docx on OpenOffice

[rafi.shalom]

I'm running 4.0.1 version of open office on a 20 inch iMac with operating system 10.7.5

I use openoffice mainly for reading student exercises and writing comments on their work. This worked fairly well when they sent odt files and doc files, but currently most send docx files, most of which cannot be read because the text is distorted. Consequentially I have to beg them to send it in another format or convert to pdf using another software, which is very inconvenient.

The problem is mostly because the files are mathematically oriented, with formulas and tables, and they are also written in Hebrew.

I have just switched to version 4 of open office. Am I expected to see any improvements? Is there a way to make docx files work well or at least make more of them appear well? As for the language, I'm not interested in a Hebrew interface, just in reading and saving files with Hebrew text.

Regards,

Rafi.

[Hagar Delest]

LibreOffice claims to have a better OOXML support, you can try it.
Else, if the students can save in .docx, then they should be able to export a version in .doc.
Remember that the .doc and .docx import(/export) filters were reverse engineered, hence some flaws. These formats were not designed to be compatible with anything else then MS Office.

[rafi.shalom]

I know that the students can save files as doc, but some forget/didn't hear my pleas/don't cooperate, and since it's common practice nowadays to prefer docx to doc I find myself messing with things I'd rather not mess with.

LibreOffice does a better job with formulas, but these too are frequently squished beyond recognition, sometimes without the ability to resize them, or see them in the formula editor. Thanks anyway.

And as for Microsoft and doc files. Yes, I know.

Rafi.

[kabing]

If Pages works on Leopard, you could try Pages. I sometimes have better luck converting docx with Pages than with NeoOffice (a Mac specific fork of OpenOffice). When this is an issue, I open in Pages, save to .doc and work with the file in NeoOffice. [I would suggest trying NeoOffice, but your signature says you are still on Leopard, and NeoOffice requires Snow Leopard or higher]

[rafi.shalom]

Like I said in my first post, I'm using 10.7.5 (Lion).

I have no problem converting docx to pdf so I can always read it well, but I wish to avoid conversions altogether.

I have NeoOffice which is generally not better than OpenOffice on this Issue. I don't have Pages, but I hear it has poor Hebrew support so I didn't bother buying it.

Rafi.

[RoryOF]

If you require exact .docx support without conversions, you may have to consider acquiring MS Word.

[kabing]

Apologies for the confusion about OS version. I looked at your signature line, which is out of date. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a good solution for you. I'm not even sure that MS Word would prove a good option for you, unless you got the Windows version and ran it in Parallels or the like, as last I knew Word for Mac had poor Hebrew support, notably no right to left support.

[rafi.shalom]

Thanks for your remark on my signature. I updated it.

MS Word for Mac is not a good option for Hebrew users. Word works fairly well on Wintel machines. Desktop Macs are fairly rare in Israel and it seems no one is much interested in us, including Apple. I never used a wintel machine, and this is the only persistent problem I have with using a Mac.

Rafi.

[mfp09@comcast.net]

The last conversation I see on this topic is several years old. I have received a docx file that I want to open in Open Office on my PC with the latest version of Open Office but it's not working. Will you please update me on what I can do to open the docx file with Open Office? Thank you. ~MFP

[RoryOF]

The easiest way may be to request the originator of the file to save it, selecting to use the earlier .doc format, to which MS Word can still save. LibreOffice has better .docx format support (I have no experience of this).

[mfp09@comcast.net]

Thanks, Rory. I tried LibreOffice and it works for my docx file! Just for kicks, though, I'm asking the person who sent it to me to save in doc and retransmit so I can try that in OpenOffice. Best wishes, M