Setting Undos and Number of Recent Documents You Can Open

Setting Undos and Number of Recent Documents You Can Open

Click on File to see the old documents you've opened, then just select one to open it up again. Click on Undo to undo actions. These procedures tell you how to configure the number of each available:

Specifying Number of Possible Undos

Undoing past actions is everyone's fantasy; the program lets you do it up to a hundred times. The default is 20; to change it, choose Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org > Memory and enter the appropriate number (100 is the max) in the Number of Steps field.

Showing More than Four Recent Documents in the File List

The program keeps track of the four files you opened and closed most recently. This is a great feature but a little limited. If you want to increase the number to keep track of, follow the steps in this procedure. It's simply a matter of modifying the Common.xml file that stores a list of your most recently opened files; you just have to put in a line that says "Keep track of 9 files, OK" (or whatever number you want). There doesn't seem to be a limit but don't go nuts; we'd recommend that you keep it under 20.

Make a full backup or two of the Common.xml file before you go anywhere near these files. The location is specified in step 2.

1. Start TextPad (www.textpad.com) or another text editor that handles XML files well. Don't use Notepad.

2. Open the file shown in Figure 5-49.

   Figure 5-49 Paths to common.xml file

    ~/openoffice/user/config/registry/instance/org/openoffice/Office/common.xml 

3. Add the text shown in Figure 5-50 to the end of the file, before the final </Common> tag. If there is an existing <History> ... </History> entry, replace it with the code example.

   This code example changes OpenOffice.org to display 9 recently opened files; enter whatever number you want. (However, be sensible and keep it at double digits; we figure under 20 is a good idea.)

   Figure 5-50 Replacement text for the <History> tag

    <History>   <PickListSize cfg:type="int">  9  </PickListSize> </History>