Weird events when downloading 3.0.2

[iship]

After being reminded multiple times, when I finally went to upgrade my NeoOffice program to 3.0.2, I was taken aback because the process did not proceed as the screen said it would. (I have an intel Mac OS X) First, I must say I didn’t understand that the program would begin automatically, so didn’t wait 30 seconds, but immediately clicked one of the alternate download sites mentioned. Unfortunately, I can’t remember which one.

The directions on the NeoOffice website say that to install, you should click on the downloaded file in the Finder & go through several steps before a NeoOffice.pkg package file will open. But I went through no steps, clicked on nothing-- the .pkg file screen opened by itself as soon as the download was complete. I was put off by this but clicked it, and the program installed.

Here’s the weird part. When I clicked on the “recent documents” in the file menu, these files came up as being my most recently opened documents: A file labeled Trojan Nuclear Plant, two Files labeled Congressional Contacts, a file labeled Uwe Reinhardt congressional testimony, one of my yearly journals, and a bunch of files labeled Calendar. But I had opened absolutely NONE of those files for a year or more--

And it seems like a pretty select list to be just randomly opened.

I am active in the campaign for single payer healthcare and wrote a letter to the editor about nuclear power a couple of weeks ago.

I don’t want to spread panic-- in fact I am not panicked-- I am convinced that everything in the electronic world is ultimately completely open (except the identity of the overlords and their servants). But I want to know what I am dealing with. Is this as serious as I suspect?

I don’t know exactly where/how to post this message, so I will post it on a couple of boards. Again, I regret having to bring this news, this question to the whole group.

[James3359]

I don't think you should panic about this. All the behaviours you describe could easily be to do with things on your own system.

If you downloaded using Safari and in Safari Preferences>General the check box for 'Open "safe" files after downloading' is checked that would explain the automatic opening of the dmg file.

The odd set of recent documents you are seeing is likely due to an issue with your NeoOffice preference files. NeoOffice reads them to tell what files you have opened recently. If you have some corruption in your preferences the newly patched NeoOffice may be having a problem with corrupted files, and perhaps reading a file that had somehow got orphaned and not updated. This means that it is giving you a recent documents list which was last updated a year or more ago.

If you are still concerned about some unlawful access of your personal data by a hacked version of NeoOffice, you can check the integrity of your downloaded file. Checksums are available on this NeoWiki page.

Edited to add: I am treating this as a support issue, and will lock the thread you have opened on Random Whatnot as duplicate threads get rather confusing.

[pluby]

[iship]

Yes James I did access the site via Safari and had the box checked to open the downloads immediately!

I might have opened a second download while the first was still happening, as I didn't wait the 30 seconds before clicking on a link to a new download site. Perhaps the program got corrupted in the switch?

But that sequence of documents that appeared in the recent document list was absolutely not a sequence I ever would have had open at the same time. Two were lists of "congressional contacts," one was a file (a poem) labeled Trojan Nuclear Plant, one was a congressional testimony on single payer by Uwe Reinhardt, and several were calendars from various years. With tens of thousands of documents on my computer, that a glitch should cause this particular list to be randomly generated seems-- well, you can calculate the odds...

In the end I trashed the 3.0.2 version and went back to my old 2.2.5 patch 14. This was after I ran into another problem with the 3.0.2--when printing, the old version gave you an intermediate step after you chose "print"-- another screen opened with the choices of printing left page, right page, or both pages. Very handy in two-sided printing. But my new version skipped that step-- hit "print" and it would just immediately begin printing, but printing only the left (even) pages, the default option on the old version and seemingly the only option on the new. Perhaps again this is a corruption of the file that I downloaded.

I'm afraid I won't have time to return to this until next week. When I do, I may try downloading 3.0.2 properly this time, and then running it through Catchsums. When I do that, I'm afraid I will need some help with the Catchsums process, as I didn't understand all the instructions when I looked at it last night.

Incidentally, as I was working last night I got a screen that kept popping up asking me if I wanted to allow NeoOffice to accept input from an outside source. This may be a normal event, but it never happened before that I can remember. I chose "no." If this is normal, and if my choice was unwise, I would appreciate knowing.

Two more questions: is 3.0.2 a beta version? I am too inexperienced a computer user, and too UN-intuitive technically to want to use anything but a tried and true version!

Also-- is there any drawback to just continuing to use my old, 2.2.5 version? I have only used the text/word processing to this point, and that was working splendidly for me. Is there a downside to not updating?

Thank you Merovingian and Captain Spock. I am very appreciative of the trinity "community" and the good assistance and advice I have received from it.

Sincerely, "Agent."

(I am relieved to no longer be the "blue pill" (depressed), nor the "red pill" (?communist). Perhaps this is a promotion.

(But then tomorrow I may be thickhead or cloudyday!)

