Issue 8245 - Recently used files displayed goes for all apps
Summary: Recently used files displayed goes for all apps
Status: CONFIRMED
Alias: None
Product: ui
Classification: Code
Component: ui (show other issues)
Version: OOo 3.2
Hardware: PC All
: P3 Trivial with 17 votes (vote)
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: AOO issues mailing list
QA Contact:
URL:
Keywords:
: 13848 15744 18667 (view as issue list)
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2002-10-11 12:27 UTC by sajer
Modified: 2017-02-11 04:15 UTC (History)
4 users (show)

See Also:
Issue Type: ENHANCEMENT
Latest Confirmation in: ---
Developer Difficulty: ---


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Description sajer 2002-10-11 12:27:35 UTC
If I start Calc after not having used Calc for weeks, then the recently used 
files menu does not display the last Calc-spreadsheet I worked with, but Writer 
docs etc. etc.

Thats not userfriendly - it is disturbing and quite annoying.
Comment 1 Frank Schönheit 2002-10-11 14:01:30 UTC
confirming, but ...

I disagree. I don't separate the different document types that much -
in my taste, they're only different views of the same application
(namely OpenOffice.org :).

I would find it very "disturbing and quite annoying" if I have to open
a Calc document, in a situation where I am just writing a Text
document and want to open a recently used Spreadsheet. I would even
say that this is not what I see as "integration" of the different
applications.

In additiona, such a separation may be confusing in some seldom cases:
What about documents saved with a wrong extension? (OOo would still
load them in the proper application). What about documents which can
be opened in multiple of OOo's applications?

However, I see than opinions can differ about this. Perhaps an option
would do?
Comment 2 sajer 2002-10-14 02:26:21 UTC
I totally diagree with you - aha, a matter of taste. :o)

Yes, an option would be fine. Remember that people really don't 
remember what the heck the called their files; Microsoft made the 
timeline in Outlook because of this (although people are not aware of 
its existance). But generally I think that people are confused by 
OO's behaviour when the last file used in Calc is a text-doc. I don't 
think that people think of it all as one app, in fact why should they 
now that the apps have been parted?
Comment 3 Joost Andrae 2002-12-04 11:52:24 UTC
JA->MMP: reassiged as usability issue
Comment 4 matthias.mueller-prove 2002-12-10 16:18:17 UTC
looks like an idea/improvement for 6.y.
If we going to separate the OOo modules from each other this should 
change the behavior of the Open Recent menu, too.
Comment 5 guido.pinkernell 2004-02-12 13:58:19 UTC
*** Issue 13848 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 6 mandreiana 2004-08-02 16:24:55 UTC
I agree with fs' comment and disagree with this request.

mmp:
One of the facilities of OOo is that applications are more "integrated" than MS
Office's. Users report as a nice thing opening (fast) Calc documents from
Writer. This includes recent files.
Comment 7 sajer 2004-08-05 00:29:37 UTC
mandreiana, how are they integrated? I now see 4 or 5 seperate OOo modules and 
no clear signs of tight integration anymore. This is not MS Works! I don't even 
see the level of code sharing between the modules that I remember from MS 
Office.

When you open Calc, you are in fact opening the spreadsheet. If you would like 
to know which spreadsheet you were working on last, then there is no help if 
you have used Writer for 4 documents since that then. Is that logic? Is that 
any help?

I use my spreadsheet far less than my wordprocessor, and because of this I 
alway have to browse to the last opened spreadsheet manually. I find it pretty 
annoying.
Comment 8 mandreiana 2004-08-05 06:45:54 UTC
sajer, I see now you're right. I use equally both calc and writer (default
longer recently-files list would be nice), so wasn't disturbed by current behaviour.
Comment 9 sajer 2004-08-10 22:25:36 UTC
:-)
Comment 10 gieschke 2004-10-16 10:50:20 UTC
*** Issue 15744 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 11 gieschke 2004-10-16 11:02:58 UTC
*** Issue 18667 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue. ***
Comment 12 aschwarzie 2007-09-27 00:36:45 UTC
Let me reactivate once again this enhancement request. It really is of high 
importance for usability comfort in the most frequent circumstances.

