Ubuntu 20.04 -- Please explain "remote" on following screenshot

[bhubunt]

Hi,
I have had this happen often: when working on documents, whether on LibreOfficeWriter or on LibreOffice Impress, suddenly my doc will say "remote" at the top, in parentheses.

[It says at the top: Untitled 1 (Remote) LibreOffice Impress, see attached screenshot.]

Can someone familiar with this explain what is going on here?

Why the "remote"? How did this happen?

The weird "remote" ref popped up at 19:43:11 in the following partial log, between lines 77 and 78: https://pastebin.com/tiqs7fak

[Dennis N]

I've get that in LibreOffice when I open a file over a network connection. I believe it locks out anyone else trying to open the same file while you have it open.

[bhubunt]

I've get that in LibreOffice when I open a file over a network connection. I believe it locks out anyone else trying to open the same file while you have it open.

Thanks for the reply, but can you explain what you mean by "opening a file over a network connection"?

It's definitely not the case that every time you are on the internet a doc in LibreOffice therefore is remote. To the contrary. For example, I am connected to my modem right now, but when I open LibreOffice right now, it definitely does not say "remote," which is in fact the way it should be. The opened LibreOffice file is just on my computer and not a remote file.

In fact, there is a separate button in the drop-down menu under File in LibreOffice to activate "remote." If you click on it, it says you need to fill in the service. Since I never use remote files and also don't save files as remote files, I have no services listed or activated (see screenshot below, taken just now).

Perhaps you do use remote services, but I definitely do not. That's the reason why I put the tag "strange behavior" in this posting.

My question still is: how is it that I get remote file references on some of these docs, when I have no remote services activated and never use remote files?

(P. S.: I also don't have a server or a router, just use Ubuntu 20.04 LTS desktop and my internet connection happens through a commercial DSL modem.)

[TheFu]

The attached image doesn't show "remote" in the title bar, where I expected it. Looks like it is just a dialog to open remote files using one of the many supported methods, like WebDAV or Google or CIFS or sftp or ... https://help.libreoffice.org/6.2/en-...les-setup.html

I did a test running libreoffice v7.3 on a remote system and had it access NFS storage remote to both my desktop and the libreoffice system. No "remote" showed up in the titlebar.

[bhubunt]

The attached image doesn't show "remote" in the title bar, where I expected it. Looks like it is just a dialog to open remote files using one of the many supported methods, like WebDAV or Google or CIFS or sftp or ... https://help.libreoffice.org/6.2/en-...les-setup.html

I did a test running libreoffice v7.3 on a remote system and had it access NFS storage remote to both my desktop and the libreoffice system. No "remote" showed up in the titlebar.

Hi The Fu,
Thanks so very much for the reply and for running a test. However, when you say that the attached image doesn't show remote in the title bar, you are referring to the second screenshot in post #3, which indeed does not show "remote" in the title bar.

However, the weird LibreImpress doc that this thread is about does have "remote" in the title bar and is posted in post #1. I am attaching it again to this post, see below.

Since you are able to do tests, I wonder if you could possibly do a test in which you share your desktop and a Libreoffice doc with another user? Here are the instructions: https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubunt...g-desktop.html

[bhubunt]

deleted because duplicate of post #5

[ActionParsnip]

Remote control....maybe (bit of a stretch). If you disable that, does it go away?
https://help.libreoffice.org/6.0/med...eraldialog.png

[bhubunt]

Remote control....maybe (bit of a stretch). If you disable that, does it go away?
https://help.libreoffice.org/6.0/med...eraldialog.png

Thanks very much for the question and suggestion, ActionParsnip.

As a matter of fact, my LibreImpress is always set to "Enable presenter console," never to "Enable remote control." I am not a member of a group or small network and also not logged into a server where the members share their screens and files. I am just a user of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS desktop version on my Lenovo Thinkpad x240 laptop, hooked up to a commercial internet provider via a DSL modem. I do not own a separate router.

I am attaching a screenshot of my settings for LibreImpress, below.

But I must say that it does seem to me that the "remote" reference in the title bar of screenshot #1 in post #1 indicates remote control of the file.

Are there any signs in the system log that there is remote desktop/screen sharing? The remote LibreImpress file appeared at around 19:43:11 -- between lines 77-78 in the log: https://pastebin.com/tiqs7fak

And here's the longer log that preceded: https://pastebin.com/dLfDuRgd

[ActionParsnip]

If you close all LibreOffice apps then run:

mv ~/.config/libreoffice ~/.config/libreoffice_2023-04-07

Then rerun the application, do you still see the "remote" text?

You may also want to try posting on the LibreOffice forum
https://ask.libreoffice.org/

[TheFu]

Since you are able to do tests, I wonder if you could possibly do a test in which you share your desktop and a Libreoffice doc with another user? Here are the instructions: https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubunt...g-desktop.html

I use remote stuff daily and was using it for this test. The window with libreoffice inside it was on my local system, but libreoffice was running on a remote system using X11 forwarding through ssh. If you are on the same LAN, that's the best way.

Full remote desktops are a complete waste of resources, unless you are going over the internet and for that situation, I use x2go. I'm unwilling to install VNC or RDP on my systems and I think most Gnome system stuff are abominations. Sorry.

So, my test was using x11-forwarding over ssh. That works fine. It should be faster than any other method and it is certainly 1000x easier.
I don't have x2goserver setup on the system where libreoffice is installed, but eventually, if I start traveling again, it will be needed.
I did run another test over a SPICE connection. This does provide a full, fast, remote desktop, but it isn't secure. I seldom use it. It isn't something I can disable. Anyway, no "remote" in the title bar with it either.

Whatever you are doing seems to be less about libreoffice and more about the way sharing is enabled/accessed on your system.