[Solved] ASCII Filter Options coming up randomly

[Richard22]

ASCII Filter Options box coming up randomly. Seems to be during the first 4-5 reopening's that it ends up in filter. When I go looking for it in Open or Recent Docs is has a "locked" in front of it. It can be previewed on the side but never comes back to original when you hit open. About 2 years ago I started to copy paste important dosc into a new doc, and gave them the same name with "insure" somewhere in the title. It seems to work in that I will have both to pick from, but this time I didn't get as far as saving it with an "insure" (my name for insurance). Clicking to open it's the scrambled doc that I imagine others have seen. a) Why is this happening? b) Is it something in the way I save it? ... I use Microsoft Word 97 / 20000 / XP (doc) c) Is there a way to prevent it?

[MrProgrammer]

a) Why is this happening?

Your file has been corrupted. OpenOffice cannot understand the content and as a last chance offers the ASCII Filter Options dialog in case it happens to be a valid file which has been saved in an unusual format by another program like an old version of Microsnot Word. But that is almost never the case. If you have a backup of the file, copy the backup to the corrupted file. Do not edit the backup directly because it is your recovery from future problems.

b) Is it something in the way I save it?

Many, many people have had their files corrupted because they do not give the save process enough time to complete before turning off the computer or putting it to sleep. A power failure can also cause this, either loss of mains or battery running out of charge. Since you use OpenOffice, always save Writer files in ODT format. Saving in another format, like DOC, risks loss of data or features.

c) Is there a way to prevent it?

Give the save process plenty of time to finish before turning off the computer, perhaps a minute or so depending on your system configuration. If your computer runs from a battery, immedately heed any low battery warning, and save without delay using File → Save to a "Emergency My document.odt" file, then save a second time to your original document location. If your computer runs from mains power purchase an uninterruptible power supply which will give you a few minutes to save any work when mains power fails. Do not leave a document open when you are not using the computer. Learn how to instruct your operating system to make regular backups for you. Consult the documentation for it or use a web search for instructions.

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