Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 100374
Changes to Notes via UNO API are not persistent anymore
Last modified: 2013-08-07 14:43:11 UTC
Steps to reproduce: 0. Open the attached document (macros must be enabled) 1. Make sure that checkbox Tools/Options.../OpenOffice.org Write/View/Notes is checked (Note: The bug is independent of this setting, but the inconsistency between the new Annotation code and the old API is more apparent this way) 2. You'll see a colored line pointing to a „post-it“ note to the right, reading „Dies ist eine Notiz“. 3. Open the Navigator (Edit/Navigator or F5) and expand „Notes“. You'll see the same text „Dies ist eine Notiz“ 4. Press the button in the document. A macro will launch that shows 2 message boxes with the text of the Content property of the annotation textfield, first before and then after changing said property. 5. Confirm the 2 message boxes 6. Compare the „post-it“ note's text and the Navigator's. The Navigator correctly reflects the API's POV (which is also what the second message box prints out). However the post-it note is what is stored when you save the file. 7. Save the file and reopen it. The change to the note has been lost. This means that any program or extension changing the contents of annotations, will experience data loss. This is a very serious issue. Our custom form system depends on annotations. All of the user's entered data is stored in an annotation and will be lost when the user saves the document. I can reproduce the issue under Linux and Windows 2000. Classifying as P2 according to http://www.openoffice.org/scdocs/ddIssues_EnterModify#priority because its a regression and causes data loss in an easy-to-encounter way (at least for the several 1000 users in our organization that use our custom form system that stores its data in annotations)
Created attachment 61055 [details] File with macro demonstrating the issue
Adding keyword "regression" since this was working in OOo 2.4.x
Confirmed on DEV OOO310m6. And the document "Save" icon does not activate. Also modifying the note text by annotation.TextRange does not change the text of annotation.Content. This modified code shows inconsistencies; create a note with text: Hello World doc = ThisComponent textfields = doc.getTextFields() annotation = textfields.createEnumeration().nextElement() print 1, annotation.Content ' --> Hello World annotation.Content = "alpha" print 2, annotation.Content ' --> alpha annotation.TextRange.String = "delta" print 3, annotation.TextRange.String ' --> Hello print 4, annotation.Content ' --> alpha IMHO this issue should be a stopper for 3.1.
looking into it.... - did also not work in 3.0 - creating a new note via API works
mod->es: showstopper?
@MOD: your "looking into it...." comment... - so it's not a regression from 3.0 -> 3.0.1? - only happens when loading doc with "old" (<3.0) notes? - only happens when modifying them via API. So, as mux2005 explained, yes, it's a P2 due to the severity. But because of our schedule and the general use of notes via API I'd still target 3.2. (no showstopper) (changed summary for later tracking "Annotations" -> "Notes")
mod->es: - no, it is not a regression from 3.0, but from 2.4 - it happens with *all* documents with notes, old ones, new ones, doc, odt So I would say this is a showstopper, and I have a save fix, so I can have a cws and installation sets ready today
Ok, go! :) Please keep in touch via e-mail. Probably MBA will have to build also internally...
STOP! Sorry for this but thinking about it and after having called about 10 persons: no we don't take it as showstopper because the regression is not from 3.0 -> 3.1. So no recent regression.
don't really agree, but if everyone else thinks this way, it's fine will be fixed in cws notes9 for OOo 3.2 mod->mux2005: maybe one workaround for you would be to delete the old note via API, and insert a new one via API, this should work as well (of course you could create your own version of released 3.1 including notes9)
@mod: What do you mean by "new note" ? The note in the example document has been inserted via GUI "Insert/Note" on OOo 3.0.1. I would assume that's a "new note".
instead of changing the text of an existing one(which does not work as you found out), you can just delete the old one and create a new one using the API, sth. like this: Dim myNote As Object Dim uneDate As New com.sun.star.util.DateTime myNote = ThisComponent.createInstance("com.sun.star.text.TextField.Annotation") myNote.Author = "Somebody" myNote.Content = "This is the text of the note" myText.insertTextContent(myCursor, myNote, False)
I see. Yes that may be a feasible workaround. We'll have to see if that affects performance very much.
@mod: Can you provide a patch that I can backport to 3.0.1?
Could this issue be targeted if not for 3.1, then for 3.1.1, if such thing is in plans?
fixed in cws notes9
Created attachment 61088 [details] patch
this should be tested by a unit test, so it does not happen again
seems like someone decided it is 3.1 now, so fixed in fwk111
great information! fwk111 is not included in OOO310_m9 (RC 1). will this be in RC 2?
great information! It seems that fwk111 is not included in OOO310_m9 (RC 1). will this be in RC 2?
cd->sba: Please verify.
Verified in CWS fwk111.
OK in OOO310_m11. Closed. Note that CWS fwk111 was just cloned by OBO to get these chages into DEV300_m48.