[Solved] Can't open DOCX

[harold1066]

Edit: Split from [Solved] Can't open docx any more because your situation is different (you even say so) therefore you need your own topic. If you had the same problem you could use the same solution. Please do not post in another's topic unless you are helping to solve their problem for them. -- MrProgrammer, forum moderator

I have the same problem but the file is not corrupt since I can open it on another machine with MS Office.

Is AOO going to be amended to fix the issue - or should I switch to another Word Processor - I can provide a copy of the file which won't open if this helps.

[MrProgrammer]

Is AOO going to be amended to fix the issue or should I switch …?

You should switch if you need to work with foreign DOCX files which were created by other software. [Solved] Compatibility with MS Office 2021

If this solved your problem please go to your first post use the Edit ✏️ button and add [Solved] to the start of the Subject field. Select the green checkmark icon at the same time.

[Hagar Delest]

Please note that the point with AOO or LO is to use the native ODF open format.
If you use advanced properties of the OOXML format (.docx/xlsx...), then you may experience compatibility issues since all the features are not documented. In such case, better stick to MS Office (welcome to the vendor lock-in policy).

[harold1066]

Thanks for your responses. I will use Libre Office to open these files.

It's a pity that so many people assume that we all use Windows and Office. it would be much eaasier if they generated pdf files.

[RoryOF]

It might not be better if they generated PDF files, as PDF files are intended to be viewable, but not editable. To edit PDFs successfully and in depth requires more complex tools than ordinary text editors.

[LastUnicorn]

To edit PDFs successfully and in depth requires more complex tools than ordinary text editors.

What about Hybrid PDFs that can be created by LibreOffice? And the underlying text in the hybrid PDF can be edited by LibreOffice at a later date.

[harold1066]

I made the point about using pdfs because I receive many newsletters in docx format. Clearly I have no need to edit these documents so they ought to pdf since the author does not want them edited.

[keme]

I made the point about using pdfs because I receive many newsletters in docx format. Clearly I have no need to edit these documents so they ought to pdf since the author does not want them edited.

That is a valid point. It also provides new information/context for your issue: You didn't create and won't edit the document(s) in question, and you don't need documents opened in one particular application.

Current wordprocessing applications (Word, Writer, Pages, WordPerfect, AbiWord) will provide the option to export as PDF. Current operating systems provide the "virtual print" functionality, where print-to-PDF is either natively supported or easily available by third party solutions.

It is the responsibility of the source (publisher?) to submit contents (documents) in a form which their audience (you) can make use of. You may want to notify them to this end. Awaiting that, you should install LibreOffice or AbiWord to resolve the issue. If you still prefer OpenOffice for everyday work, LO and AOO will coexist - mostly peacefully - on the same workstation. No need to uninstall. I expect that this is also true for AbiWord (not tested).

[RoryOF]

AbiWord seems to live OK beside OpenOffice on my linux computers.