[Solved] Opening docs from previous versions are scrambled

[Doug S]

http://www.filedropper.com/phoneticalphabet_1

[kingfisher]

I wasn't able to download from there. I don't see anything wrong or difficult with mediafire.

What filedropper did provide is the file name: Filename: Phonetic Alphabet.wpd. That looks like a WordPerfect file to me.

[RoryOF]

zamzar accepted the file as a Wordperfect file and converted it to .odt format; it was a list of the letters of the alphabet and their phonetic equivalents.

[lgusaas]

http://www.filedropper.com/phoneticalphabet_1

I downloaded the file. It is a WordPerfect file.
LibreOffice http://www.libreoffice.org/download/ successfully opens it.
Zamzar http://www.zamzar.com/ converted it successfully to .odt file.

You previously stated:

I have never used WordPerfect to create any of these files. They all were created in OpenOffice 1.1.

OpenOffice.org 1.1 COULD NOT save documents as a .wpd file.

[RoryOF]

A version of OpenOffice 1.1 is available at
http://www.oldapps.com/openoffice.php?old_openoffice=10
should anyone wish to download it and try to open the file.

[Bill]

The version on OldApps is 1.1.5, which I had previously downloaded from FileHippo. It would not open or save .wpd files.

I checked to see which version of OpenOffice my documents were originally created with and it is 1.1

How did you check this? The description "OpenOffice.org 1.1 Text Document" in Properties does not mean that the document was created by OpenOffice.org 1.1.

[jrkrideau]

I have never used WordPerfect to create any of these files. They all were created in OpenOffice 1.1. When I open the link that you gave me it takes me to a cloud site. Don't have a clue as to what I should do there.

Hmmm looks like Mediafire has changed. Try http://www.filedropper.com/. Click on upload file to start. Browse to a file and click Open. After the upload completes you will get a link. Post it here.

@Thomasjk. Mediafire has changed the interface but it still is a good place to store files. It just takes a few hours of headbanging to figure out the new approach Actualy some of it is even an improvment.

[thomasjk]

I second or third the Wordperfect file confirmation. I opened it in LO 3.5.4.2. You need to try LO as previously suggested or use the old version 3.3 from here.

[thomasjk]

@jkrideau
@Thomasjk. Mediafire has changed the interface but it still is a good place to store files. It just takes a few hours of headbanging to figure out the new approach Actualy some of it is even an improvment.

Yes. The OP was having enough issues without adding the changes from Mediafire to the mix.

[Doug S]

How did all of the OpenOffice 1.1 files become WordPerfect files when I installed OpenOffice 3.4.0? (there are hundreds). I have never had WordPerfect on this computer.

[Doug S]

Should I uninstall OpenOffice 3.4.0?

[RoryOF]

If you were using OpenOffice 1.1 you must have brought the files forward from an older computer; OpenOffice 1.1 was from 2002 to 2005, much earlier than Windows 7. Their file type was set at the time they were saved, unless it has been changed since, which would havve required User intervention. Internal evidence from the file you supplied shows it was written in WordPerfect format

[lgusaas]

How did all of the OpenOffice 1.1 files become WordPerfect files when I installed OpenOffice 3.4.0? (there are hundreds). I have never had WordPerfect on this computer.

They have always been WordPerfect files. You previously stated:

Properties shows them as OpenOffice.org 1.1 Text Document (.wpd)

.wpd is the file type, which is a WordPerfect file.
"OpenOffice.org 1.1 Text Document" indicates that your computer is set to open that file type with OpenOffice.org. It does not mean that file was created with OpenOffice.org.As I said before, OOo cannot save a document as a .wpd file. The 1.1 probably refers to "OpenDocument 1.1", the file type used by OOo. If you have never used WordPerfect you must have got the files from someone else.

Just install LibreOffice to open and read your .wpd files. You can save then save them as .odt files if you wish. If you want to edit the file you will have to save it as an .odt file. There is no need to uninstall Apache OpenOffice 3.4

[Bill]

How did all of the OpenOffice 1.1 files become WordPerfect files when I installed OpenOffice 3.4.0? (there are hundreds). I have never had WordPerfect on this computer.

File formats do not change when installing software. The description of the file type on the Properties window may change when the default program for opening the files is changed, but the file itself does not change. When I change the default program of a WordPerfect file from OpenOffice.org Writer to WordPerfect 9, the description changes from "OpenOffice.org 1.1 Text Document (.wpd)" to "WordPerfect 9 Document (.wpd)". The description changes, but the file format (.wpd) does not change.

[Doug S]

I am now having trouble installing LibreOffice. I saved the download files to a folder and when I run the installation wizard it thinks LibreOffice is open and asks me to close LibreOffice before proceeding with the installation, even though I have not yet installed it. Clicking the OK button cancels the installation. What if I install an earlier version of OpenOffice that will open these files? The problem seems to have been caused by OpenOffice 3.4.0.

[RoryOF]

You may need to close the Quickstarter in the System Tray; right click on the blue icon with seagulls and choose "Exit" (I think that is the command - I'm not on a Windows system at present).

