Mac: Open existing document

Issues installing under the Mac OSX - X11 - Aqua
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mcarp
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Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:35 am

Mac: Open existing document

Post by mcarp »

Which version of OpenOffice.org are you using? 2.1
What Operating System (version) are you using? Mac OS X 10.3.9

Is there a way to make it so I can click on an existing document (even one that was created with M$ Office) and have it open into Open Office?

Right now, I have OO working, but I have to open every file from the file menu. I'd really like to just find the file in the Finder and double-click it (like any other Mac application). Even if I control-click and try to choose the application I can't because Open Office doesn't show up as a normal application.

Sorry to ask such a basic question, but I've looked in several documents (and even found the answer for Windows, but not Mac) and searched several times in the forumn.

Thanks for your help.

Michael
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James
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Re: Mac: Open existing document

Post by James »

Hi Michael,

A few questions:

Is yours a PPC or Intel based Mac?
mcarp wrote:Even if I control-click and try to choose the application I can't because Open Office doesn't show up as a normal application.
What exactly are you doing after the ctrl+click menu pops up?

Have you tried NeoOffice?
James
www.8daysaweek.co.uk - A User-Focused OOo site.
Windows Easy Installation CDs & OOo on USB Keys, OOo for Mac OS X + Ubuntu CDs

Please read: Survival Guide for the forum
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mcarp
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Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:35 am

Re: Mac: Open existing document

Post by mcarp »

James,

This iMac is PPC-based.

When I control-click on a document that I want to open with Open Office, I go under the "Open With..." option and I can't find the application. (I think that has to do with the fact that the Finder sees X11 as the application and Open Office isn't really a Mac/Finder application, but an X11 application?)

I have not tried NeoOffice. How is that different? Is it a native Mac app?

Thanks for your reply.

Michael
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James
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Re: Mac: Open existing document

Post by James »

Hi Michael,

That's strange, I have both OOo (X11) and NeoOffice installed on my Mac, and I can see them both when I use "Open With..." although IIRC I did have to go to "Other..." to search for it the first time.

The other thing you could try is to associate OOo with the file type by finding a file in Finder, go to Get Info, and change the App under "Open with:" there. That changes the app for that specific file. To change it for all files of that type, you'd then need to click on the "Change All..." button.

NeoOffice is a derivative of OpenOffice.org. It doesn't require X11 so it behaves more like other Mac apps. It's Java based. Find out more here: http://www.neooffice.org/

BFN,
James
www.8daysaweek.co.uk - A User-Focused OOo site.
Windows Easy Installation CDs & OOo on USB Keys, OOo for Mac OS X + Ubuntu CDs

Please read: Survival Guide for the forum
OOo 3.1.1 on Ubuntu 9.x + Windows XPP, Mac OS X
smsm1
Posts: 46
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 9:53 am
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Mac: Open existing document

Post by smsm1 »

When you control+click and get the menu, press option. The menu item will then change to "Always open with", then choose "other" at the bottom of the menu. At that point you can manually select OpenOffice.org to open that file type always.
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