Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: GUEST,nutty
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 06:29 AM

There were still a few files that wouldn't open (from a very early version of Wordpro) but taking Johns advice I installed a (RECOVER TEXT FROM ANY FILE)file from the OFFICE2000 CD.
This gives all the formatting but with careful pruning you can restore the original text.

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: nutty
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 02:38 AM

You are wonderful people ...... I've had this problem since I changed computers.
However, I've tried your suggestions but couldn't get them to work on my machine but while I was exploring all these new possibilities I decided to try TOOLS ... MERGE DOCUMENTS

This IS allowing me to change both my previous Works and Lotus files and open them in Word.

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 01:45 AM

If you go to Start - Settings - Control Panel, and double click on Add-Remove Programs, one of the options will be Add or Remove Windows Components or if you select (click) your Office program you should have the options "Change" or "Remove." If you click on "Change," you should be able to select which of the standard import/export filters you want installed. You probably need your Office installation CD, although a normal installation copies many of the CAB files to your hard drive so some changes can be made without the CD.

There are quite a number of filters available for Office, especially ones specifically for Word. A few, but not all, are normally installed in a "default install" of Word. You have to add the others "on purpose."

If you don't find an appropriate one on your original Office CD, you can visit the Microsoft Office Homepage and use the "Downloads" link from there (on the left), or go directly to Office Updates to look for other tools. New import/export filters are added fairly often when sufficient demand is found.

At the Office Homepage there's a "check for updates" button (top right) that you really should click to see if there are new security patches you may want. If you're looking for a specific tool, you should find what's available at the update link.

At the Office Updates site, near the bottom in "Popular Downloads" you should find the Office Converter Pack, new release July 2004, that contains all available file import/export filters for use with Office 97 and later.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: robomatic
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 08:47 PM

I have my own Office CD including Word, and in my experience it will save into other formats but usually you have to go through a procedure of telling it youwant to save in, say, wordperfect format and it says it needs to pull that ability off the master disk, and you feed it the master CD, in other words, the program doesn't automatically mount with that ability, but it can be arranged if you have the master cd.

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 08:36 PM

The RTF format is fairly compatible, if somewhat restricted with some formatting things.

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: Bert
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 07:45 PM

Always save a text version of any file that you might want to use in the future. Microsoft is notorious for not being compatible over different versions.

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: Jeri
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 07:20 PM

I don't have WordXP, but this suggestion would work with older versions of Word. What I would do would be to open the files in Word XP and save them ('Save As') as a text ('.txt') file. She'd have to have access to a computer with WordXP on it, though.

WordXP may give her the option of saving as a Works or WordPad file - I don't know. Works or WordPad may also open older versions of Word. Again, she'd have to open them with WordXP and 'Save As' an older version

'.txt' files will work with every word processing program I know of, though, but formatting will be lost.

If anyone else has WordXP, actually knows how to do this, and posts something different from what I've said, please ignore me. I'm just guessing based on experience with older programs.

Subject: Open WORD XP documents in WordPad or WORKS
From:
Date: 12 Jan 05 - 05:45 PM

My sister created alot of business files in WORDXP and wants to be able to read, edit, etc. at home on WORKS or WORDPad. The documents won't open. Any suggestions other than resaving ALL of them as an RTF or other file type? Thanks, April

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 09:35 PM

oh, wonderful!...so glad you are at least partially recovered! (Do make extra backup copies...just because you never know!)

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: izzy
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 06:23 PM

Bill D's url worked perfectly. Things are almost fine again (Word, it seems, made some rather devastating 'repairs' to my libretto in which it lost a quarter of the thing) but I can get into my files again. Thanks so much to all of you for your help.

Cheers,

Isabel

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 03:28 PM

At the risk of sounding a little "elitist," I've developed a strong aversion to anything with "Works" or "Home" in its name - especially from Microsoft. Compared to what's available in the "Professional" editions, you end up with toys instead of tools.

Even with the "Professional" versions, Microsoft has proliferated the number of combinations available to the point where it is very difficult to tell what you're getting; and especially when you're buying a new "equipped" machine, you have to be very careful.

I've had a number of requests from friends who saved a few bucks and then wanted help with "doing something in Excel" or "how do I do this in Word" - without realizing that they didn't have Excel or Word in their package.

Some recent reviews claim that the new Office 2004 Home Edition does actually have a "full version of Word" in it. (I'll reserve judgment on that until I've seen it.) It still, apparently, has a "tinker-toy" spreadsheet.

I'm sure it's an effort by Microsoft to make something available, more economically, to people who have very simple needs - and doesn't have anything to do with knowing they can sell it to you twice if you buy a crippled product to begin with and have to upgrade later ...(?)

In fairness, I do know a few people who really don't need anything better than what's in Works or Home Office; but I don't talk much "computering" (or writing, editing, publishing, or basic communication) with them.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 01:36 PM

Well, you learn something new every day. Sure enough, hidden away in the Word 97 help files is a note to the effect that there are import filters for Works versions 3 and 4. Evidently I didn't bother installing them. Presumably Word XP will have filters for more recent versions, which no doubt you can find on the installation disk. Sounds like you're saved again.

Seriously, though, you probably should abandon MSWorks in the future.

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 12:52 PM

Try selecting OPEN in WORD, then click on the "Files of Type" drop-down, check through all the formats available. My (default) installation of WORD97 icludes both "Works for Windows 3.0" and "Works 95".

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: NicoleC
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 12:41 PM

John is correct. Word opens Works files just fine, however, it is generally not installed by default.

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 12:01 PM

A normal installation of Word (Office XP) installs quite a number of conversion utilities. Apparently the "Works" import filter is not one that's installed in a default installation.

