Note that this error has been present in earlier versions as well. And "googling" for something like "libreoffice missing images after save" will give more than 1 result.
Comment 3 QA Administrators 2021-02-03 04:15:42 UTC Comment hidden (obsolete)
Comment 4 Dieter 2021-02-08 07:34:57 UTC
(In reply to Tommy from comment #2)
> A corrupt user profile...?!
> Why would a user profile get corrupted? This is should never ever happen...
> And: how can I tell if it is corrupted?

Just try Help => Restart in SafeMode
=> Does this solve your problem?
Comment 5 QA Administrators 2021-08-08 03:46:03 UTC Comment hidden (obsolete)
Comment 6 QA Administrators 2021-09-08 03:43:13 UTC
Dear Tommy,

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-FollowUp