[Solved] To open .dat - emails

[ALF]

And good mmorning!

I tried to do as recommended regarding the saving of documents.
But still they end up as a ".dat" file and my partners cannot open them.

The adjustment I think to have is under:
EXTRAS - OPTIONS - SAVE/LOAD - GENERAL: Type: Textdocument / always save as: Microsoft Word 97 / 2000 / XP
and
on the document itself:
Save as - File-Name: soandso - File-Type: Microsoft Word 97 / 2000 / XP (.doc).

I save the file and when I send it away later (I have sent some to me) the arrive as ".dat". How can that be?
Obviously I must have made a bad adjustment - but where???

Regards

ALF

[TheGurkha]

Save a one-page test document on your machine, something like alf.doc, then attach it here.

[ALF]

Hi!

Trying to there comes a line on top saying:

The extension is not allowed.

I have the file on the desktop - being named: Type: Archive
Even the icon looks different - it looks like a blank sheet of paper nad not like the Oo-file icon...

[ALF]

Higher!

At the desktop where I had put the file I had to change the name from ".dat" to ".doc".
Then it showed the usual icon as well and I could upload it (Earlier it showed this "The extension is not allowed").

I do not know where it swopped from ".doc" to ".dat"...

NO IDEA!

[TheGurkha]

But where is it?

Use the 'upload attachment' tab that appears below the white box you type a new post into.

See: [Forum] How to attach a document here

[TheGurkha]

Also, I really don't advocate saving in .doc all the time. You should work in .odt and then Save As a copy as .doc then you need to distribute to others, or better, send it as a PDF.

[Hagar Delest]

Sometimes the mail or security applications don't recognize the .doc format from OOo. In such case, try to zip the .doc file. As this is a binary format, you'll reduce heavily the file size in the mean time (except if you've a lot of pictures inside).

[ALF]

And hello!

Perhaps I found my mistake!
When saving a document it opens a box with two options:
LEFT: Save actual format
RIGHT: Save in ODF format
And I clicked on the right option. Is it possible that this caused the problem?
When trying the left option now I have the Oo-icon again and I think I can send it as .doc-file.
I am not sure because now I have a problem with my Windows Mail - HaHa!

See the attached file... in .doc

[Hagar Delest]

Works fine for me with this document and MS Word 2003.

I don't understand your left/right options but anyway, thanks to add '[Solved]' at beginning of your first post title (edit button) if your issue has been fixed.

[TheGurkha]

OK, that opens with Word and with OOo without an issue.

The .extension of the filename doesn't actually dictate the file format of the document. It identifies to the OS what type of file it should be. For example, if you save or rename a file from anything.doc to anything.dat, the OS won't say to itself '"This is is a Word doc file named anything.dat' it'll say "This is a .dat file - what the heck do I do with that? Which icon should it have - what application do I use to open it?"

Make sure you save your files with the appropriate extension - .doc, .odt etc according to the actual file format you're saving in.

And, just to re-inforce the issue, I always recommend that you work and save in the .odt format, and only save a copy as a .doc if you need to distribute it to others who need to edit it, and if they don't need to edit it, send a PDF.

[ALF]

Hello!

All right!
I shall do so! I shall save copies now!

Thanks again for your help "TheGurkha" and "Hagar de l'Est".

I think I have got it now.
Even the email worked again after deleting the account and putting it in again.
And the test-email I sent to me came up as ".doc".

Regards

ALF