ASCII Filter Options when trying to open recovered file?

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rebahud1
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Joined: Mon Feb 03, 2020 5:16 pm

ASCII Filter Options when trying to open recovered file?

Post by rebahud1 »

I recently had to recover some documents from a crashed back up drive. When trying to open ODT documents on Open Office it now requires me to enter options for ASCII Filter Options for Character Sets, Default Fonts, Language and Paragrah Breaks. I used Open Office defaults when created, so why must I select these. So Far, nothing I've selected opens the documents in anything but gibberish.

HELP!
Open Office 4 on Windows 8.1 Pro
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RoryOF
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Re: ASCII Filter Options when trying to open recovered file?

Post by RoryOF »

Usually, an ASCII filter message indicates a damaged (i.e. ruined) file. A quick test is to try to open one of these files with the system archiver - you may need to rename the file from .odt to .zip - if it reports corrupt, that is the answer; if it opens as a series of .xml files then you may need to reinstall OpenOffice and/or rename your OO User Profile.
Apache OpenOffice 4.1.16 on Xubuntu 24.04.4 LTS
John_Ha
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Re: ASCII Filter Options when trying to open recovered file?

Post by John_Ha »

1. A proper .od* file is actually a ZIP file.

2. AOO only gives you the ASCII options filter if the file being opened is a flat text file like a Notepad .txt file.

3. Hence any .od* file giving the ASCII filter is not a ZIP file and is corrupted beyond repair.
LO 6.4.4.2, Windows 10 Home 64 bit

See the Writer Guide, the Writer FAQ, the Writer Tutorials and Writer for students.

Remember: Always save your Writer files as .odt files. - see here for the many reasons why.
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