OpenOffice crashing on save

Community Forums/General Help/OpenOffice crashing on save

GfK(Posted 2011) [#1]
I'm currently receiving some of my royalty reports in .xlsx format which OpenOffice can open, but it takes forever to do it for some reason. I've been converting as they come in on a monthly basis, to .ods format.

I can save an ODS file just fine - unless it was loaded as a .xlsx file, in which case OpenOffice locks up and then bombs without error. This has only been happening since I upgraded to 3.3.

Anybody else getting this? Had a quick google about but the circumstances are quite specific and I didn't turn up much.


GfK(Posted 2011) [#2]
Right... it actually does save it - IF I leave it long enough!

Just timed the whole process for loading an 80k xlsx file and saving in .ods format:

Load: 48s
Save: 57s

WTF?! Why do these things suck more every time they 'upgrade' it?? Is there any serious alternative to OO as I'm beginning to think its turning into a heap of junk. I've just wasted nearly half a bloody hour of my day faffing with this.

[edit] LOL it can't reopen the file now which IT saved in its own proprietary bloody format! In fact it refuses to open ANY .ods file. Brilliant!

Seriously, whoever tested this version out and passed it as fit for use, needs to be put against a wall and shot.

All my royalty reports for the last six months are now trapped in a useless format that only OpenOffice can read, except now it can't!

Screw this, I'm going back to bed.

Last edited 2011


Naughty Alien(Posted 2011) [#3]
..hmmm.. On my side i can open significantly larger .xlsx file than 80k within 5 seconds..


GfK(Posted 2011) [#4]
which version?


Naughty Alien(Posted 2011) [#5]
v3.2 on this machine i have just tested


Naughty Alien(Posted 2011) [#6]
..ok..updated on W7/64bit laptop..its a bit slower (loading 15 secs) and save works just fine (21 sec).. hmm


GfK(Posted 2011) [#7]
Did you try to reload the saved file?


LineOf7s(Posted 2011) [#8]
Quick test (using LibreOffice 3.3.2 - the open source not-owned-by-Oracle fork of OpenOffice):

Original .xlsx file: 288k

Load: ~7 secs
Save into .ods: ~3 secs
Save into .xlsx: ~3 secs

Resultant .ods file: 160k

Reloading all saved files worked a treat.

Specs in sig, but in case you have those turned off: Win7 64-bit, 4GB RAM, quad-core 2.5Ghz.

Last edited 2011


GfK(Posted 2011) [#9]
Just gave that a try with the same process as before. It all worked but its slow at doing it. Loading the XLSX file took 41s, saving it to ODS format took 53s, and reloading the ODS file took 31s.

My system isn't exactly cutting edge but it shouldn't be THIS slow. During reloading of the ODS file one CPU core is running flat-out the whole time.

Windows 7 (32bit), Athlon64 X2 5000+ @ 2.6GHz, 2GB RAM.


LineOf7s(Posted 2011) [#10]
On a positive note, at least it works. Bloody .xlsx format. *shakes fist*

On a less Polyanna note, that's odd. Is there anything special about the .xlsx you're testing on? Can you maybe offer it up for testing with all the important bits changed to XXXXXXX or something?

I don't actually expect it'd make much difference, but it would rule it out... and if that .xlsx was slow everywhere else, you'd sure feel better. A bit.


Matty(Posted 2011) [#11]
On a related note - my version of open office - the powerpoint equivalent is totally useless now - after running it while my PC had dual screens it is now impossible when I run it without dual screens to see the entire window! And I cannot find any config files or settings to fix this back...


Kryzon(Posted 2011) [#12]
Hello GfK, have you tried Google Docs? they seem to accept XLSX format and the converting process would theretically be done in their servers, which could prove to be faster.

The only overhead would be the upload time.

Last edited 2011


Dodo(Posted 2011) [#13]

Is there any serious alternative to OO as I'm beginning to think its turning into a heap of junk.



Have you tried this? The 2010 edition of Softmakeroffice is payware but they released 2008 edition for free. I came across SO 2008 after it was advertised on Agnitum's website ... since I am already using MS Office 2010 I thought I'd pass this link on.

Last edited 2011


GfK(Posted 2011) [#14]
To be honest I'm thinking of just laying out for Office 2010. The last version I used was Office 2003 as they changed the UI to some god-awful layout after that, but maybe I can get used to it.

This is obviously going to ruffle a few feathers but every time I go down a recommended free software route (I'm thinking Linux and OpenOffice specifically), there are always problems and inconveniences. Whatever folks think of Microsoft, their software generally works as you expect it to without throwing obstacles every five minutes.


LineOf7s(Posted 2011) [#15]
...their software generally works as you expect it to without throwing obstacles every five minutes.

...until you try to apply 20 years of experience with Office products when using the new-fangled 'ribbon'. Takes 30% of your time to work out what you need to do, then the other 70% to find where they've stuck the bloody thing now. Such is my experience, anyway. Millions of other people around the world can manage just fine. :o)

It's for that reason I choose LibreOffice (and OpenOffice before it), rather than any great devotion to the cause or Microsoft-hating. It allows me to get done everything I need to get done with a minimum of fuss, and the price is certainly right.

It's unfortunate yours has started behaving so oddly - I've never encountered anything like that myself, cold comfort that it might be - but the fact of the matter is you need to use what gets the job done. If that's Office 2010, then it's Office 2010. You've got a software development business to run; use the right tool for it.


Dodo(Posted 2011) [#16]
If Excel, Powerpoint and Word are enough for your needs just go for Home and Student edition, it costs about £79 from Amazon and can be installed on 3 PCs. Yeah the ribbon interface is horrible but you get used to it after a while ...

Last edited 2011


Yasha(Posted 2011) [#17]
Depending on your document, you might find Gnumeric helpful for converting it? It claims to be able to use the Microsoft and Open Document formats "as if [they] were the native format".

It's an incredibly small and minimalist application so I wouldn't rest too much hope on it, but thought it was worth suggesting before you spent money on something.


D4NM4N(Posted 2011) [#18]
Hmm not yet seen problem yet myself, what version are you on ?.
I get my royalty reports in xlsx and save to ods with no problems (although ooo is slow at i/o granted, but not usually -that- slow).

Have you reported it on their bug forum?

Perhaps a full remove and re-install to the latest stable version (rather than an update) will help. :/

Last edited 2011


Gabriel(Posted 2011) [#19]
Could this be a Java problem rather than an OpenOffice problem? The last couple of Java updates have been.. I can't think of a word sufficient in mixed company, but not good. Just wondered whether updating or rolling back the VM might help?


Shagwana(Posted 2011) [#20]
On a side not, the .xlsx file is really a .zip file.

Rename it to .zip and you can peak inside.
If it is a password protected one, then it becomes a password protected zip.
You might be able to get at the data inside as xml formated information.

Anyway, continue as you are...

Last edited 2011


Qube(Posted 2011) [#21]
Office 2011 for OS X FTW :)