Bug 164261 - When I start a document with landscape mode, I cannot insert a manual page break with portrait mode
Summary: When I start a document with landscape mode, I cannot insert a manual page br...
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Writer (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
25.2.0.0 alpha0+
Hardware: All Windows (All)
: medium normal
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Writer-Page-Break
  Show dependency treegraph
 
Reported: 2024-12-10 02:25 UTC by NarayanAras
Modified: 2025-08-24 07:25 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
How we set the Default Page Format (36.88 KB, image/png)
2024-12-11 05:07 UTC, NarayanAras
Details
The drop-down list does not offer a "portrait" page format option! (15.51 KB, image/png)
2024-12-11 05:08 UTC, NarayanAras
Details

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Description NarayanAras 2024-12-10 02:25:28 UTC
Description:
Normally we start a document in Portrait mode. In that case, inserting a page break with landscape mode is easy, using the Insert > More breaks > Manual Break... menu. In the dialog that pops up, I can select the "Page break" option, and then select "Landscape" in the "Page style" drop down list.

Note that while the drop-down list contains an explicit "Landscape" mode, it does NOT contain an explicit "Portrait" mode. Instead, it offers a "Default page style" option.
 
This flaw causes trouble when we start a document in landscape mode. In this case, Writer treats "landscape" as the default page mode. So I cannot insert a page break where the next page must be in portrait mode.

In other words, Writer expects me to always start any document in portrait mode only.

This is unreasonable.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Start a new odt document.
2. Press ALT+SHFT+P and set the page style to Landscape
3. Write something on the first page.
4. Now select Insert > More breaks > Manual Break... menu
5. Select "Page break".
   Notice that the drop-down list does NOT contain an explicit "Portrait" mode.
   We have to select the "Default page style" option.
6. Observe the newly inserted page. It is in Landscape mode!

Actual Results:
The newly inserted page is in Landscape mode instead of Portrait mode.
There is no way I can insert a page break with the next page in portrait mode.

Expected Results:
I should be able to insert a page in portrait mode.


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No

Additional Info:
Version: 25.8.0.0.alpha0+ (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: f232952e727c50cc3a5927ff3b082f88e36c9bed
CPU threads: 8; OS: Windows 11 X86_64 (10.0 build 22631); UI render: Skia/Raster; VCL: win
Locale: en-US (en_US); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded
Comment 1 LeroyG 2024-12-10 21:35:47 UTC
Choose for your first page the Landscape page style,* then you can choose "Default page style" as page style as you insert the page break.
By the way: "Default page style" must be renamed as Portrait.

* F11, Page Styles button (the fourth button, with a brush over a page icon).
Comment 3 NarayanAras 2024-12-11 04:59:54 UTC
@LeroyG-

The help page you quoted has a section titled "To Quickly Switch Between Portrait and Landscape Page Layout". The very first sentence says:

"The default template provided by LibreOffice Writer offers several page layout styles, among which the Default Page Style has Portrait orientation..."

This description is incorrect: The default style is not permanently set to "portrait": We can use the Format > Page Style... menu (or press ALT+SHFT+P) and set the Default Page Style to "Landscape". (see attached screenshot#1).

when the "Default Page style" is set to "Landscape", the styles drop-down list no longer offers any option to change the page style to portrait! (see screenshot#2)
Comment 4 NarayanAras 2024-12-11 05:07:41 UTC
Created attachment 198053 [details]
How we set the Default Page Format
Comment 5 NarayanAras 2024-12-11 05:08:54 UTC
Created attachment 198054 [details]
The drop-down list does not offer a "portrait" page format option!
Comment 6 meagan.eggert 2025-03-14 18:18:43 UTC
Version 25.2.1.2
Build ID: d3abf4aee5fd705e4a92bba33a32f40bc4e56f49
CPU threads: 8; OS: Windows 11 x86_64
UI render: Skia/Raster; VCL: win
Locale: en-US; UI: en-US
Calc: threaded

I was able to reproduce the issue when following the declared steps. When starting a document in landscape mode, there is no option to insert a manual break in portrait mode. 

However, I was able to go around this issue by following the steps in the link here: https://help.libreoffice.org/latest/en-US/text/swriter/guide/pageorientation.html?DbPAR=WRITER#bm_id9683828, provided by m_a_riosv.