One LibreOffice document for multiple uses
Share
© Lead Image © Oksana Kuzmina, 123RF.com
With a little planning and a few LibreOffice tricks, you can create one document that contains text customized for various end users.
Writer provides several means to hide text. You can hide text with fields or a section or by selecting the Hidden box from the Font Effects for a character or paragraph style. But why, you might wonder, would anyone want to hide text? Perhaps as an Easter egg or as proof of authorship in work done for a client you don't trust? The most obvious reason is for single sourcing: the maintenance of several versions of a document within a single file.
Multiple versions of documents that differ only in some details are common in business or academia. For instance, you might have one version each of a software manual for users, system administrators, and programmers, or separate versions of a curriculum for more than one level of user. Similarly, you might have one version of an exam to be given to students and another version that shows the answers for instructors.
The only trouble is that maintaining multiple versions of a document is difficult. Placing each version in its own file complicates keeping all the versions in sync. Forget just once to update both, and information may be presented to the wrong reader or without important details.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora 43 Has Finally Landed
The Fedora Linux developers have announced their latest release, Fedora 43.
-
KDE Unleashes Plasma 6.5
The Plasma 6.5 desktop environment is now available with new features, improvements, and the usual bug fixes.
-
Xubuntu Site Possibly Hacked
It appears that the Xubuntu site was hacked and briefly served up a malicious ZIP file from its download page.
-
LMDE 7 Now Available
Linux Mint Debian Edition, version 7, has been officially released and is based on upstream Debian.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Reaches EOL
Linux kernel 6.16 has reached its end of life, which means you'll need to upgrade to the next stable release, Linux kernel 6.17.
-
Amazon Ditches Android for a Linux-Based OS
Amazon has migrated from Android to the Linux-based Vega OS for its Fire TV.
-
Cairo Dock 3.6 Now Available for More Compositors
If you're a fan of third-party desktop docks, then the latest release of Cairo Dock with Wayland support is for you.
-
System76 Unleashes Pop!_OS 24.04 Beta
System76's first beta of Pop!_OS 24.04 is an impressive feat.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.