I did something wrong and now Writer does not recognize the backspace key on .doc files. It works fine with .txt files. Instead of removing the letter it functions like the left arrow key and puts a dash over the unremoved letter. The delete key acts as the right arrow key. I deleted my config file and reinstalled Writer with no change. I changed my keybord mapping from Swedish to Latin to Spanish with no change.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
The document in question was written in Word under Windows and is formatted as three columns ready for newspaper publication.
Wild guesses, most probably wrong (but then you asked for any suggestions): does shift+ or control+backspace work?
There’s a similar bug for calc: backspace doesn't work - English - Ask LibreOffice
I you reformat to a single column (in word or in writer) it works? Again, wild guessing.
No. That was the first attempted solution. And I did get to that link earlier but it was supposedly fixed in version 6.2 which what I am using.
Good suggestion, but it made no difference. Now as I understand it Writer settings for .doc are on a per-document basis. But opening previous .docs that had not been changed presented the same problem, so I am inclined to believe it’s a real bug. So unless I get more suggestions I will be reporting it to LibreOffice.
Thanks for the speedy help.
Problem solved. Writer now mimics Word even more. I opened the document in Word (which I never use since it’s on someone else’s computer) and the backspace behaves exactly the same. After marking the letters (in Word) in red with a dash over them, you have to accept the deletion. Now in Writer you need to right click over the marked letters and click on “Accept Chage”. It’s called “new and improved”. What used to take a single keystroke now needs one keystroke and two clicks. Progress!
In libreoffice try turning off “Record” and “Show”
Edit -> Track Changes
Wonderful! Simplicity returns. Many thanks.
Thanks for info!