LibreOffice document comparison and merge

The bundled LibreOffice adapter follows TortoiseGit's diff-odt.js and merge-odt.js. It opens the captured new document and dispatches Show Tracked Changes followed by Compare Documents against the captured base. LibreOffice keeps the actual Writer/Calc document and formatting; TurtleGit does not export plain text as a replacement for the source comparison.

New Diff Viewer and Merge Tool defaults include .odt, .ods and .sxw. Previously saved choices, including an existing Word .odt association, remain in effect. Advanced → Restore Defaults installs the LibreOffice associations, retains unrelated records and existing row identities, and saves only after accepting Advanced and applying Settings. Shift bypasses an enabled association. LibreOffice is also available explicitly in the diff/merge program editors. A Word comparison association automatically tries this adapter when Word is unavailable, using fresh editable private copies of the same captured bytes. Word permission denials, timeouts or uncertain handoffs do not start a second comparison. Word merge remains Word-only; choose LibreOffice explicitly to use its separate mine/theirs merge workflow.

Requirements and handoff

Install LibreOffice separately, including its bundled Python framework. TurtleGit locates the installed application and its nested Python application through macOS, then starts a fresh runtime instance through Launch Services. It uses the fixed bundled comparison worker and literal JSON arguments. No document path becomes shell or Python source. The worker uses the installed UNO bridge, a UUID named local pipe and an isolated LibreOffice profile. It never attaches to your running LibreOffice desktop or reads its current frame. LibreOffice's bundled Python layout and launch constraints differ between releases; an unavailable runtime reports an error so another configured tool can be chosen.

Exact private editable document copies follow the source's writable-input requirement; originals remain untouched. Opening explicitly requests UNO's NEVER_EXECUTE macro policy and NO_UPDATE document policy. The dispatch targets the frame belonging to the newly loaded document. These properties and dispatch semantics still need acceptance with actual installed LibreOffice versions, including comparison-time loading of the reference file.

Cancellation before dispatch suppresses the handoff. During preparation, it signals the worker and waits for its runtime to settle; a blocked worker receives termination after 180 seconds and forced termination after another five seconds. Only that newly created runtime application is targeted. An already opened LibreOffice result can remain for review; cancellation does not undo its work. The native owner retains Quit accounting until the runtime exits. Closing an owner refuses late errors and resolution prompts.

Confirmed unopened failures remove private inputs and stop the private office process when the worker can confirm it. Accepted or uncertain operations retain copies and the isolated profile for the external result. Saved Data → Temp files or system temporary cleanup can remove them later. LibreOffice is not installed, reconfigured or removed by TurtleGit.

Tracked-change merge

As in merge-odt.js, the adapter compares mine against theirs; the base stage is not consumed. The existing Git conflict loader determines stage orientation, including rebases, and revalidates the conflict immediately before handoff. A native instruction sheet identifies the real working result path. Accept/reject changes in LibreOffice and use Save As to that path. The private mine copy is not the working result, and an ordinary Save of it does not resolve the conflict.

With Block while merging enabled, TurtleGit asks Mark Resolved / No after preparation. Save As must finish before choosing Mark Resolved. No leaves the index unchanged. Closing or cancelling refuses late answers. The existing conflict validator checks current stages again when staging the saved working result. Without blocking, review and resolve later through the ordinary conflict tools. LibreOffice exposes no trusted merge exit code; Trust the exit code must be off.

Verification and remaining acceptance

Core checks execute the shipping worker with injected UNO/process interfaces, covering literal URLs, the owned frame, explicit properties, connection/cancel/ load/dispatch failures and completion receipts. Native fixtures exercise shipping routing, settings Apply/Cancel, exact snapshots, Shift, unavailable cleanup, Save As instructions, explicit resolution and retired-worker ownership in private Git repositories. These checks launch no user office software.

LibreOffice is not installed in the current development environment. Live Writer/ Calc rendering, nested-runtime launch compatibility, actual document formats, macro/reference loading, Save As, minimum OS and signed sandbox/App Store access remain unverified. The app's preparation profile and Launch Services code do not prove App Store acceptance. PowerPoint has native slide comparison and Open XML revision decisions with editable-copy output; binary PPT editing and complete revision parity remain open. Its inspected Mac scripting dictionary lacks the Windows presentation Merge API.