LibreOfficeBugWrangling

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Revision 21 as of 2014-02-23 16:11:30
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Editor: penalvch
Comment: RM'ed "Failure to..." as already noted previously.
Revision 34 as of 2017-06-01 01:50:43
Size: 13242
Editor: penalvch
Comment: 1) Due to LP#1641264 rm manual instructions as folks stop reading/ignore instructions and don't file crash reports. 2) Emphasize new report.
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## 20121122 https://launchpad.net/~penalvch When one files a bug via apport against libreoffice via ubuntu-bug libreoffice and did not install the libreoffice meta package, the filed bug report tends not to provide enough information to triage appropriately. Ex. https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libreoffice/+bug/1080509 one has no idea what specific LO packages they actually have installed. Hence, asking for apt-show-versions -r libreoffice* in the bug reporting template section is an extremely helpful way an original reporter can provide information for triagers to work on the problem without asking for follow up information, and waiting for the response. However, not all packages in https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libreoffice have libreoffice in the name, so some will be missed (ex. ure, python-uno, etc.). If a more comprehensive command exists to provide all the installed packages for libreoffice with versions compactly, that does not contain the word libreoffice in the package name, please replace. I just have not come across a more relevant one. Thank you for your understanding.

Available languages: [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LibreOfficeBugWrangling_it| Italiano]]
Available languages: [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LibreOfficeBugWrangling_it|Italiano]]
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= How to File = = Introduction =
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 * Please do not report a LibreOffice bug without first reading this wiki article and performing all the relevant actions mentioned here.
 * First, before filing a bug report, please make sure you install the full LibreOffice suite to avoid [[https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/desktop-q-libreoffice-split|package split collatoral damage]], by executing at a terminal:
||<tablestyle="background-color: #eee"> {{{sudo apt-get -y install libreoffice}}}||
  * Please file all your LibreOffice bugs by executing at the Terminal: <<BR>> {{{ubuntu-bug <PACKAGE>}}} <<BR>> <<BR>> where <PACKAGE> is the specific package you found the problem in. For example, if you have a document import issue with Writer: <<BR>> {{{ubuntu-bug libreoffice-writer}}}
 Please do not report a !LibreOffice bug without first reading this wiki article and performing all the relevant actions mentioned here. Also, please do not complain about how long it takes to release a patch, the severity of your bug is high so it should be fixed immediately, "I cannot believe it's not fixed...", etc. This type of behavior is nonconstructive, irritating to others who read your comment, and does not incentivize developers to want to fix your problem. We all want to see every bug fixed as soon as possible! Naturally, bugs being fixed is limited to reproducibility and clarity of the bug report, the actual impact the bug has on the community, and available developer resources.
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== Bug Reporting Template == = What is not considered a bug? =
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||<tablestyle="background-color: #eee"> 1) lsb_release -rd <<BR>> <<BR>> 2) apt-cache policy <PACKAGE> <<BR>> <<BR>> apt-show-versions -r libreoffice* <<BR>> <<BR>> 3) What is expected to happen in Writer is <PRECISE, STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS>. <<BR>> <<BR>> 4) What happened instead is... <<BR>> <<BR>> I have the following extensions installed: lo-menubar... <<BR>> <<BR>> WORKAROUND: Perform the following steps:...||
 /!\ Please note the above 1) and 2) are terminal commands to execute, and post the results of when initially filing your bug report. Failure to follow this format will delay in your bug getting addressed as soon as possible. As well, you may need to install the package [[https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/apt-show-versions|apt-show-versions]].
 * Please do not stack multiple issues into one bug.
