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http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=9899
------- Additional comments from [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mon Jan 22 12:30:30 -0800
2007 -------
Hello,
OO Writer is great, though I would really be thankful for fixing this bug.
What does the user expect?
1. When you use the Mail Merge wizards, there's no hint that OO creates a
database file as middle layer between spreadsheet and document. So the average
user won't even know that there's a different thing to update.
2. If you did understand at least that, it's not obvious that the name of
a) the spreadsheet .ODS (or .xls)
b) the database .ODB
c) logical data sources name in OO
can be similar or different.
Example: In step 3 of the Mail Merge wizard, it's called "Adress list". But
instead of the spreadsheet file the user has chosen directly ("Add...") here
before, the shown "Adress list" is the name of the automatically created "data
source" (c). This is neither recognizable by the GUI nor by pressing the
"Help"-Button in the "Select Adress list" window.
3. The windows to enter, edit or refresh data a little widespread:
- New: "Adress data source" under File -> Wizards
- New: Tools -> "Mail Merge Wizard" -> "Adress list" (Why not under
File->Wizards, too? Why here a different name than "Data Source"?)
- Edit/View: View -> "Data Sources" (F4), here you could disconnect to refresh
4. In the Print Layout View of OO Writer, if you open the serial letters's
starting document, the grey data fields for the Mail Merge show the values of
the first adress list dataset (e.g. "Bill Gates, Redmond"). This might be quite
disturbing when it's not updated, even as user may expect when pressing Tools
--> Update.
Contrary to that, some word processors don't show the values in the basic
document but the name of the data fields ("Firstname, lastname, City"). So they
avoid that "Why the h... does it show the old adress??"
IMHO, the current solution does work, but unfortunately it is somewhat
inconvenient and confusing - my dad wouldn't get refreshing data to work
(besides shutting down and restarting OO every time). ;-)
Do you think the following ideas might be as well possible and sensible?
A) Add a automatic or explicit "refresh" option directly to the Mail Merge
Wizard which loads the current spreadsheet data.
B) Add the Mail Merge Wizard to the File -> Wizards menu.
C) Get that "Refresh" button in the datasource view (F4) to work for ODS.
D) Access spreadsheet files directly *without* creating a odb-database.
So, enough text written.
Bye, thanks a lot!
Dirk
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