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Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 2,085  

[SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Hello:

Since the last LO upgrade (to 7.4.7.2?) I find that my scrolling (via the up/down/left/right keys) has become a nuisance.
If I press the [up] or [down] key to move to another cell it does so but slow so that when I let off the key, the scrolling continues and ends up further than I needed, like if it filled a buffer.

Quite annoying, to put it mildly.
Does not seem to happen in LibreOffice Writer.

I have not been able to find anything but complaints about this on the web.

Any ideas?

Best,

A.

Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 2,085  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Hello:

Hmm ....
OK.

For the very first time in over nine years:

- bump>
I have not been able to find anything but complaints about this on the web.
Any ideas?
<bump -

If not, how to properly roll back to the previous version of LibreOffice.

Best,

A.

kapqa

Member

Registered: 2019-01-02

Posts: 731  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

have preferred the "openoffice" over the libreoffice, but have to admit that the libreoffice has progressed some more and is more advanced;
if you want better performance , you could always try install openoffice next to it and see if you like to differentiate.

there are guides no how to install them completely in parallel, that should still function , too, via the .debs (complete, with menu-integration).

https://askubuntu.com/questions/360224/ … n-parallel

Last edited by kapqa (Yesterday 09:25:53)

rolfie

Member

Registered: 2017-11-25

Posts: 1,480  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

When LO 7.4 came out there were some voices that said it was not the best. I have downloaded the latest 7.6 version and that works fine. I am not using the LO version from the repo.

Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 2,085  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Hello:

... have preferred the "openoffice" ...

I have never liked the idea of an 'office suite'.
Would have preferred Linux have stand alone applications like eons ago when you could install MS Word and Excel separately and not have to deal with a behemoth.

That said, I have used LibreOffice since I moved to Linux and it has worked well most of the time, having OpenOffice and LibreOffice side by side seems a complication.

The main problem I see (in all) these 'suite' things is bloat, bloat and more bloat.
The issue I have probably has roots there.

Best,

A.

kapqa

Member

Registered: 2019-01-02

Posts: 731  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

well, i remember my first "suite" °netscape navigator°  since then been fond ot it, now it takes two for the tango, and even 1 application alone able to bring the computer to a crawl (thunderbird or firefox, you pick) - seamonkey or iceape would still be favorite, but they are not doing everything, always, sometimes are blocked either, but digress.

my office capabilities stalled long time ago; will see if can catch up to latest advancements. maybe not even needed, after all.

Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 2,085  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Hello:

When LO 7.4 came out ...

I cannot remember what the previous version was.
ie: 7.4.7.1?

...  there were some voices that said it was not the best.

I have not been happy with OpenOffice for a good while now.
I managed because I could, but this problem is really very annoying.
Have lost a lot of time (in shrt supply at the moment) trying to find a fix.   

... downloaded the latest 7.6 version and that works fine.

I could try but I could also roll back to the known.
Even the inteface has changed.
eg:
In the previous version I could see a progress bar when it autosaved or I saved a file I was working on.
For whatever reason, that is now gone.
Seems that visual indication of a file being saved is no longer important.

> ... not using the LO version from the repo.
I see.

I'd say my options would be:
1. find a way to safely roll back to the previous repository version (or the one before it) and pin it.
2. install a newer version from the LO repository and pin it, say 7.6.7.2?

Opinion?

Seems that enshittifacion is in full force all over the IT world, if it continues at this pace, we are doomed.

Thanks for your input.

Best,

A.

rolfie

Member

Registered: 2017-11-25

Posts: 1,480  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Well, pinning isn't required. You can disable search for updates in the options. 7.6.7.2 is the latest version before they switched their naming scheme. I had it on Daedalus, and I am using it on Excalibur now. And I am happy with what I have got, I use Writer and Calc, the rest is installed but not used. This way I have a constant UI. You may play around a bit with the symbol sets supplied to find a suitable one for you.

You download three packages from their website (main, help and language pack) and extract the contents to /tmp.
When you do an update of the main version, like in this case from 7.4 to 7.6, you need to remove the old stuff first of all. Settings remain in place.

# apt remove libreoffice*

Installation:

# cd /tmp/Libreoffice_xyz_Linux_x86-64_deb/DEBS
# dpkg -i *.deb
# cd /tmp/Libreoffice_xyz_Linux_x86-64_deb_languagepack_nn/DEBS
# dpkg -i *.deb
# cd /tmp/Libreoffice_xyz_Linux_x86-64_deb_helppack_nn/DEBS
# dpkg -i *.deb

Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 2,085  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Hello:

Thanks so much for the prompt reply.

... pinning isn't required.
... disable search for updates ...

Good.
That is how I work with unregistered [Master PDF Editor 5].
Have not had to resort to my XPSP3 VM / Adobe Pro 7.0 for the longest while.

7.6.7.2 is the latest version ...
... had it on Daedalus ...
... happy with what I have ...

Good to know.

... use Writer and Calc ...
... rest is installed but not used.

Same here.
When I need to send someone a document it is in in [*.pdf], [*.doc] or [*.txt].
If a spreadsheet (not often) it is in [*.xls] usually because of whoever receives it does not use [OpenOffice]. 
When [*.xls] and [*.doc] it is in [MS-Office 97] format.

It would be great if Open Office could be purged of unused stuff.
ie: only install what is needed.

... download three packages ...
... extract the contents to /tmp.
... in this case from 7.4 to 7.6, you need to remove the old stuff ...
Settings remain in place.