 * Please do not complain about how long it takes to fix a bug, the severity of your bug is high so it should be fixed immediately, "I cannot believe it's not fixed...", etc. Especially, if you have not completed the relevant, below mentioned debugging procedures, let alone contributed code upstream. This type of behavior is unconstructive, irritating to others who read your E-Mail, and spammy. We all want to see every bug fixed as soon as possible! Naturally, bugs being fixed is limited to reproducibility and clarity of the bug report, the actual impact the bug has on the community, and available developer resources.
== package libreoffice-common (not installed) failed to install/upgrade: trying to overwrite '/usr/bin/soffice', which is also in package openoffice-debian-menus ==
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= Debugging Procedure =
== Document Issues ==
 If you have a crash, and a window pops up asking to report to Launchpad something like:
 '''package libreoffice-common (not installed) failed to install/upgrade: trying to overwrite '/usr/bin/soffice', which is also in package openoffice-debian-menus''' <<BR>><<BR>>
 Please do not file this as a bug report. It's not a bug, and will be marked Invalid. Instead, please remove the package openoffice-debian-menus first before upgrading.
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=== Bug importing a non-MS Office document ===
  * If you are reporting about importing a non-MS Office document, please attach the document to the bug report before opening in LibreOffice or in any other program. As well, please post a screenshot of how it looks in LibreOffice with a specific description about how it should look.
== Apache OpenOffice / OpenOffice.org bugs ==
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=== Bug exporting to MS Office ===
  * If you are reporting about how a document looks different exporting to MS Office, please attach the document to the bug report immediately after saving via LibreOffice, but before opening in MS Office. As well, please post a screenshot of how it looks in LibreOffice and then how it shows in MS Office.
 Apache !OpenOffice (AOO) / !OpenOffice.org (OOo) is not supported in Ubuntu. This is due to how:
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=== Bug Importing from MS Office ===
  * If you are reporting about how a document looks importing from MS Office, please save the file in MS Office, then before opening in any other program, attach the document to the bug report. As well, please post a screenshot of how it looks in LibreOffice and then how it shows in MS Office.
  1. !LibreOffice is the default office productivity suite in Ubuntu.
  1. !LibreOffice releases are [[https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleasePlan|fast, timely, and on a scheduled maintenance cadence]].
  1. Historically, AOO has had a long time lag in [[https://openoffice.apache.org/mailing-lists.html#announce-mailing-list|releasing new versions, features, bug fixes, and security updates]].
  1. AOO has not announced a precise, and consistent release schedule for their software.
  1. Against the consensus of the OOo community, OOo was forced to incur an unnecessary, and largely unwanted licensing and branding change into AOO.
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=== Bug Exporting to Adobe PDF ===
  * If you are reporting about how a document looks exporting to Adobe Reader, please attach the file to the bug report before and after exporting to PDF. As well, provide screenshots of how it looks in LibreOffice and Adobe Reader.
 Hence, an appropriate triaging response is:
 ||<tablestyle="background-color: #eee"> Thank you for reporting this and helping make Ubuntu. <<BR>> <<BR>> However, there are no new official Apache !OpenOffice / !OpenOffice.org releases in Ubuntu, as the Ubuntu project has transitioned to !LibreOffice. Hence, the status of this report is being marked as Won't Fix. <<BR>><<BR>> You are welcome to test for this problem in !LibreOffice. If reproducible, please click the button: <<BR>> Also affects distribution <<BR>><<BR>> Distribution: Ubuntu <<BR>> Source Package Name: (Optional) libreoffice <<BR>><<BR>> For more on installing !LibreOffice please see ''''''https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LibreOffice. <<BR>><<BR>> Thank you for your understanding.||
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=== Bug Importing PDF ===
  * If you are reporting about how a PDF document looks importing into Draw, please attach the file to the bug report before importing into Draw. As well, provide screenshots of how it looks in LibreOffice and Adobe Reader.
= How to file a bug =
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== Printing ==
 * For issues printing from LibreOffice please report this against cups first via the Terminal: <<BR>> {{{ubuntu-bug cups}}} <<BR>> <<BR>> It could end up being an issue with LibreOffice, but it's best to start with cups in order to rule it out. As well, please follow all steps noted in https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingPrintingProblems .
