LibreOffice Writer 7.2.7.2 page style change affects earlier page styles

Question

I am using LibreOffice Writer 7.2.7.2.(x64).

I create a new blank document, and insert a page break, giving me two pages.

I go to the header of the first page, then press F-11 to open Styles, then go to Page Styles. Then I double-click "First Page". The first page's header takes on the style "Header (First Page)", as expected.

Then I go to the header of the second page, and from Page Styles, double click "Left page". At this point, the second page's header style now says "Header (default page style)", and the style for the first page now says "Header (Left Page)".

Why does changing the header style for page 2 affect page 1? (And how is anyone supposed to control styles if you can't tell what page you are going to be affecting?)

I have searched diligently for some explanation of how page styles work, read the LibO chapter on controlling page styles, and cannot grasp how setting a style for a later page could/should affect earlier pages. Is there any explanation for this incredibly frustrating behavior? Thank you.

Answer 1

I was able to reproduce your problem. The solution is as follows:

1. Setup the "First Page" header as you described.
2. Now, right-click on the "First Page" style, then select "Modify..."
3. On the Organizer tab, change the Next style field to "Left Page"
4. Now when you go to page 2, it should automatically be set to "Left Page" style. When you go to page 3, it should automatically be set to "Right Page"

Through this experience, my understanding is that the "First Page" style has set that the Next style to be "Default Page Style". By modifying the next style, you are properly chaining what the next style should be.

Why you encountered the problem when you simply click "Left Page" style on page 2? My guess is, the default system assumes odd page to be Left Page, so it overwrote the first page as Left Page. But this is just my guess.