Bug 146525 - An option to disable "The template, on which this document is based, has been modified"
Summary: An option to disable "The template, on which this document is based, has been...
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Writer (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
7.2.4.1 release
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords: needsDevAdvice
Depends on:
Blocks: Templates
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Reported: 2022-01-02 15:54 UTC by jsv
Modified: 2022-03-29 12:39 UTC (History)
4 users (show)

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Description jsv 2022-01-02 15:54:46 UTC
Description:
Consider the following case:

You have about 100 documents that are based on the template Foo. Then you need to adjust this template in some way. For example, you may decide to change the color of the Text Body style from black to red.

And then, each of the hundred documents, when you open them for the first time, will ask you:

```
The template Foo, on which this document is based, has been modified. Do you want to update the styles of the current document, using the modified template?

[Update Styles] [Keep Old Styles]
```

The problem is that pressing the "Update Styles" each time you open one another document, even for the first time only, is boring. Yes, this works as a safety belt, and in most cases this is a useful thing.

But this will be great to have a tweak under "Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Advanced > Open Expert Configuration" to disable this window and update styles automatically (when you open a document). For people who really know what they do and who don't like to press the "Update Styles" button too often.

That is, if you have changed the color of the Text Body style in the template, and then you open a document that is based on it, the color of the Text Body style should be changed to red automatically, without asking user whether the user want to update styles or keep old.

Please note that I talk about a tweak in the "Expert" set of options. This will not harm the workflow of average users.

Steps to Reproduce:
see above

Actual Results:
see above

Expected Results:
see above


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No



Additional Info:
see above
Comment 1 Dieter 2022-01-17 07:48:08 UTC
Jsv, thank you for your request. lets's ask design-team for input and decision.
Comment 2 Heiko Tietze 2022-01-20 07:24:49 UTC
Adding an expert option doesn't hurt. But the better solution is adding a checkbox "Don't show again until the next modification" on the dialog. Is this possible, Mike?
Comment 3 Mike Kaganski 2022-01-20 07:31:17 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #2)
> Is this possible, Mike?

Yes, it would be possible - either using some database in user profile, with a map that pairs filenames to dates (and then it would be profile-specific, and would still ask on a different profile/system); or using the file itself, adding custom data with date of rejected update notification (and then it would only work after saving the file).

However, I feel that your proposal is completely unrelated to OP's, who doesn't intend to mean "No I do not want this this time; do not ask until next time" - but instead, would want to answer "Yes I want it this time, and in the future, without asking", which IMO is absolutely wrong even as an expert option (it means modifying documents on opening, i.e. converting file open operation into file edit operation without notice). The only way to implement OP's proposal IMO is  to use some kind of auto-triggered user macro.
Comment 4 Heiko Tietze 2022-01-20 08:01:21 UTC
Consider the use case when a company changes the post address or some logo. All documents based on this template request a confirmation now, which is annoying (for good reasons in most cases).

My proposal is to ask "Yes I want it this time, and in the future (until the next modification), without asking". The "No I do not want this this time; do not ask until next time" makes not much sense because it makes the template modification pointless.

And I understand the OPs request for an expert option as suppressing the confirmation completely. Or am I wrong, jsv?


(In reply to Mike Kaganski from comment #3)
> either using some database in user profile, with
> a map that pairs filenames to dates (and then it would be profile-specific,
> and would still ask on a different profile/system); or using the file
> itself, adding custom data with date of rejected update notification (and
> then it would only work after saving the file).

Sounds like some effort. I thought there is a more simple way by saving/comparing the change timestamp.
Comment 5 Mike Kaganski 2022-01-20 08:05:51 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #4)
> Consider the use case when a company changes the post address or some logo.

Lol. You imagine that at such event, all historical documents should also be updated? No. Only new documents, or a handful of in-progress documents, should be updated; any document that was issued before the rebranding must be kept intact.

Makes absolutely no sense to implement this dangerous proposal.