 First, please make sure you remove all AOO/OOo packages first, then install the full !LibreOffice suite to avoid [[https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/desktop-q-libreoffice-split|package split collateral damage]], by executing at a terminal:
 ||<tablestyle="background-color: #eee">{{{sudo apt-get -y install libreoffice}}}||
 Please file all your !LibreOffice bugs by executing at terminal:
 ||<tablestyle="background-color: #eee">{{{ubuntu-bug <PACKAGE>}}}||
 where <PACKAGE> is the specific package you found the problem in. For example, if you have a document import issue with Writer:
 ||<tablestyle="background-color: #eee">{{{ubuntu-bug libreoffice-writer}}}||
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== Crashes ==
=== LibreOffice Crashes but System Still Functional ===
 * For instances when only LibreOffice crashes but you can still use the OS without hard rebooting, please report this via Apport and ensure you have all the LibreOffice debug symbols installed (libreoffice-dbg, uno-libs3-dbg, and ure-dbg). For more on this please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Apport . As well, if this happened while a particular document was open or you were manipulating the document, please attach that document to the bug report with detailed, click-for-click steps on how to reproduce the crash.
 * In the rare instance that after you followed the above, apport did not kick in, please provide a backtrace, valgrind, and strace following https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingProgramCrash .
== Bug reporting template ==
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=== The Whole System Hangs or Boots to the Login Screen ===
 * For instances when you are using LibreOffice and either the system hangs requiring a hard reset or you are booted to the login screen, this is a bug in either xorg or the kernel. Please follow https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DebuggingSystemCrash . As well, if this happened while a particular document was open or you were manipulating the document, please attach that document to the bug report with detailed, click-for-click steps on how to reproduce the crash.
 /!\ Please note 1) and 2) are terminal commands to execute, and post the results of when initially filing your bug report. As well, you may need to install the package [[https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/apt-show-versions|apt-show-versions]].
 ||<tablestyle="background-color: #eee"> 1) lsb_release -rd <<BR>> <<BR>> 2) apt-cache policy <PACKAGE> <<BR>> <<BR>> apt-show-versions -r libreoffice* <<BR>> <<BR>> 3) What is expected to happen in Writer is <PRECISE, STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO REPRODUCE ONE PROBLEM>. <<BR>> <<BR>> 4) What happened instead is... <<BR>> <<BR>> I have the following extensions installed: lo-menubar... <<BR>> <<BR>> WORKAROUND: Perform the following steps:...||
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=== Troubleshooting Techniques ===
Try moving .libreoffice and ~/.config/libreoffice. If you installed any extensions, remove them and see if the problem is reproducible. Comment on the results of performing these techniques in your report. Please keep these directories around -- if moving the profile helps you, developers might be interested in it to find out what was wrong with it.
= Debugging =
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== Regressions ==
 * For regressions, it is helpful to perform a binary bisect ("bibisect") to narrow down which commit specifically caused the problem. For instructions please see http://sweetshark.livejournal.com/7683.html .
== Move ~/.config/libreoffice ==
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== Wishlists ==
 * For Wishlist reports, many of these are requests to implement a feature in LibreOffice found in MS Office. A broad but good rule of thumb is if you want LibreOffice to do something that MS Office does (MS Office compatibility expectation), please document how specifically MS Office does it, then how LibreOffice does not or does not do well that which you desire. Please keep in mind, pocket cases exist where LibreOffice intentionally does not do what MS Office does (ex. leap year implementation https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libreoffice/+bug/456100).
 Try moving .libreoffice and ~/.config/libreoffice. If you installed any extensions, remove them and see if the problem is reproducible. Comment on the results of performing these techniques in your report. Please keep these directories around -- if moving the profile helps you, developers might be interested in it to find out what was wrong with it.
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= Triaging LibreOffice Bugs = == Bug importing a non-MS Office document ==

