[Solved] Can't read any old docs

[EricB5]

I had to reload my win7 as well as Open Office. I copied my HD to an external beforehand, now I can't read my old Open Office files, they're in machine language. The only way I can use the program is to make a new doc. Win7 64 Home.
Thanks.

[FJCC]

Can you explain what you do to try opening the documents and how you know they are in machine language? Also, if you could upload a small document, that would really help. There is an Upload Attachment tab just under the window where you type a response.

[RoryOF]

In Windows Explorer can you check the files you are trying to open? There may be two files for each file, one called

Code: Select all

.~lock.File name.odt#
the other 
File name.odt

The first file is a lock (housekeeping) file of a small number of bytes, something between 80 and perhaps several hundred bytes. The second file is the actual file containg the data and will be a minimum of 7.5 kB in size. The lock files may be deleted when OpenOffice is closed, as they are there to prevent unexpected alteration of the files by multiple users. Before deleteing them be certain of their small size - it is noticably different from the main files. When OpenOffice terminates unexpectedly these are often left behind and cause read-only problems; sometimes they are misidentified as the master files which can be tragic, as they contain none of the main file information.

[EricB5]

This is what I`m calling machine language. All my files look like this. When I click on the file I get the ASCII filter options. When I choose `Open With`, I see the Open Office program.
%PDF-1.4
1 0 obj
ÿÿÿ“aH–##pÈÉ[™

Thanks

[acknak]

That's a pdf format document, not something mean to be opened or edited by OOo. It's perfectly normal that OOo can't open them as you expect. What you're seeing is the raw data inside the pdf file.

OOo documents end with .odt, or perhaps .doc

To open pdf documents, you would use a pdf viewer (Adobe Reader, for example), or specialized software for editing such files.

[EricB5]

Not solved. I WAS able to read it with OOo before the reinstall............
How about this example which was made with OOo. All my OOo files have defaulted to PDF, I was able to format them to PDF using OOo somehow, that was how I attached them in emails.

[acknak]

It is possible to open a pdf file using OOo but only if you install a separate extension to handle it. Generally speaking, one does not edit and save a pdf file.

With OOo Writer, you would create and edit an ODF document (the file name ends in .odt)--a word processing document--and create a pdf as needed to send out to someone else. The pdf file is like an electronic, paperless printout: a file for viewing/reading only, not something that anyone would expect to open or edit with a word processor.

I removed the attached files, as both seem to contain some real-life info that probably isn't good to leave on a public site like this where anyone can read it.

[thomasjk]

The only way you could have read PDF files before was if you had the PDF Import Extension Installed. The extension provides limited editing with Draw only.

All my OOo files have defaulted to PDF, I was able to format them to PDF using OOo somehow, that was how I attached them in emails.

It sounds like your file associations are broken. See http://www.winvistaclub.com/t19.html to set them correctly.

[EricB5]

Thanks for deleting those files Acknak, I naively thought I couldn't read them so nobody else could, ops. I must have had the PDF extension installed before, I'll try it.
Thanks for your help guys

[acknak]

I think Tom may be right about the file associations. That would explain how OOo keeps trying to open the wrong kind of files.

There's also the matter of document previews, I just happened to think. Some people have reported that they no longer see the document previews on the desktop, but only an icon instead. If you're used to double-clicking on the document preview, it could be that you're getting the preview for the pdf files but not for the .odt files as you should be (or used to get).