[Solved] Word Perfect Files

[Hagar Delest]

Due to the purchase of a new laptop computer that does not support Word Perfect, I am switching to Open Office and am now faced with a problem of switching WP docs to Open Office. As I am new at this program can someone please walk me thru the process of having WP docs open in Open Office. your help would be much appreciated.

[RoryOF]

OpenOffice does not open Word Perfect files. Either use an online conversion service such as http://www.zamzar.com or switch to LibreOffice

[EvReade]

It appears there is a conflict here, as all web sites that I looked at says the OO opens WP

[RoryOF]

The WordPerfect import filters were removed from AOO 3.4 for licensing reasons. The information I have given you is correct,

[keme]

The legacy version (3.3.0) is still available for download, and yes, it does provide the Word Perfect filters. That version is also more reliable than 3.4.1 in most cases (for me, at least).

Look for a "legacy" link while clicking your way to the download.

[EvReade]

I am a beginner at downloads and would appreciate any and all information on how to do this. Thanks

[RoryOF]

You can select the version you wish from this legacy page,
http://www.openoffice.org/download/legacy/other.html
then install it. To be honest, I think you'd be better advised to install AOO 3.4.1 and convert your WordPerfect files using a conversion site. Not doubting Keme's comments, I remark that AOO 3.4.1 has been quite stable on my machines, running Ubuntu or Windows 2000/XP.

[EvReade]

I have tried www.zamzar.com and am only able to do one file and with the amount of files that I have to convert, it is not economical to continue to use this converter. Anybody have any ideas to help me?

[RoryOF]

Then try LibreOffice or an earlier OpenOffice (or StarOffice, OOo's precursor). You can set these up to do batch converts (/File /Wizards /Document Converter).
I never found any restriction on the part of Zamzar, apart from having to send each file individually.

Edit: I think (not certain) that if you still have access to WordPerfect, you can save from this into .doc format, which in turn can be read by OOo/AOO/LibO, albeit with possible formatting irregularities, as is always a possibility with file format conversions.

[EvReade]

I thank Rory OF, Moderator for the rapid replies, but as someone said on another post, I have nursery school knowledge of these matters and am not a techie and need all the help I can get, like leading me by the hand. With this in mind, I am ready to continue, if you will be patient with me. Thanks

[EvReade]

Regarding the EDIT above, when I purchased the new laptop with Windows 7, the existing Word Perfect program would not work in Windows 7 and therefore was not loaded. All I have are the files.

[RoryOF]

It often happens that a user purchases a new computer and still has the old computer to hand, so that he has access to existing applications.

[RoryOF]

I thank Rory OF, Moderator for the rapid replies, but as someone said on another post, I have nursery school knowledge of these matters and am not a techie and need all the help I can get, like leading me by the hand. With this in mind, I am ready to continue, if you will be patient with me. Thanks

Go to http://www.openoffice.org/download

It will offer you a download based on your operating system. Accept that, allow it download, then double click on the downloaded file and all should be well. Accept the defaults offered at any stage of the download.

I assume a similar process for LibreOffice. Which you choose is up to you.

If you are puzzled, best to get help locally; someone looking over your shoulder while you do things is often good, particularly if you are uninformed about computers.

[EvReade]

Somehow we got off the track here. I have downloaded openoffice.org and should be able to do what I want to accomplish. My problem still exists with trying to convert Word Perfect files to Open Office, using Zamzar.com does not help. I guess I will have to try Libreoffice.
Thanks everyone for your help, but I thought it would be a very easy process to convert files to openoffice.

[thomasjk]

You can use the older version 3.3 http://www.openoffice.org/download/legacy/index.html or use Libreoffice http://www.libreoffice.org/download

[EvReade]

Do I have to remove openoffice 3.4.1 first

[thomasjk]

Yes removing V3.4.1 is recommended.

[lgusaas]

Yes removing V3.4.1 is recommended.

Why?
I have both on my Mac without any problems. I know of not reason why you can't have both on Windows.

[Hagar Delest]

Under Windows, it may detect a higher version anyway and refuse to install. Just try and if so, then remove AOO.

[EvReade]

I have removed 3.4.1 and have installed 3.3 as directed and everything works. My last enquiry on this subject would be after I change a file from WP to OO3.3, how do I save in a new folder.

[thomasjk]

From the Libreoffice Release Notes "For Windows users that have OpenOffice.org installed, we advise uninstalling that beforehand, because it registers the same file type associations."

[lgusaas]

From the Libreoffice Release Notes "For Windows users that have OpenOffice.org installed, we advise uninstalling that beforehand, because it registers the same file type associations."

So just choose which program you want to open the file with. Set the defaults to the program you wish to use as a default.

There release note is typical LibreOffice anti Apache propaganda. It is simple to work around and conflict and rather than solve the conflict or give simple instructions to deal with it, they tell people to remove Apache OpenOffice.

[keme]

I have removed 3.4.1 and have installed 3.3 as directed and everything works. My last enquiry on this subject would be after I change a file from WP to OO3.3, how do I save in a new folder.

File - Save as...
Select/create the desired folder, select file type ODF, Save.

As for uninstalling, there is seemingly contradicting advice above. To clear things up (in case others make use of the advice):
Uninstall is necessary when you want to "downgrade" to a previous version of the same software title (like reverting to 3.3, which was EvReade's choice), but it is not necessary if you choose a different title (even when it is a "fork" from the same software, like LibreOffice is).