[pluby]

[James3359]

OK Patrick (pluby) is the one who really knows what he is talking about here.

From your sequence of posts I guess you have mainly been using NeoOffice 2.2.5 until recently. This would totally account for you seeing in your latest version of NeoOffice 3.x.x a list of "recent files" which is made up of files you last looked at a while ago.

Patrick is entirely right about the way this list is built up. NeoOffice just accumulates a list of the last ten files you opened in (that version of) NeoOffice. NeoOffice 3 uses a different set of preference files to NeoOffice 2 so files you opened recently in NeoOffice 2.2.5 won't show up in your NeoOffice 3 setup. If you opened a few files in NeoOffice 3 some time ago when you first installed it, and have now come back to it after a break, its "Recent Documents" list will still contain those ten or so files you opened way back.

I really don't think there is anything to worry about in your setup. If you still really want to use the Checksum (not Catchsum) to verify the integrity of your download then you can. If you closely study the NeoWiki page I linked to it does give you step by step instructions for doing that.

[iship]

“I think you misunderstand what I wrote. The File :: Recent Documents menu lists the last several documents that you have opened with NeoOffice. None of them have to be opened at the same time. The logic is very simple: when you open a document not in the list, it gets added to the list. When adding a new document to the list makes the list too long, NeoOffice drops one off the list.

There is no expiration date for the list. It is just a list of the last several documents that you have opened with NeoOffice. If you don't launch NeoOffice for a year, the list remains unchanged. The only way that it changes is when you open a document not in the list bumps an existing item off the list.”


--Pluby: I do understand what the “recently viewed” list is. I open probably many documents every day, from 5 to 30 or 40. That list is constantly churning. My last “recently viewed list” could not have contained the files that appeared in the new version-- although I am constantly accessing documents, I hadn’t accessed any of those for several years, and never conceivably in the sequence they appeared in.

Here’s the thing-- I just installed 3.0.1 last night and had never inputted or accessed documents with it. Yet the “recently viewed” list was NOT the last list I viewed in my old 2. version. In fact (sorry for reiterating) it was not a list of viewed documents that could have ever naturally accumulated as I worked, and none of them the “last documents” I accessed in the 2. version.

I am sorry if I am not making myself clear. I do understand the list contains 10 items, one drops off when you add another. But I can’t see how, on a brand new unused version the first time I check that menu, I turn up ten items I haven’t accessed recently, and never in a sequence that would have them appear as items 1-10.

“Starting in OpenOffice.org 3.0.1 (the version that NeoOffice 3.0.2 is based on), that dialog moved to the File :: Printer Settings menu.”

--I think I tried that last night and it didn’t work. But I will try again as soon as I have time.

“I do not understand what either of the above two items are. I am not familiar with a "catchsums" feature in NeoOffice's underlying OpenOffice.org code. I also do not know where you saw an "accept input from an outside source" message. “

--Pluby, in answer to your second question-- that message flashed on the screen when I clicked open NeoOffice after downloading. It appeared on the screen as soon as I accessed both old and new versions. Unfortunately, I did not write down the exact working. But it was asking me if I would accept input into the NeoOffice Program. I said no.

-- As for “catchsums,” so sorry, James the Merovingian just corrected me, it is “checksums.” A NeoWiki page.

One more question: If I want make sure a person sees my reply to their message, how do I do this? Only by sending a private message? I wish it were possible to reply directly onscreen to individual messages. Perhaps I am overlooking something simple.

Was #14 the last patch issued for version 2.2.5? Is there an ongoing list of bugs that are repaired in each patch and upgrade? (I haven’t been hanging out here long enough to figure it out)

Many thanks,

B

P.S. I tried selecting the text that I wanted to quote, then clicking the little quote box, but the result in my outgoing message box looked more like hash than text. It included the whole email I was trying to quote from, not just the part I selected. So I take the awkward step of going back to the NeoOffice text page, selecting and copying the parts I want to quote, then dropping them into a document page, then posting the document online. Is there an easier way?

You don’t have to hurry on your responses, as I won’t be able to get serious about figuring all of this out until next week.

[pluby]

[iship]

Patrick I did not realize that a message to James counted as a support question to staff! Some messages seem to be from private users with some knowledge or expertise to share-- like one from ovvidc-- "Captain Mifune" to me. Perhaps everyone actively in the game now checks the site regularly and would know when a response to their remarks gets posted on the general board. I was wanting a way to ensure that they see my replies or (non-technical) responses to their messages. I wouldn't like to add more work to the already overworked Neo Office staff. And certainly I would post any support question clearly to the general board, not in a private message.

[ovvldc]

FYI, the ranks (Blue Pill, Red Pill, Agent, Merovingian, Captain (Mifune or otherwise) and Architect) are assigned by the board software based on your number of postings .

[iship]

Thank you for your explanation, Mifune!