Conversion of Lotus Wordpro to Word X

[Herb Stephens]

I am using MS Office X, and find that I cannot open documents sent to
me from users of other software. Most specifically I am referring to
Wordperfect and Lotus WordPro documents that I recieve. I see the
MacLink will allow me to convert the wordperfrct files, but Lotus
WordPro is not listed as a recognizable format. Before I spend money
on MacLink which will solve only patr of my problem, is there any
other way to open these files?

I note that they (WordPro & Wordperfect) can open and save to Word
formats, but Word cannot reciprocate. Is Microsoft looking at this
problem?

Thanks,

Herb Stephens

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Herb,

Earlier versions of MacWord used to be able to convert WordPerfect
documents, but as Word became more complex, it was no longer cost efficient
(just what you wanted to hear) for Microsoft to continue to update the
converters, especially since third party software (MacLink Plus) can do the
job. So, no, MS is not looking at this for the future AFAIK.

As for Lotus, I don't really know. Maybe someone else does. You might want
to email the folks who make MacLink Plus to see if they have an answer.

Also, if the senders can save the WP or Lotus documents to RTF, Word will
then be able to open them although you may lose formatting.

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/index.htm>
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org>

 

[JE McGimpsey]

I note that they (WordPro & Wordperfect) can open and save to Word
formats, but Word cannot reciprocate. Is Microsoft looking at this
problem?

Microsoft is most likely not going to do anything about this. The file
formats are so different, that they have supposedly given up on
WinWordperfect translators, too. The market certainly doesn't support an
investment in translators for either.

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Herb:

Given that these are files being sent TO you, ask the other end to send in
either Word .doc format, or RTF.

The latest versions of WordPerfect and WordPro will produce all three
formats. Word .doc format will give you the best conversion (because the
maker of the other Word Processor knows what they meant by the codes they
put in their document, and can thus do a clean translation).

RTF is almost a native format to Word, so it will give you a very accurate
rendition of the document, but you may find it difficult to edit afterwards,
since the internal structure of RTF is different to that of a Word document.

Hope this helps

I am using MS Office X, and find that I cannot open documents sent to
me from users of other software. Most specifically I am referring to
Wordperfect and Lotus WordPro documents that I recieve. I see the
MacLink will allow me to convert the wordperfrct files, but Lotus
WordPro is not listed as a recognizable format. Before I spend money
on MacLink which will solve only patr of my problem, is there any
other way to open these files?

I note that they (WordPro & Wordperfect) can open and save to Word
formats, but Word cannot reciprocate. Is Microsoft looking at this
problem?

Thanks,

Herb Stephens

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410