Google Docs tables, not importing correctly

[thibaulthalpern]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I have created a document on Google docs that is basically a table (2 columns and multiple rows over 4 pages). Each cell has textual information. When I download this to my desktop and try to open it in Word 2008, Word is only able to display about 5 rows and often times without any text. However, I can open up the same document using OS X's TextEdit or Apple Pages and they display the information and format with no problems.

What is going on? How to solve this problem in Word 2008?

 

[CyberTaz]

Well -- no offense -- but you may be placing blame for the "problem" on the
wrong party Nowhere in any Mac Office documentation does it claim
compatibility with files generated by the likes of Google docs, nor is it
the responsibility of MS to add such compatibility to their products.

If Google claims that the documents their software generates are supposed to
be "Office Compatible" & you are finding that they aren't, I'm afraid you'll
have to take that up with Google.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[thibaulthalpern]

Er....let me clarify, especially for CyberTaz.

The document downloaded from Google Docs is in .doc (i.e., MS Word) format.

Let me repeat: the document is a .DOC format.

TextEdit can open open this file because it's a .DOC format.
Pages can also open this file because it's a .DOC format
In the Finder, the preview column can also display this document because it's a .DOC format.

The problem clearly lies at MS Word 2008. It is a .DOC format after all.

Thanks

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Er....let me clarify, especially for CyberTaz.

The document downloaded from Google Docs is in .doc (i.e., MS Word) format.

Let me repeat: the document is a .DOC format.

TextEdit can open open this file because it's a .DOC format.
Pages can also open this file because it's a .DOC format
In the Finder, the preview column can also display this document because it's a .DOC format.

The problem clearly lies at MS Word 2008. It is a .DOC format after all.

Thanks

Hi,

The file extension may be .doc, but the file itself may not be created
properly. So the next step is to determine whether the document is bad
or there's something wrong with Word on your computer. Try opening the
same file in Word on a different computer. If that copy of Word also
rejects the document, it's probably the document not being properly
formatted. TextEdit deals with a small subset of Word features, not the
complete feature set, so just because TextEdit can display the contents
doesn't mean all is well.

On the other hand, if the same document opens fine in a different
installation of Word, you know it's time to start troubleshooting your
computer's installation of Word.

-Jim

 

[John McGhie]

Bwwwwaaaaaa hah ha ha ha....

The file you downloaded is a crapulation made by Google

TextEdit can open it because it's not looking at the difficult parts of the
code.

Pages can open it because Pages ignores complex Word formatting.

But anything capable of displaying complex, structured document formatting
is going to barf.

To use an aviation example, light aircraft don't care if the instrument
landing system has errors or not, because they don't use it. But airliners
crash if it is bad.

Tell the lovely chaps at Google to get their act together

Cheers

Er....let me clarify, especially for CyberTaz.

The document downloaded from Google Docs is in .doc (i.e., MS Word) format.

Let me repeat: the document is a .DOC format.

TextEdit can open open this file because it's a .DOC format.
Pages can also open this file because it's a .DOC format
In the Finder, the preview column can also display this document because it's
a .DOC format.

The problem clearly lies at MS Word 2008. It is a .DOC format after all.

Thanks

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[thibaulthalpern]

I see. Very interesting, all these responses.

I guess the immediate sense is there's something wrong with the .DOC document itself.

Let's come to defence of Microsoft, shall we?

By the way, Mellel (the word processor) can also open the document just fine.

I do highly suspect that Word 2008 is at fault because my father has not complained about the document and he uses Word 2004 (or whatever number was the previous version prior to 2008). I'll see if I can dig up my older Word version to see if it opens it.

Thanks.

 

[thibaulthalpern]

Yup... MS Word 2004 also has problems reading it. Then my father might have been downloading it as a PDF file instead.

Well, I'm not entirely sure MS Word isn't at fault here, but since I'm not getting much help here...taa taa!

 

[John McGhie]

Well, what did you expect? Today I have given Microsoft three whacks and
one defense ‹ that's a pretty good average for me. I usually give it more
whacks than that: today is a slow day

If the file were RTF or DOCX, and proved compliant with those standards,
then it would be Microsoft's problem. Those are Open standards, and it is
up to all companies (including Microsoft) to comply with them.

But when it's a .doc, that's Microsoft's format, and it's Google's job to
get it right.

If it were a correct .doc, then Microsoft Word would open it. If Word can't
open it, then by definition it is NOT a correct .doc, and therefore not
Microsoft's problem. If Mellel opens it, you would suspect that Mellel's
code contains a "Too Hard Basket" into which it puts all things it can't
work out. Well-designed software should have such a mechanism, precisely
for this purpose.

If you take the same file and save it out of Microsoft Word 2004, and THEN
Word 2008 can't open it, THEN it's Microsoft's problem. Then we would be
asking if you have the latest updates applied to Word 2008?

But until then, all we can suggest is that you go back to Google and say
"Guys, it doesn't work!"

Cheers

I see. Very interesting, all these responses.

I guess the immediate sense is there's something wrong with the .DOC document
itself.

Let's come to defence of Microsoft, shall we?

By the way, Mellel (the word processor) can also open the document just fine.

I do highly suspect that Word 2008 is at fault because my father has not
complained about the document and he uses Word 2004 (or whatever number was
the previous version prior to 2008). I'll see if I can dig up my older Word
version to see if it opens it.

Thanks.

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[thibaulthalpern]

Well, you speak with 100% certainly. I'm not so sure.

Yes, Google could be at fault here. But, Word could be too. Or both could be.

Let's not forget the brouhaha when a recent Word 2008 update rendered it unable to open certain files created by the PC version.

And...couldn't Microsoft 2008 actually screw up its own implementation of its own document format? It wouldn't be surprising, after all.

In any case, funny how strongly of a defence some have of MS here ;-)

Ciao!

 

[Rob Schneider]

Why is fault the issue?

(try in windows Word if you truly wish to debug and find fault).

Remember than anybody can stick a *.doc* extension on any file.

--rms

www.rmschneider.com