 If you are reporting about importing a non-MS Office document, please attach the document to the bug report before opening in !LibreOffice or in any other program in Ubuntu. As well, please post a screenshot of how it looks in !LibreOffice with a specific description about how it should look.

== Bug exporting to MS Office ==

 If you are reporting about how a document looks different exporting to MS Office, please attach the document to the bug report immediately after saving via !LibreOffice, but before opening in MS Office. As well, please post a screenshot of how it looks in !LibreOffice and then how it shows in MS Office.

== Bug importing from MS Office ==

 If you are reporting about how a document looks importing from MS Office, please save the file in MS Office, then before opening in any other program, attach the document to the bug report. As well, please post a screenshot of how it looks in !LibreOffice and then how it shows in MS Office.

== Bug exporting PDF to Adobe ==

 If you are reporting about how a document looks exporting to Adobe Reader, please attach the file to the bug report before and after exporting to PDF. As well, provide screenshots of how it looks in !LibreOffice and Adobe Reader.

== Bug importing PDF ==

 If you are reporting about how a PDF document looks importing into Draw, please attach the file to the bug report before importing into Draw. As well, provide screenshots of how it looks in Draw and Adobe Reader.

== Printing problems ==

 For issues printing from !LibreOffice please report this against cups first via a terminal:
 ||<tablestyle="background-color: #eee">{{{ubuntu-bug cups}}}||
 It could end up being an issue with !LibreOffice, but it's best to start with cups in order to rule it out. As well, please follow all debugging steps noted in [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingPrintingProblems]].

== LibreOffice crashes but system still functional ==

 This is when !LibreOffice crashes, but one may still continue to use the OS.
  1. Please make sure the !LibreOffice debug symbol packages are installed:
   * libreoffice-dbg
   * uno-libs3-dbg
   * ure-dbg
  1. Please file a new crash report via the apport process. Instructions on this are available from [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Apport]].
  1. If the crash happened while a particular document was open or you were manipulating the document in a certain way, please attach that document to the new bug report you created with detailed, click-for-click steps on how to reproduce the crash.
  1. For suspected GUI/desktop environment driven crashes (ex. reproducible in Kubuntu but not Xubuntu), please remove the following packages and comment on if this changes anything:
   * libreoffice-gtk
   * libreoffice-gnome
   * libreoffice-gtk3
   * libreoffice-kde

== The Whole system hangs or boots to the login screen ==

 For instances when you are using !LibreOffice and either the system hangs requiring a hard reset or you are booted to the login screen, this may be a bug in either the X.Org suite or the linux kernel. Please follow [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DebuggingSystemCrash]]. Also, if this happened while a particular document was open or you were manipulating the document, please attach that document to the bug report with detailed, click-for-click steps on how to reproduce the crash.

== Bibisecting regressions ==

 For regressions, it is helpful to perform a binary bisect ("bibisect") to narrow down which commit specifically caused the problem. For instructions please see [[http://sweetshark.livejournal.com/7683.html]].

= Triaging LibreOffice bugs =

== Requesting a document ==

 Many bugs are dependent on the document. Hence, it is vital the original reporter provide a minimal test case that demonstrates the issue. An example triaging statement:
 ||<tablestyle="background-color: #eee">Thank you for reporting this and helping make Ubuntu better.<<BR>><<BR>>Could you please attach uncompressed/untarred to this report a document that reproduces this problem? Please ensure that:<<BR>>1) If a concern of privacy exists due to the sensitive information in the document, it needs to be removed. Please do not directly e-mail anyone the sensitive document as this puts an undue burden on the other person to ensure a secure chain of custody.<<BR>>2) Please reduce the document so that it has the least amount of content possible, but still demonstrates this problem. The bigger the document, the harder it is for a developer to quickly review it, and provide a fix.<<BR>><<BR>>Thank you for your understanding.||
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 * For bugs in Writer, it is helpful to check to see if the problem exists in AbiWord. For bugs in Calc, it is helpful to check to see if the problem exists in Gnumeric. Sometimes, AbiWord and Gnumeric give the bug reporter a usable workaround to the problem (and vice versa). If a workaround is found, feel free to document it in the report. As well, while not quite apples and oranges code wise, it gives LibreOffice developers code to base a patch on.
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== Wishlist Reports ==
 * For Wishlist reports, they most likely should be marked Won't Fix Wishlist. This is due to how Ubuntu diverts very little from the LibreOffice upstream source release, and upstream's rapid maintenance cadence. <<BR>> A Won't Fix Wishlist stock reply:
 For bugs in Writer, it is helpful to check to see if the problem exists in !AbiWord. For bugs in Calc, it is helpful to check to see if the problem exists in Gnumeric. Sometimes, !AbiWord and Gnumeric give the bug reporter a usable workaround to the problem (and vice versa). If a workaround is found, feel free to document it in the report. As well, while not quite apples and oranges code wise, it gives !LibreOffice developers code to base a patch on.
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||<tablestyle="background-color: #eee">Thank you for reporting this and helping making Ubuntu better. Regarding this report:<<BR>>- This is a clearcut upstream issue. You are welcome to send this to the developers of the software by following the instructions at http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/BugReport . If you have done so, please tell us the number of the upstream bug (or the link), so we can add a bugwatch that will inform us about its status.<<BR>>- Marking LibreOffice Packaging and libreoffice (Ubuntu) => Won't Fix Wishlist. This does not mean the issue will not be cared about, but if it is cared about (even by Ubuntu/Canonical contributors), it is done upstream at LibreOffice.|| == LibreOffice Packaging PPAs ==
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== How to Forward Bugs Upstream ==
 * Once marked Triaged, a report may be filed upstream using the [[https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/bug/|LibreOffice Bug Submission Assistant]] <<FootNote(Or in the old fashioned way at https://bugs.freedesktop.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=LibreOffice)>>.
 While PPAs are by definition not supported in Ubuntu, for those who use the PPAs provided by the [[https://launchpad.net/~libreoffice|LibreOffice Packaging]] team, courtesy support is extended to help them. As a triager, it is helpful to add in the report the tag '''ppa''' in the tags field, and triage as normal.
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  * Once a remote bug watch has been added to a bug report, it is helpful to append [Upstream] to the beginning of the bug title. This helps in searching for bugs reports by title. Please do not append this unless a remote bug watch has been added to the report as this creates confusion on which bugs have been reported upstream and which have not. == Wishlist reports ==

