Conflict with Softmaker Freeoffice

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nbev992
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Conflict with Softmaker Freeoffice

Post by nbev992 »

Hi - I was looking for a free alternative to MS Office and online reviews said to try Softmaker Freeoffice. I have been using it for a few weeks now and it changed all my old word docs to its format. I realized a lot of things I needed for a word doc was not free and you had to pay to get extra (ie fonts). I did try OpenOffice a few years ago and was happy with it then so I uninstalled Freeoffice and downloaded OpenOffice thinking it would change all my old word and freeoffice files to Openoffice but it hasnt. I couldnt open any Freeoffice word files. I had to download Freeoffice again so I could see the files. I could then open them through Openoffice but couldnt not save them as Openoffice as the in extension .sxw was not in the Save As, as an option. I could only choose .doc or .dot or the freeoffice ext. Any help would be good otherwise I am stuck with Freeoffice. Thx heaps in advance - Nola
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eremmel
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Re: Conflict with Softmaker Freeoffice

Post by eremmel »

According the FreeOffice site, I come to the conclusion that SMFO will not save in MSO formats, but should be able to save in AOO formats.
You are aware that extension .sxw is the old AOO extension (Fileformat). You should aim for .odt, .ods formats.
When compatibility with *.docx and *.xlsx is important, you are likely better of with LO then with AOO. But saving in those formats is still tricky.
You know that many 'reviews' and review-sites are part of marketing strategy of the 'best' program?
It's Microsoft marketing that tells you computers are qualified for non-technicians
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Villeroy
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Re: Conflict with Softmaker Freeoffice

Post by Villeroy »

Of all document formats ony ODF (Open Document Format) was intended to overcome most of the file format conflicts. Meanwhile, every office suite, even Microsoft Office, supports ODF to a certain degree. File name extensions are odt, ods, odp etc.

From 2001 until 2005 the OpenOffice XML format was the technical precursor of ODF with extensions sxw, sxc, sxp etc.

OOXML (Office Open XML) was introduced by Microsoft in 2007 in order to fight the ODF standard forcing their users into a newer proprietary document format that only claims to be open. In fact they introduced a double-standard of 2 OOXML flavours. The one which is actually used by MS Office is not free and open (docx, xlsx, pptx etc).
eremmel wrote:According the FreeOffice site, I come to the conclusion that SMFO will not save in MSO formats, but should be able to save in AOO formats.
The opposite is true. SoftMaker is known for its high level support of MS Office document formats (old and new) whereas ODF support has been added later with low priority.

Their own document format is certainly the best if you decide to work with this office suite but I am not aware that any other application is able to use that. I can't even find it on http://www.zamzar.com/conversionTypes.php
Please, edit this topic's initial post and add "[Solved]" to the subject line if your problem has been solved.
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eremmel
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Re: Conflict with Softmaker Freeoffice

Post by eremmel »

Villeroy wrote:
eremmel wrote:According the FreeOffice site, I come to the conclusion that SMFO will not save in MSO formats, but should be able to save in AOO formats.
The opposite is true. SoftMaker is known for its high level support of MS Office document formats (old and new) whereas ODF support has been added later with low priority.
Some quotes of the webstite of Freeoffice
Files and printing:
Open and save DOC files of Microsoft Word 6.0 to 2016 faithfully, including password-protected files
Open DOCX files from Microsoft Word 2007 to 2016 faithfully, including password-protected files
Open and save OpenDocument files (compatible with OpenOffice and LibreOffice)
--------
Freeoffice comparison
SoftMaker FreeOffice is a free version of SoftMaker Office. The key differences are listed below.
SoftMaker Office Standard 2016 is packed with numerous extra features. Here are just a few:
FreeOffice reads the modern Microsoft formats DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX seamlessly. SoftMaker Office can also save in these formats.
It is a lock-in application as the OP observed, only not that expensive as MSO.
It's Microsoft marketing that tells you computers are qualified for non-technicians
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nbev992
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Re: Conflict with Softmaker Freeoffice

Post by nbev992 »

Firstly - many thanks for you responses but unfortunately I didnt understand a lot of what you have said. Techy talk :) Simply when I downloaded SMFO it changed all my office docs into its format - I mean all - hundreds. Please note I have a new laptop which doesnt have msoffice (and no disks). Because Im not happy with SMFO (they dont give you everything in their free version, you have to subscribe). I downloaded OpenOffice naively thinking it was going to change all SMFO files to .stw but it didnt. The only choice I have in "Save as" is .stw (OpenOffice), .odt (OpenDocument), .dot (Word) or .tmd (SMFO). To change hundreds of files manually to say .odt or .stw makes me tired just thinking about it. I am considering just buying a standalone MS word programme which will hopefully just magically :) change all my word files back to word. Then I can get rid of SMFO and I will just use OpenOffice for database and spreadsheet work.
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Villeroy
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Re: Conflict with Softmaker Freeoffice

Post by Villeroy »

The Microsoft machine for text documents can process metal and plastics.
The OpenOffice machine for text documents can process plastics and metal.
The SoftMaker machine for text documents can process wood, metal and modern plastics.

Plastic files are labeled as odt. The old variants are labeled sxw.
Metal files are labeled as doc (old variant) or docx (newer variant).
Wooden files are labeled as tmd.

The worst bug in the Microsoft Windows system is that it hides away the labels. You have to fix this horrible mistake in the folder options.
Please, edit this topic's initial post and add "[Solved]" to the subject line if your problem has been solved.
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robleyd
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Re: Conflict with Softmaker Freeoffice

Post by robleyd »

it changed all my office docs into its format - I mean all - hundreds
I suspect what has actually happened is that when you look at the files in Windows Explorer they are shown as SMFO files; where in reality they are the same file. To use Villeroy's analogy - all your Volkswagens have had Ford badges stuck over the VW badge; they are still VWs regardless.

Set Windows Explorer to not hide file extensions for known types and see exactly what the file extensions are.
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nbev992
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Re: Conflict with Softmaker Freeoffice

Post by nbev992 »

Did you mean File Explorer in Windows 10 not Windows Explorer??? I did find "dont hide file extensions" in File Explorer and ticked the box.
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robleyd
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Re: Conflict with Softmaker Freeoffice

Post by robleyd »

Did you mean File Explorer in Windows 10 not Windows Explorer?
Whatever it is called this week :D

Now you should be able to see the file extensions and know what format they are. For example, .doc or .docx for MS Word, .xls or .xlsx for Excel, etc.
Cheers
David
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crusader
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Re: Conflict with Softmaker Freeoffice

Post by crusader »

eremmel wrote:you are likely better of with LO then with AOO
Without doubt, good advice: in the long run, you will be better off with LibreOffice (LO). The best part of it is, your data will not be held hostage.

As for changing file extensions en mass (in your case to .odt – which is what both LibreOffice and OpenOffice use for their text files), here is one way to do it. I am sure there are other ways.
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