Seems easy enough.
Q: is language pack needed if I have my box running in english? ie: en_GB

Right.
Will try that and see how it goes.
Hopefully the problem I am having now (and did not have before) will not be present.

Will report back once the deed is done.

Thank you very much for your help.

Best,

A.

Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 2,085  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Hello:

... catch up to latest advancements. maybe not even needed ...

Indeed ...
The 'latest' advancements.

The scourge of IT by another name.
Unjustified "advancements", things no one asked for or needed.

Soon they will add video editing capabilities to it and it will be even more "advanced".
Enshitiffication and bloat just for the sake of it.

Or maybe for the sake of being as much as [MS-Office] as possible?

If I had to choose, the Linux equivalent of the stand alone [MS-Word 6.0] (over 26 years after it was EOL'd.) would still be more than enough for me. I should have a copy somewhere.

Best,

A.

Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 2,085  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Hello:

Will report back once the deed is done.

Much to my chagrin, the problem I reported in the OP remains.
And my search for a solution only found that it comes from as far as five/six years ago.

I managed to use [synaptic] to remove the installation without much problem.
Settings are still there as I did not purge.

Now, while I was looking into the different uncompressed directories still present in [/tmp], inside the main one I came across a file labelled [README_en-US] which (rather unsurprisingly) had this neat little tidbit:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Graphic Performance
----------------------------------------------------------------------

By default, LibreOffice favours nice-looking graphics over speed. If you experience slow graphics, switching off 'Tools - Options - LibreOffice - View - Use Anti-Aliasing' may help.

So, now we know what the priorities are for the [LibreOffice] development team. 8^°

TL;DR: slow and quirky but nice-looking.

No, switching off 'Tools - Options - LibreOffice - View - Use Anti-Aliasing' did not help.

Q: how can I tell [apt] to install one of the previous versions?
ie: one or two versions before the current one in the Daedalus repository.

Best,

A.

Last edited by Altoid (Today 20:02:53)

Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 2,085  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Hello:

...now we know what the priorities are for the [LibreOffice] development team.

I am hard pressed to get some documents/spreadsheets finished by Monday so decided cut my losses and purge all of [LibreOffice] from my system and install [OpenOffice].

Installation was a breeze, seems to work properly out of the box, did not bitch about anything and opened my spreadsheets without failing in any, both [*.xls] and [*.ods]. I expect that it will be the same with [*.doc] and [*.odt], have not tried yet.

And most gratifying: the problem with [LibreOffice] is not present in [OpenOffice]. 8^D
So, unless something tragic happens, it will be [OpenOffice] from now on.

I really do not need the grief and waste of time this last issue brought me.
Much less if the cause was [LibreOffice] favouring "nice-looking graphics" over a properly working UI.

So I will mark this one as solved.

Thanks to all those who pitched in.

Best,

A.

rolfie

Member

Registered: 2017-11-25

Posts: 1,480  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Q: how can I tell [apt] to install one of the previous versions?
ie: one or two versions before the current one in the Daedalus repository.

Download that version from LO directly and install it in the way I described before.

Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 2,085  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Hello:

... that version from LO directly and install it ...

Yes, I was asking about using the version from the repository and not the one from LO.
I am usually reluctant to install from outside the repository, but I have done it a few times without issues.

That said, it is my impression (YMMV) that the devs at LO are not on the right path.
The "nice-looking graphics over speed" bit from the [readme] file sealed the deal for [OpenOffice], at least for the foreseable future on my Daedalus system.

I don't need "nice looking" software, I need "reliable and properly working" software.
Who knows what other compromises these chaps are willing to accept to achieve their goal.

What's next?
"By default, LibreOffice favours nice-looking graphics over accurate, repeatable calculations with reproducible results"?

Once again, thanks for your input.

Best,

A.

rolfie

Member

Registered: 2017-11-25

Posts: 1,480  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Alternatively, download a suitable version from the repo, all files required, and install it with apt/apt-get or dpkg -i, doesn't matter. Then pin it.

Update: Just had a look at the Devuan Package View page. In Daedalus there are two packages in the repo, both 7.4.7-1 plus a Debian patch. These are 7.4.7-1+deb12u13 and 7.4.7-1+deb12u14. I guess the later caused a problem. I know apt allows to specify a version, so you should be able to get back to deb12u13. But I have only used it once, long time ago. I can't for sure tell you how exactly that would work today.

Last edited by rolfie (Today 13:30:18)

Altoid

Member

Registered: 2017-05-07

Posts: 2,085  

Re: [SOLVED] LibreOffice Calc 7.4.7.2 - Slow / laggy scrolling

Hello:

... download a suitable version from the repo, all files required, and install it with apt/apt-get or dpkg -i ...

Right.

... a look at the Devuan Package View ...
... two packages in the repo, both 7.4.7-1 plus a Debian patch.
... 7.4.7-1+deb12u13 and 7.4.7-1+deb12u14.
... so you should be able to get back to deb12u13

Thank you for taking the time to look that up.
Much obliged.

In the few hours I have been working with it, I have seen that [OpenOffice] starts up, open and saves the same spreadsheet noticeably faster, does not have any (obvious) UI bugs and is working as well as expected.

Just a couple of things to get used to because "muscle memory" (eg: [BackSpace] to delete content from a cell instead of [Delete] which generates a pop-up with options) but nothing important enough to consider going back to [LibreOffice].

On top of that, I do think it has more 'nice-looking' appeal.  8^P

Best,

A.

Last edited by Altoid (Today 20:05:03)