 For Wishlist reports, these typically are requests to implement a new feature in !LibreOffice not currently supported. A broad but good rule of thumb is if you want !LibreOffice to do something that MS Office does, as !LibreOffice intends compatibility with MS Office, please document how specifically MS Office does it, then how !LibreOffice does not or does not do well that which you desire.
 Please keep in mind, pocket cases exist where !LibreOffice intentionally does not do what MS Office does (ex. [[https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libreoffice/+bug/456100|leap year implementation]]).
 For Wishlist reports, they would typically be marked Won't Fix Wishlist. This is due to how Ubuntu diverts very little from the !LibreOffice upstream source release, and upstream's rapid maintenance cadence. An appropriate [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Bug%20statuses|Won't Fix]] [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Bug%20importances|Wishlist]] reply:

 ||<tablestyle="background-color: #eee">Thank you for reporting this and helping make Ubuntu better. Regarding this report:<<BR>>- This is a clearcut upstream issue. Could you please send this to the developers of the software by following the instructions at [[http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/BugReport]]? Please provide a URL of the upstream bug, so a bugwatch may be added that will advise about its status.<<BR>>- Marking !LibreOffice Packaging and libreoffice (Ubuntu) => Won't Fix Wishlist. This does not mean the issue will not be cared about, but if it is cared about (even by Ubuntu/Canonical contributors), it is done upstream at !LibreOffice. <<BR>><<BR>> Thank you for your understanding.||

== How to forward bugs Upstream ==

 Once marked Triaged, a bug that is reproducible in the upstream release would want to be filed upstream using the [[https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/bug/|LibreOffice Bug Submission Assistant]], or in the old fashioned way at [[https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=LibreOffice]].
 Once a remote bug watch has been added to a bug report, it is helpful to append [Upstream] to the beginning of the bug title. This helps in searching for bugs reports by title. Please do not append this unless a remote bug watch has been added to the report as this creates confusion on which bugs have been reported upstream and which have not.

= Links =

 * [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LibreOffice]] - The !LibreOffice in Ubuntu support page

Available languages: Italiano

Debugging Central

This page is part of the debugging series — pages with debugging details for a variety of Ubuntu packages.

Introduction

  • Please do not report a LibreOffice bug without first reading this wiki article and performing all the relevant actions mentioned here. Also, please do not complain about how long it takes to release a patch, the severity of your bug is high so it should be fixed immediately, "I cannot believe it's not fixed...", etc. This type of behavior is nonconstructive, irritating to others who read your comment, and does not incentivize developers to want to fix your problem. We all want to see every bug fixed as soon as possible! Naturally, bugs being fixed is limited to reproducibility and clarity of the bug report, the actual impact the bug has on the community, and available developer resources.

What is not considered a bug?

package libreoffice-common (not installed) failed to install/upgrade: trying to overwrite '/usr/bin/soffice', which is also in package openoffice-debian-menus

  • If you have a crash, and a window pops up asking to report to Launchpad something like:

    package libreoffice-common (not installed) failed to install/upgrade: trying to overwrite '/usr/bin/soffice', which is also in package openoffice-debian-menus

    Please do not file this as a bug report. It's not a bug, and will be marked Invalid. Instead, please remove the package openoffice-debian-menus first before upgrading.