[Doug S]

Now I am no longer able to open OpenOffice 3.4.0, either from the tray or the shortcut. It also does not appear in the list of all programs in the Start menu. I feel I should uninstall it. Is there any reason I shouldn't?

[thomasjk]

Does it show in Control panel-->Programs and features? If you installed LO 3.5 it most likely uninstalled V3.4.

[Bill]

Now I am no longer able to open OpenOffice 3.4.0, either from the tray or the shortcut. It also does not appear in the list of all programs in the Start menu. I feel I should uninstall it. Is there any reason I shouldn't?

What did you do? Programs don't usually disappear spontaneously from the Start menu. That usually happens when the program is uninstalled by the user.

[Doug S]

OpenOffice 3.4.0 still appears in Control Panel: Programs and Features list but not in Start: Programs list. Why don't I just uninstall it? It is useless to me. Why won't LibreOffice install? If I can't get it to install should I try to install an earlier version of OpenOffice from the archive? Would restoring to a previous Restore point help?

[Bill]

If you're going to continue to use the .wpd file format, then turn off the Quickstarter and uninstall AOO 3.4. It won't open or save .wpd files. If you install, LO, you will be able to open the files, but you won't be able to save them in the .wpd format.

[kingfisher]

It sounds as though you have cooked up quite a mess. I would completely remove all LO and OO versions.

If you can't open the existing software now, rename your profile folder so that you get a new one when you next use the software. I know some people like the quick starter but it seems to me to be a source of problems so I would disable it in Tools > Options in due course.

Then install an earlier version of OO (link provided previously). Open your WP files, save to an open document format. Either stay with the earlier version or update. With Windows it seems to be desirable to remove the existing version first. Version 3.4.1 is expected at the end of this month.

[Doug S]

Thanks for all your help. Hopefully this will solve my problems. I will let you know what happens. It is curious that many recent files were converted to WordPerfect files by OpenOffice 3.4.0, some created less than a week ago, and WordPerfect has never been installed on this computer (it was brand new in June of last year). One of life's mysteries I guess.

[Doug S]

I just tried to uninstall OpenOffice 3.4.0 from the control panel. Again, I got the message: "Please exit OpenOffice.org 3.4 and the OpenOffice.org 3.4 Quickstarter before you continue. If you are using a multi-user system also make sure that no other users has OpenOffice.or 3.4 open." What do I need to do to get beyond this? To my knowledge neither of these are open.

[RoryOF]

Try Ctrl Shift Esc to open TaskManager and kill any soffice processes showing on the Processes tab. Now close Task Manager and try Control Panel removal of OpenOffice again. Or alternately use Revo Uninstaller (you must download it) at its most agressive settings to remove all previous OpenOffice/LibreOffice/StarOffice installs.

[Bill]

It is curious that many recent files were converted to WordPerfect files by OpenOffice 3.4.0, some created less than a week ago, and WordPerfect has never been installed on this computer (it was brand new in June of last year). One of life's mysteries I guess.

It's certainly a mystery to me. It makes no sense for OpenOffice 3.4.0 convert files to a format which it can't open or save. I have hundreds of files created by earlier versions of OOo. None of those were converted to a different file format when AOO 3.4 was installed.

[RoryOF]

It is curious that many recent files were converted to WordPerfect files by OpenOffice 3.4.0, some created less than a week ago, and WordPerfect has never been installed on this computer (it was brand new in June of last year). One of life's mysteries I guess.

It's certainly a mystery to me. It makes no sense for OpenOffice 3.4.0 convert files to a format which it can't open or save. I have hundreds of files created by earlier versions of OOo. None of those were converted to a different file format when AOO 3.4 was installed.

Nor me, on 8 computers using various Operating Systems (Windows and *Ubuntus) with all versions of OpenOffice from StarOffice 7 onward.

[Villeroy]

This happens to Windows users only when they rely entirely on the file icon and the Windows file description. Both depend on the file name extension which is hidden by default since Windows '95. People think that files get magically "converted" when the icons look different. Thanks to Microsoft, many computer users suffer from misconceptions about file systems and file formats.

[PGAGA]

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Thanks for all your help. Hopefully this will solve my problems. I will let you know what happens. It is curious that many recent files were converted to WordPerfect files by OpenOffice 3.4.0, some created less than a week ago, and WordPerfect has never been installed on this computer (it was brand new in June of last year). One of life's mysteries I guess.

Since AOO cannot save files as WordPerfect files you gave a problem you need to track down.

Phil

[Doug S]

Hi. I tried to uninstall OpenOffice 3.4.0 but again I got the following message: "Please exit OpenOffice.org 3.4 and the OpenOffice Quickstarter before you continue. If you are using a multi-user system also make sure that no other users has OpenOffice.org 3.4 open". This is the same message I got and which prevented me from installing LibreOffice. I cannot find anywhere that OpenOffice 3.4.0 is open. How do I defeat this so I can uninstall this program?

Note: I am leaving town tomorrow and may not be able to respond until next Tuesday.