I definitely see the following as comfort improvements:
 - the recent file list should be accessible from a SINGLE click (e.g. from 
such a menu or toolbar button) : the current sub-menu position in the file menu 
makes often the near 'new' open instead :-(
 - the recent file list should be default be: waaaaay much wider as file name 
paths *are* often relevant, waaaaaay much longer (10 items is by far too few)
 - the recence file list should first of all display ONLY items from the same 
TYPE (e.g. text docs in Writer, sheets in Calc, etc)
 - the recent file list could end by a submenu title "other recent files..." 
where the files edited by other OO.o components could be listed
 - the recent file list should be offered an option/action to either "clean-up" 
the full list (checking if the file still exists physically) or to remove a 
given entry (by right click pop-up contextual menu) even if the file does exist 
(allow and "older" recent to come back in the last position -- based on the 
concept included in the next suggestion ;-)
 - finally the recent file list should offer a "All recent files..." sub-menu 
entry which would open a dialog box wil a long scrolling list with all OO.o 
opened and/or edited files (with a maximum history period (E.g. < 3 months) and 
history length (in count of listed files, e.g. < 1000), but which would offer a 
rapid filter search : typing a few letters would filter out all file not having 
this sequence of letters in their title.  Oh how gorgeous *that* would be !!!
Comment 13 maxqnz 2007-09-27 10:14:19 UTC
I too am very much infavour of the current functionality. However, if this can
be enabled as an option, then I would support extending user choice in this way. 
Comment 14 aschwarzie 2007-09-27 10:22:50 UTC
Of course, the suggestion(s) made before are expressed as optional 
customisations of the end-user interface:
 - the single click access is a menu/toolbar customisation like (m)any other 
 - wider and longer list (length customizable by two user parameters, though 
I'm not sure how the width could be ? as a percentage of screen width ?)
- per OO.o applic file types (optional)
- automatic & manual clean-up  (new add-on)
- dynamic filtering on bigger history (add-on, customizable by depth)
Thanks for considering.  Cheers.
Comment 15 wintogreen 2008-01-19 05:14:55 UTC
I would like to see an option for this. E.g., when I'm in Calc, I want to see
the "Recent Documents" list contain nothing but Calc documents. It's annoying to
have to sift through that list to find my most recently used Calc document.

(And btw, I'm only adding this comment so that the phrase "Recent Documents" --
which is what the menu item is called in v.2.3 -- gets included somewhere in
this issue. Because that phrase isn't included in the issue summary or anywhere
else above prior to this comment, it makes it hard to find this issue when
searching the issue tracker.)
Comment 16 macias 2008-07-17 16:12:04 UTC
I totally agree with this wish, it is annoying for me that after working with 
some writer documents I go to calc to call the last used spreadsheet but it 
is "of course" gone because there was so many writer docs so I have to open it 
manually.

a) option to choose behaviour would solve this
b) split list would solve this also -- top list would contain documents for 
this app (recent documents), separator, and then recent documents for whole 
office (except for current app) at the bottom

I opt rather for (b) because it merges two worlds, and it does not hurt 
anyone, but rather contrary it is benefit for everybody.
Comment 17 isaacinla 2009-03-19 09:46:10 UTC
BIG VOTE FOR SEPARATE RECENTLY USED FILES LIST. 

That list is the most valuable time saver in Word, Excel, etc. It is rendered
practically useless in OO by combining all the different types of documents on
one list, especially when the list is not made (much) longer and sortable by
file type, date created / modified, etc.
Comment 18 sajer 2009-05-17 18:43:52 UTC
ALMOST SEVEN LONG YEARS LATER - I strongly encourage you to do something about
this issue. SEVEN years!
Comment 19 sajer 2010-03-28 00:24:45 UTC
*EIGHT* LONG YEARS LATER  - I strongly encourage you to do something 
about this issue.
Comment 20 bettina.haberer 2010-05-21 14:50:12 UTC
To grep the issues easier via "requirements" I put the issues currently lying on
my owner to the owner "requirements". 
Comment 21 carl.turney 2011-03-06 00:25:33 UTC
Hello,

Now it is =9= years, and still =nothing= has been done about fixing this "feature"?

It was only =today= that I learned bug-fixes and improvements in OOo were selected based on how many votes they get.  (As other issues were marked as duplicates of this issue, were all their =votes= carried across to this one, or not?) 

I can see both sides of this argument. So I strongly urge implementing a configurable OPTION, for fixing this.  I've transferred data from db to ss to wp since the days before LINUX or Windows.  But the vast majority of the data in my files spend their entire lives in original-context only.

If a segregate/combine option =won't= be made:  At least INCREASE the maximum number of Recent Documents from 10 to 30 or 40.

Thanks very much, if some OOo programmer reads this and takes it to heart.

Carl Turney, Christchurch, New Zealand

p.s.  Now if only I can get OOo Writer to increase/decrease all selected text (even of assorted sizes) by one point, using Ctrl-[ and Ctrl-]