Formatting & headers seem to change...

[jrobbie82]

When I am working on papers for school, I typically put the title and page number in the "header" of the document. I have been having problems after I insert the header and the info in it, and then i save the file and close it--the next time i open the document, sometimes the header information is messed up (missing, or page numbers mess up) and specifically, it alters my page margins.

Does anyone else have the problem and how do i fix it?

[acknak]

What document format are you saving to?

Saving to any format other than OOo's native ODF format (.odt for text) carries some risk of losing formatting. If you're not saving as ODF, try that and see if you still have a problem.

[jrobbie82]

I'm trying to save it as a MS Word .doc file. Then when I save the file and try to open it back up in openoffice again, the formatting is gone and/or messed up.
My teachers request the file in .doc format, so I'm afraid of losing that and when they open my paper it will not be in correct format.

[acknak]

It's always safest to keep your work in OOo's native format. If you need a .doc to send to someone else, you can use File > Save As to make the copy, but don't use that format for your work.

If you save your work in .doc and use that as your working copy, there is a greater chance for OOo to get confused over the formatting because the document is exported and then imported every time you work on it.

If you have a correctly formatted document saved as ODF, you should be able to export a copy as .doc with the correct formatting. Exporting a pdf is even better if the recipient(s) only need to read the document.

[RoryOF]

There are also formatting difficulties in the transfer to .doc format. There is minor trouble with headers/footers and possible major trouble with tables. Depending on your work and its complexity, you may or may not decide to persevere with OpenOffice. If you are writing more or less plain text it should be satisfactory; if you are writing essays using tables or APA/MLA formats you may decide otherwise.