Bug 53548 - Allow "Other" fields / DocInformation / custom editable fields in Draw/Impress (as in Writer)
Summary: Allow "Other" fields / DocInformation / custom editable fields in Draw/Impres...
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Impress (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
Inherited From OOo
Hardware: Other All
: high enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard: BSA
Keywords: needsDevEval
: 78155 93397 102055 102373 115042 147850 149929 151099 151895 161002 169161 170414 (view as bug list)
Depends on:
Blocks: Fields ImpressDraw-Enhancements
  Show dependency treegraph
 
Reported: 2012-08-15 17:47 UTC by Jared
Modified: 2026-02-05 09:57 UTC (History)
20 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


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Description Jared 2012-08-15 17:47:49 UTC
Problem description: Mailmerging is not possible in Draw like it is in Writer.  In Writer you can add "other" fields from a Database, but not in Draw.  This would allow functionality of using Draw in more ways, perhaps making it more comparable toward MS Publisher.

Steps to reproduce:
1. Open Draw
2. Navigate to Insert on menubar
3. Click Fields

Current behavior: Only standard fields are available

Expected behavior: "Other..." fields available

Platform (if different from the browser): 
              
Browser: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.2; rv:15.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/15.0
Comment 1 Alex Thurgood 2015-01-03 17:39:59 UTC Comment hidden (no-value)
Comment 2 Cor Nouws 2015-08-12 21:06:08 UTC
*** Bug 93397 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 3 Cor Nouws 2015-08-12 21:06:17 UTC
*** Bug 78155 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 4 Cor Nouws 2016-09-12 19:20:46 UTC
*** Bug 102055 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 5 Cor Nouws 2016-10-11 09:49:09 UTC
*** Bug 78155 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 6 Regina Henschel 2018-01-16 14:15:22 UTC
*** Bug 115042 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 7 Heiko Tietze 2018-12-17 15:20:07 UTC
Don't see a question for design/UX here (added the flag myself). Would be nice to have, given that the format doesn't limit us. So up to dev.
Comment 8 tovsurf 2021-12-28 14:18:26 UTC
Any hope for this long-standing feature request to receive any attention?

There have been several duplicate reports and the ability to insert "Custom Properties" fields in Draw/Impress is a basic feature in a professional setting for e.g. making drawing headers, document/revision identifiers etc. It already works well in Writer, but is inconsistently missing in Draw/Impress.

We are currently attempting to use LO instead of MSO at our company, but having to manually update fields at each page is a hassle yielding negative perception towards LO.

Is there a place, where you can offer monetary support towards getting this specific feature implemented?
Comment 9 Heiko Tietze 2022-01-03 09:30:50 UTC
LibreOffice is a volunteer-driven open source project. We do not have a development plan in the usual sense. To draw more attention on a particular ticket you can a) precisely describe the use case and make sure it's not a demand from a small portion of users, b) consolidate the requests as done with duplicates (QA will raise the importance after some threshold), and c) suggest a solution. 

You can get professional support from our ecosystem partners, see https://www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-in-business/
Comment 10 Timur 2022-07-14 13:56:44 UTC
*** Bug 149929 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 11 Rafael Lima 2022-09-21 11:50:56 UTC
*** Bug 151099 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 12 Buovjaga 2023-06-13 11:29:40 UTC
*** Bug 147850 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 13 Regina Henschel 2024-05-09 22:55:44 UTC
*** Bug 102373 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 14 Regina Henschel 2024-05-09 22:57:08 UTC
*** Bug 161002 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 15 Heiko Tietze 2025-05-19 06:26:04 UTC
*** Bug 151895 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 16 m_a_riosv 2025-10-30 23:47:13 UTC
*** Bug 169161 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 17 Alex Thurgood 2026-01-21 15:11:55 UTC
*** Bug 170414 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 18 manuel 2026-01-21 15:25:21 UTC
I have a concrete modern use case for this feature.

LibreOffice Writer supports database fields and mail merge, but it is not suitable for visually rich or typographic layouts such as cards, flashcards, badges, certificates, posters or educational material.

Writer is based on a flowing text model and page-oriented structure, which makes it difficult to:
- precisely position objects
- design visually consistent layouts
- control alignment and spacing reliably
- work with complex graphics and backgrounds

LibreOffice Draw is the natural tool for these layouts because it provides:
- absolute positioning of objects
- vector graphics and shapes
- layers and alignment tools
- better control over images and backgrounds

However, Draw currently lacks database fields and any form of data-driven duplication of pages or objects.

This creates a functional gap in LibreOffice: Writer can do data merge but not graphic layout, while Draw can do graphic layout but not data merge.

Adding database fields and serial duplication to Draw would enable professional-grade batch production of cards, flashcards, badges, certificates, posters and game components from spreadsheet data.

This is a real-world workflow limitation today, not a theoretical request.
Comment 19 manuel 2026-02-05 09:57:03 UTC
This feature is requested by many users, not just a few. 
You can see this because similar requests come up again and again over the years.
Please notice that this is a real need, not just a one-time idea.
Why not acknowledge that users really want this? 
At least give an official answer if it is possible or not, and why. 
Thank you.