Apache OpenOffice / OpenOffice.org bugs

  • Apache OpenOffice (AOO) / OpenOffice.org (OOo) is not supported in Ubuntu. This is due to how:

    1. LibreOffice is the default office productivity suite in Ubuntu.

    2. LibreOffice releases are fast, timely, and on a scheduled maintenance cadence.

    3. Historically, AOO has had a long time lag in releasing new versions, features, bug fixes, and security updates.

    4. AOO has not announced a precise, and consistent release schedule for their software.
    5. Against the consensus of the OOo community, OOo was forced to incur an unnecessary, and largely unwanted licensing and branding change into AOO.
    Hence, an appropriate triaging response is:

    Thank you for reporting this and helping make Ubuntu.

    However, there are no new official Apache OpenOffice / OpenOffice.org releases in Ubuntu, as the Ubuntu project has transitioned to LibreOffice. Hence, the status of this report is being marked as Won't Fix.

    You are welcome to test for this problem in LibreOffice. If reproducible, please click the button:
    Also affects distribution

    Distribution: Ubuntu
    Source Package Name: (Optional) libreoffice

    For more on installing LibreOffice please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LibreOffice.

    Thank you for your understanding.

How to file a bug

  • First, please make sure you remove all AOO/OOo packages first, then install the full LibreOffice suite to avoid package split collateral damage, by executing at a terminal:

    sudo apt-get -y install libreoffice

    Please file all your LibreOffice bugs by executing at terminal:

    ubuntu-bug <PACKAGE>

    where <PACKAGE> is the specific package you found the problem in. For example, if you have a document import issue with Writer:

    ubuntu-bug libreoffice-writer

Bug reporting template

  • Warning /!\ Please note 1) and 2) are terminal commands to execute, and post the results of when initially filing your bug report. As well, you may need to install the package apt-show-versions.

    1) lsb_release -rd

    2) apt-cache policy <PACKAGE>

    apt-show-versions -r libreoffice*

    3) What is expected to happen in Writer is <PRECISE, STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO REPRODUCE ONE PROBLEM>.

    4) What happened instead is...

    I have the following extensions installed: lo-menubar...

    WORKAROUND: Perform the following steps:...

Debugging

Move ~/.config/libreoffice

  • Try moving .libreoffice and ~/.config/libreoffice. If you installed any extensions, remove them and see if the problem is reproducible. Comment on the results of performing these techniques in your report. Please keep these directories around -- if moving the profile helps you, developers might be interested in it to find out what was wrong with it.

Bug importing a non-MS Office document

  • If you are reporting about importing a non-MS Office document, please attach the document to the bug report before opening in LibreOffice or in any other program in Ubuntu. As well, please post a screenshot of how it looks in LibreOffice with a specific description about how it should look.

Bug exporting to MS Office

  • If you are reporting about how a document looks different exporting to MS Office, please attach the document to the bug report immediately after saving via LibreOffice, but before opening in MS Office. As well, please post a screenshot of how it looks in LibreOffice and then how it shows in MS Office.

Bug importing from MS Office

  • If you are reporting about how a document looks importing from MS Office, please save the file in MS Office, then before opening in any other program, attach the document to the bug report. As well, please post a screenshot of how it looks in LibreOffice and then how it shows in MS Office.

Bug exporting PDF to Adobe

  • If you are reporting about how a document looks exporting to Adobe Reader, please attach the file to the bug report before and after exporting to PDF. As well, provide screenshots of how it looks in LibreOffice and Adobe Reader.

Bug importing PDF

  • If you are reporting about how a PDF document looks importing into Draw, please attach the file to the bug report before importing into Draw. As well, provide screenshots of how it looks in Draw and Adobe Reader.

Printing problems

  • For issues printing from LibreOffice please report this against cups first via a terminal:

    ubuntu-bug cups

    It could end up being an issue with LibreOffice, but it's best to start with cups in order to rule it out. As well, please follow all debugging steps noted in https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingPrintingProblems.

LibreOffice crashes but system still functional

  • This is when LibreOffice crashes, but one may still continue to use the OS.

    1. Please make sure the LibreOffice debug symbol packages are installed:

      • libreoffice-dbg
      • uno-libs3-dbg
      • ure-dbg
    2. Please file a new crash report via the apport process. Instructions on this are available from https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Apport.

