Contents

# General

In the General section, you can select default settings for saving documents, and can select default file formats.

To access this command...

#### From the menu bar:

Choose LibreOffice - Preferences Tools - Options - Load/Save - General.

#### From the tabbed interface:

On the Tools tab, click the Options button, then open Load/Save - General.

Some options cannot be reset once edited. Either edit back the changes manually or click Cancel and reopen the Options dialog.

## Load

### Load user-specific settings with the document

Loads the user-specific settings saved in a document with the document.

If Load user-specific settings with the document is not selected, the following user-specific settings still apply:

- Settings available in File - Print - Options,

- Name of Fax,

- Spacing options for paragraphs before text tables,

- Information about automatic updating for links, field functions and charts,

- Information about working with Asian character formats.

The following settings are always loaded with a document, whether or not this option is marked:

- Data source linked to the document and its view.

### Load printer settings with the document

Regardless of whether this option is checked, the current printer settings is saved with the document.

If Load printer settings with the document is enabled, the current printer settings is loaded with the document. In an office setting, this may result in the document being printed on a different printer, perhaps located in another floor or another building, unless you manually select the correct printer in the Print dialog.

If Load printer settings with the document is disabled, the saved settings are not used and the document is printed on the system printer, unless overridden by selecting a different printer in the Print dialog.

### Load view position with the document even if it was saved by a different user

Loads the view position settings saved in a document with the document even if it was saved by a different user.

If Load view position with the document even if it was saved by a different user is not selected, the view position will only be loaded with a document if the author metadata in the document matches the first and last name in LibreOffice - Preferences Tools - Options - LibreOffice - User Data. Note that the author will only be saved with a document if the setting Apply user data in File - Properties - General is enabled.

## Save

Saving Documents Automatically

### Save AutoRecovery information every

Specifies that LibreOffice saves the information needed to restore all modified documents in case of a crash.

### Minutes

Specifies the time interval in minutes before AutoRecovery information is saved for a document.

A timer starts for a document when it is first modified. AutoRecovery information is saved after the specified time (while LibreOffice is idle). The timer then restarts with the next modification in the document.

### Automatically save the document instead

Specifies that LibreOffice saves the modified document itself instead of creating a temporary AutoRecovery version. Uses the time interval specified in Minutes.

### Edit document properties before saving

Specifies that the Properties dialog will appear every time you select the Save As command.

### Always create backup copy

Saves the previous version of a document as a backup copy whenever you save a document. Every time LibreOffice creates a backup copy, the previous backup copy is replaced. The backup copy gets the extension .BAK.

To change the location of the backup copy, choose LibreOffice - Preferences Tools - Options - LibreOffice - Paths, and then enter a new path for the backup file.

#### Place backup in same folder as document

Backup copy is saved to the same folder as the document. If the backup copy cannot be saved in the same folder for some reason, then LibreOffice tries to save the copy in the Backups folder specified in Paths.

### Save URLs relative to file system

This option allows you to select the default for relative addressing of URLs in the file system and on the Internet. Relative addressing is only possible if the source document and the referenced document are both on the same drive.

A relative address always starts from the directory in which the current document is located. In contrast, absolute addressing always starts from a root directory. The following table demonstrates the difference in syntax between relative and absolute referencing:

Examples | File system | Internet
--- | --- | ---
relative | ../images/img.jpg | ../images/img.jpg
absolute | file:///C:/work/images/img.jpg | https://myserver.com/work/images/img.jpg

The Help tip always displays an absolute path. However, if a document is saved in HTML format, LibreOffice will enter a relative path if the appropriate check box is selected.

Select this box for relative saving of URLs in the file system.

### Save URLs relative to internet

Select this box for relative saving of URLs to the Internet.

## Default file format and ODF settings

### ODF format version

LibreOffice 7.0 supports the OpenDocument format (ODF) version 1.3. The prior versions of LibreOffice support the file format ODF 1.2. Prior file formats cannot store all new features of the new software.

OpenOffice.org 3 and StarOffice 9 introduced new features which have to be saved using the OpenDocument format (ODF) version 1.2. The prior versions of OpenOffice.org 2 and StarOffice 8 support the file formats ODF 1.0/1.1. Those prior file formats cannot store all new features of the new software.

Current LibreOffice versions can open documents in ODF formats 1.0/1.1, 1.2, and 1.3.

When you save a document, you can select whether to save the document in the format ODF 1.3, ODF 1.3 Extended, ODF 1.2, ODF 1.2 Extended, ODF 1.2 Extended (compatibility mode), or in the prior format ODF 1.0/1.1.

Currently, the ODF 1.2 (Extended) or newer formats enable files of Draw and Impress to contain comments. Those comments can be inserted by Insert - Comment in the latest software version. The comments get lost when loading files into prior software versions that were saved by the latest software version.

Some companies or organizations may require ODF documents in the ODF 1.0/1.1, or ODF 1.2 format. You can select these format to save in the listbox. These older formats cannot store all new features, so the new format ODF 1.3 (Extended) is recommended where possible.

The ODF 1.2 Extended (compatibility mode) is a more backward-compatible ODF 1.2 extended mode. It uses features that are deprecated in ODF 1.2 and/or it is 'bug-compatible' to older OpenOffice.org versions. It may be useful if you need to interchange ODF documents with users who use pre-ODF 1.2 or ODF 1.2-only legacy applications.

### Document type

Specifies the document type for which you want to define the default file format.

### Always save as

Specifies how documents of the type selected on the left will always be saved as this file type. You may select another file type for the current document in the Save as dialog.

### Warn when not saving in ODF or default format

You can choose to get a warning message when you save a document in a format that is not OpenDocument or which you did not set as default format in Load/Save - General in the Options dialog box.

You can choose which file format will be applied as the default when saving documents of various document types. If you always exchange your documents with other persons who use Microsoft Office, for example, you may specify here that LibreOffice only uses the Microsoft Office file formats as a default.

Some options cannot be reset once edited. Either edit back the changes manually or click Cancel and reopen the Options dialog.

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