How to Factory Reset LibreOffice to Default Settings

This tutorial will guide you through the steps to factory reset LibreOffice and restore it to its default settings.

When we use LibreOffice or any other computer program for that matter, for an extended period of time, we tend to tweak or change its default settings to better suit our workflow. However, when the customization goes too far to a point the program no longer functions properly, simply uninstalling and reinstalling the program won’t help solving the problem.

Because all the accumulated customization we made over time still live on our computer, and when this happens, doing a proper factory reset of LibreOffice back to its default state becomes necessary.

How to Reset LibreOffice Back to Its Default Settings

Step 1: First, open LibreOffice – any of its applications, Writer, Calc, Impress etc.

Step 2: Click Help > Restart in Safe Mode from the top menu-bar. (If you’ve Tabbed UI enabled, then look for the Help button under the File tab at top-right corner of the window.)

Step 3: If it asks for the confirmation, select Restart. (Please make sure you don’t have any unsaved document open, as it won’t be able to recover those files.)

Step 4: Once the reset button is clicked, a window will open in safe mode. In this window, select the option named Reset to factory settings and check both Reset settings and user interface modifications and Reset entire user profile. Finally, click Apply Changes and Restart.

That’s all, LibreOffice will restart now with it default factory settings, and configurations. All the previous changes made in the preferences will be cleaned.

Factory Reset of LibreOffice on GNU/Linux

If you’re running any GNU/Linux based operating system (such as Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint), then resetting LibreOffice back to its default state is much simpler here than on Windows. Just follow the given steps below to delete all the accumulated customization and bring the software back to its original configuration.

On GNU/Linux systems, LibreOffice stores all of its user-made configurations in a single file directory located within the user’s home directory: /home/<user>/.config/libreoffice (where <user> represents the computer username, for example in my case it’s shiba)

To reset, simply delete the libreoffice folder in this location. This can be done through the file manager or by running the following command in the terminal:

rm -rf ~/.config/libreoffice

After deleting the libreoffice directory from the location, the next time you launch LibreOffice, it will be launched with its default configuration.

Wrapping Up

Performing a factory reset of LibreOffice regularly can help clean up the customization that have built up over time. I hope this tutorial was helpful. If you encounter any problems, feel free to leave a comment down below.