In your new WordXP setup, if you click on Tools, Options, and select the General tab, there should be a box called "Confirm Conversion at Open." If you make sure this box is checked, it will give you quite a lot better info about what is happening when you try to open a "foreign" file, and should tell you whether there is an import filter installed that will work. (In some cases it may even ask if you want to "add a filter," if you try to open something it doesn't recognize.)

Assuming you have your Office install CD, you can go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Software, and try an add Word import/export filters to see if there's something for Works that didn't install when you put Word on.

The fallback option is to find a friendly machine with Works installed, and see if you can export the files as something like RTF that Word can import easily. Whether this works well depends somewhat on how complex the files are; but for most stuff it's a pretty good conversion. [You might also find a Works "export as Word" filter on someone's machine(?).]

John

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: Bill D
Date: 23 Nov 03 - 09:57 PM

in ANY case like this, I assume that many have had this problem before, and that there MUST exist some technical talk on it in the newsgroups...it is just a matter of deciding how to phrase the query.

I hope something works helps...

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: Bill D
Date: 23 Nov 03 - 09:54 PM

which 'Works' was it? I found this in a newsgroup search using "wps files" and 'word' as search parameters (there were more, but this 'might' be all that is needed)

"You can download the Supplemental Converter pack
to get Works v3 (no Office support for v2)
http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/convpack.aspx
There are also converter downloads for v5 and v6 Works."

and this .."Word 2000 includes a converter for MS Works word processor
version 4.0 files. There are two newer converters that
you can download and add to Word from
http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/default.aspx?Product=Word&Version=97|2000|2002&Type=Converter

One handles MS Works v4.5 and v5/2000 files. The other handles
MS Works v6/2001

If you turn on Confirm Conversions on Open
in Tools=>Options=>General in Word you'll see the available
installed converters and can choose the appropriate one if
Word 'guesses' wrong."

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: darkriver
Date: 23 Nov 03 - 08:19 PM

I got some of this text from the MS support website.

This behavior may occur if Microsoft Windows does not properly associate .wps files with Word.
To resolve this issue, re-associate .wps files with Word. To do this, follow these steps. (Not sure exactly what your setup is, so your mileage may vary.)

1. Right-click Start, and then click Explore.
Windows Explorer starts.

2. Locate the .wps file that you want to open, and then right-click it.

3. Point to Open With, and then click Choose Program.
(If the Open With command is not available, click Open, click Select the program from a list, and then click OK.)

4. Click Microsoft Word.

5. Click to select the Always use the selected program to open this kind of file check box, and then click OK.

Then see if Word starts and opens the document.

Hope this helps.

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 23 Nov 03 - 07:53 PM

I take it back. Just tried to open an old Works file with Word, and lots of junk came up, although it did get the text. I think you need to re-install Works to get at the files, but then you should probably think about saving in a newer version of Word. Good luck!

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 23 Nov 03 - 07:39 PM

I have Word 97, which will open a .wps file no problem, converting it to a format that Word can use. When you go to save it, you have the option of using the Save As... so you can save it in Word rather than Works.

Are you trying to open the Works files by double-clicking on them on a computer that does not have Works installed? If so, try going into Word and opening the file from there, and it should just convert it for you. Or it may be that there's an incompatibility between the verions of software you have and it can't convert.

You should be able to re-install Works and use the original files.

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: Bernard
Date: 23 Nov 03 - 07:27 PM

Unless the files are very sensitive, you could e-mail them to me (as attachments), and I could open them in Works, and re-save them as RTF (Rich Text Format) files, which will open in practically any Windows word processor - including Works, Word and Wordperfect.

My email address...

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 23 Nov 03 - 07:08 PM

You shouldn't have damaged the wps files by opening them in Word, provided you didn't save them from that program. Word will not open wps files any more than Photoshop will do it; re-install MSWorks if you really must use the ghastly thing. Never use a proprietory file format unless you're prepared to stick with the software you made it with. You're far better off using generic file formats unless you have a good reason for not doing so; it's much safer. If you can't re-istall Works under your new set-up, get someone who runs it to convert your files to something that other programs can use. Even Microsoft products usually have some kind of way of doing that (but don't talk to me about MSPublisher: the next person who sends me a file made in that particular abomination is marked for a spot of serious death).

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: artbrooks
Date: 23 Nov 03 - 07:06 PM

We have both Word XP and an old copy of Works installed...just for the sort of thing that you are mentioning, to open some very old documents. The files on the floppy should still be intact, unless you somehow saved the "corrected" version to the floppy, which it doesn't sound like you did. Good luck.

Subject: RE: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: Amergin
Date: 23 Nov 03 - 07:01 PM

maybe install works....

or better yet scrap both programs and go with word perfect...

Subject: Tech: Get info in Word fr flopy saved in Works
From: izzy
Date: 23 Nov 03 - 06:51 PM

Hallo. My computer crashed yesterday and I have, with the help of various discs from friends, succeeded in installing Windows XP Pro and Windows XP Word. The problem is that I have several extremely important creative projects saved to floppy in the Works format (file abbreviation .wps in some cases, Works files in others --Works was able to open all of them) that I cannot open in Word. Every time I try to open them, they come up as a whole lot of computer script. I tried to retrieve information from one of them using the "recover info from any file" option, but it made some repairs to it (said there were errors in the file) and in doing so lost about 50 pages. I didn't save the changes made to it. Would it be possible to open these discs if I could somehow reinstall Works, and would the system have permanently lost the pages that didn't appear when I opened the document in Word? I would appreciate some help with this, as a part-time job, a libretto, and a novel are all at stake.

Thanks,

Isabel