Auto-Open Office Script: Watch & Open New Spreadsheet Files in Downloads

watch_and_open.sh

#!/bin/bash

# This script monitors the Downloads folder for new .xlsx, .csv, and .xls files.
# When a new file is detected, it:
#   1. Closes all running instances of OpenOffice/LibreOffice Calc.
#   2. Opens the new file in Calc, bypassing the recovery process.
# Requirements:
#   - inotify-tools package
#   - OpenOffice/LibreOffice Calc installed

DOWNLOAD_FOLDER="$HOME/Downloads"

inotifywait -m -e create --format '%f' "$DOWNLOAD_FOLDER" | while read FILE
do
    if [[ $FILE == *.xlsx || $FILE == *.csv || $FILE == *.xls ]]
    then
        echo "New file detected: $FILE"

        # Terminate any running instances of Calc
        pkill -f soffice.bin

        # Open the new file with Calc, using --norestore to bypass recovery
        soffice --calc --norestore --nologo "$DOWNLOAD_FOLDER/$FILE" &
    fi
done