    3. If the crash happened while a particular document was open or you were manipulating the document in a certain way, please attach that document to the new bug report you created with detailed, click-for-click steps on how to reproduce the crash.
    4. For suspected GUI/desktop environment driven crashes (ex. reproducible in Kubuntu but not Xubuntu), please remove the following packages and comment on if this changes anything:
      • libreoffice-gtk
      • libreoffice-gnome
      • libreoffice-gtk3
      • libreoffice-kde

The Whole system hangs or boots to the login screen

  • For instances when you are using LibreOffice and either the system hangs requiring a hard reset or you are booted to the login screen, this may be a bug in either the X.Org suite or the linux kernel. Please follow https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DebuggingSystemCrash. Also, if this happened while a particular document was open or you were manipulating the document, please attach that document to the bug report with detailed, click-for-click steps on how to reproduce the crash.

Bibisecting regressions

Triaging LibreOffice bugs

Requesting a document

  • Many bugs are dependent on the document. Hence, it is vital the original reporter provide a minimal test case that demonstrates the issue. An example triaging statement:

    Thank you for reporting this and helping make Ubuntu better.

    Could you please attach uncompressed/untarred to this report a document that reproduces this problem? Please ensure that:
    1) If a concern of privacy exists due to the sensitive information in the document, it needs to be removed. Please do not directly e-mail anyone the sensitive document as this puts an undue burden on the other person to ensure a secure chain of custody.
    2) Please reduce the document so that it has the least amount of content possible, but still demonstrates this problem. The bigger the document, the harder it is for a developer to quickly review it, and provide a fix.

    Thank you for your understanding.

Writer and Calc

  • For bugs in Writer, it is helpful to check to see if the problem exists in AbiWord. For bugs in Calc, it is helpful to check to see if the problem exists in Gnumeric. Sometimes, AbiWord and Gnumeric give the bug reporter a usable workaround to the problem (and vice versa). If a workaround is found, feel free to document it in the report. As well, while not quite apples and oranges code wise, it gives LibreOffice developers code to base a patch on.

LibreOffice Packaging PPAs

  • While PPAs are by definition not supported in Ubuntu, for those who use the PPAs provided by the LibreOffice Packaging team, courtesy support is extended to help them. As a triager, it is helpful to add in the report the tag ppa in the tags field, and triage as normal.

Wishlist reports

  • For Wishlist reports, these typically are requests to implement a new feature in LibreOffice not currently supported. A broad but good rule of thumb is if you want LibreOffice to do something that MS Office does, as LibreOffice intends compatibility with MS Office, please document how specifically MS Office does it, then how LibreOffice does not or does not do well that which you desire. Please keep in mind, pocket cases exist where LibreOffice intentionally does not do what MS Office does (ex. leap year implementation). For Wishlist reports, they would typically be marked Won't Fix Wishlist. This is due to how Ubuntu diverts very little from the LibreOffice upstream source release, and upstream's rapid maintenance cadence. An appropriate Won't Fix Wishlist reply:

    Thank you for reporting this and helping make Ubuntu better. Regarding this report:
    - This is a clearcut upstream issue. Could you please send this to the developers of the software by following the instructions at http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/BugReport? Please provide a URL of the upstream bug, so a bugwatch may be added that will advise about its status.
    - Marking LibreOffice Packaging and libreoffice (Ubuntu) => Won't Fix Wishlist. This does not mean the issue will not be cared about, but if it is cared about (even by Ubuntu/Canonical contributors), it is done upstream at LibreOffice.

    Thank you for your understanding.

How to forward bugs Upstream

  • Once marked Triaged, a bug that is reproducible in the upstream release would want to be filed upstream using the LibreOffice Bug Submission Assistant, or in the old fashioned way at https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=LibreOffice. Once a remote bug watch has been added to a bug report, it is helpful to append [Upstream] to the beginning of the bug title. This helps in searching for bugs reports by title. Please do not append this unless a remote bug watch has been added to the report as this creates confusion on which bugs have been reported upstream and which have not.

Links


CategoryBugSquad CategoryDebugging

LibreOfficeBugWrangling (last edited 2018-06-04 22:50:25 by penalvch)