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[Solved] Help for a Newbie & Tech Idiot, please?

Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2013 9:10 pm
by Mitramonday
I have a new Windows8 laptop that is taking me time to get used to. However, I have finally finished transferring all my files :) . I have also managed to change most of them to open in OO. However, I have a WPS file and a few PUB files. Can anyone tell me (in words of one syllable please :oops: ) how I can open them? Thanking you all in advance for being gentle with me :lol: BTW, I am using OpenOffice 4, but the registration form didn't seem to like that!!

Re: Help for a Newbie & Tech Idiot, please?

Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2013 9:42 pm
by thomasjk
The WPS file is a MS Works file and can be opened in Libreoffice http://www.libreoffice.org/download. Libreoffice also has a filter for PUB files.

Re: Help for a Newbie & Tech Idiot, please?

Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2013 10:02 pm
by Mitramonday
Thanks for that, thomasjk. In the release notes of Libreoffice (I'm a self-confessed instructions-addict!) it states "For Windows users that have OpenOffice.org installed, we advise uninstalling that beforehand, because it registers the same file type associations" - do I need to take note of that? If so, which is better, OpenOffice or Libreoffice?

Re: Help for a Newbie & Tech Idiot, please?

Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2013 10:21 pm
by Mitramonday
OUCH!! I've just gone to open a doc in OpenOffice - and it refuses to open....as do others? I was able to open them earlier today, but now I just get the little blue circle turning for a second or two, and then nothing? I have tried to 'Open with...(OpenOffice)' and have also set the default to OpenOffice, but nothing is working?

Re: Help for a Newbie & Tech Idiot, please?

Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 5:16 am
by thomasjk
Use Task Manager and kill any soffice processes. Then re-start OOo.

Re: Help for a Newbie & Tech Idiot, please?

Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 4:42 pm
by jrkrideau
Mitramonday wrote:Thanks for that, thomasjk. In the release notes of Libreoffice (I'm a self-confessed instructions-addict!) it states "For Windows users that have OpenOffice.org installed, we advise uninstalling that beforehand, because it registers the same file type associations" - do I need to take note of that? If so, which is better, OpenOffice or Libreoffice?
No you don't have to. Ideally you just need to set the preference for which program opens an OpenOffice file. Just right click on a file and choose which of possbibly several programs you can use to open the file.

In fact, for some bizarre reason that I have forgotten, if I click on a ods file it opens in LO but odt files open in AOO.

Which one of LO or AOO use depends on your specific needs. Other than file conversions the two tend to be pretty much the same for regular use. Acutally I am not sure about this with AOO 4.0 as I have not installed it yet.

Re: Help for a Newbie & Tech Idiot, please?

Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 5:11 pm
by RoryOF
If you have moved away from any program that generates WPS files, you would be well advised to convert them all to .odt (or whatever format you will use from now on). You can do this using LibreOffice, I understand, or alternately, you can use the free online conversion at www.zamzar.com. Your PUB files will need to be converted using that or some similar site.

Bear in mind that any format conversion may necessitate some reformatting - probably minor in the case of the WPS, but perhaps major in the case of the PUB files.

Re: Help for a Newbie & Tech Idiot, please?

Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 6:13 pm
by Mitramonday
Thank you all :super: One more thing (at the moment....I'm sure I'll be posting on here again :lol: ) - what are .ods files as opposed to .odt files????

Re: Help for a Newbie & Tech Idiot, please?

Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 6:36 pm
by RoryOF
ODS files are spreadsheet files (opened by Calc), whereas ODT files are document files, opened by Writer. The generic term for OpenOffice files is ODF as they are all, or most of them, of the form ODx.

Re: Help for a Newbie & Tech Idiot, please?

Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 6:48 pm
by Mitramonday
Many thanks, RoryOF!!

Re: [Solved] Help for a Newbie & Tech Idiot, please?

Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 9:45 am
by lilianjie
If your need is for simple published written text documents preparing without a worksheet, business presentation system, draw system etc, then you probably won't need OpenOffice o r LibreOffice. For a simple documents only system consider AbiWord. Or, if you need 100% MS Office compatability, buy that. Only you know what your needs are likely to be.