Description: Description Currently, when saving a document with a password in LibreOffice, the user is offered two options: Main password (to open/edit) Read-only password (to restrict editing) The issue is that the interface does not make it clear that the read-only password is not a second opening password, but rather an additional restriction. This leads to confusion: many users believe they can set two independent passwords (one for editing and another for read-only sharing). In my test: I saved a file with main password “Teste” and read-only password “Test”. When opening with “Teste”, the document opens in read-only mode. To edit, LibreOffice asks again for the read-only password. When trying to open directly with “Test”, the program reports that the password is incorrect. This behavior is not intuitive and may cause users to think they lost access to the file or that they created two independent passwords. Steps to Reproduce: 1. Create a new document in LibreOffice. 2. Save with password, setting different main and read-only passwords. 3. Try opening the file with each password. Actual Results: Only the main password opens the file. The document opens in read-only mode and requires the read-only password to enable editing. The read-only password does not open the file directly. Expected Results: The interface should clearly state that: The main password is mandatory to open the document. The read-only password does not open the document, it only restricts editing. Alternatively, there could be a clearer option like “Share in read-only mode” without requiring a confusing second password. Reproducible: Always User Profile Reset: No Additional Info: Suggestion Improve the wording and explanations in the password saving dialog to avoid misinterpretation. For example: “Password to open/edit the document” “Optional password to enable editing after opening (read-only mode)” or "Password to open/edit the document" "Optional password to open/read only the document"
Created attachment 204053 [details] Test file Read-only password: Test (first letter uppercase) Main (edit) password: Teste (first letter uppercase) To open the file, you must use the main password. If you try to open it using the read-only password, you’ll receive an error. Once the file is opened using the main password, you’ll notice it opens in read-only mode — even though you used the main password. To enable editing, you’ll need to enter the read-only password (strange, isn’t it?). Go to the Edit menu and select Edit Mode, then enter the read-only password.
Walter I agree, that dialog is not clear. I miss the help button Olivier, what do you think? cc: Olivier Hallot
Thanks Dieter for the feedback. The issue is indeed in the "Save As" workflow. At the moment, when selecting "Save with password", the dialog mixes different concepts and this is confusing. It might be clearer if the "Save As" dialog offered two distinct options: - Save with encryption password (to protect the file content). - Save with share-password (to control access). Inside the "Save with share-password" option, there could be a checkbox for "read-only access", so users understand that this is not a second opening password but an additional restriction. This separation would make the workflow more intuitive. In addition, a Help button would be very useful to explain these choices and avoid misinterpretation. What do you think about this approach?
Created attachment 204648 [details] Screenshot of password dialog Isn't the password dialog clear with "to open" vs. "open file read-only"? Besides, I'm against adding (further) options to the plain system dialogs. If, at all, this could be done by different save options like Save As / Save Protected As, which then shows the PW dialog perhaps before the file dialog.
Thank you, Heiko, for your input. Perhaps the solution is not to redesign the dialog entirely, but rather to adjust the terminology or the behavior of the two passwords. At the moment, the workflow is inconsistent: If only the open password is set, the document opens normally in edit mode. But if both passwords are set, using the open password opens the file in read‑only mode, and the read‑only password is then required to unlock editing. Trying to open the file directly with the read‑only password fails. This contradicts the naming and can easily confuse users. Keeping the interface as it is but renaming the fields (or swapping their functions) would make the workflow clearer. For example: “Password to open the document” “Optional password to enable editing after opening” This way, users understand that there is only one password to access the file, and the second is an optional restriction, not a second opening password.