jolson49

Q: can I open Appleworks word files? I've read a range of responses, all conflicting.

I'm currently running 10.6.8 on a 27" iMac with an intel i5 processor. If I upgrade to Maverick, will I be able to open my Appleworks Word files? I never used anything other than the writing portion of the program

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8), I currently run 10.6.8, would like

Posted on Dec 13, 2013 12:42 PM

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Q: can I open Appleworks word files? I've read a range of responses, all conflicting.

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  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Dec 13, 2013 12:54 PM in response to jolson49
    Level 10 (313,340 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 13, 2013 12:54 PM in response to jolson49

    Pages will open AppleWorks 6 word processing documents.

     

    (94664)

  • by Roger Wilmut1,Helpful

    Roger Wilmut1 Roger Wilmut1 Dec 13, 2013 2:17 PM in response to Niel
    Level 9 (78,278 points)
    iTunes
    Dec 13, 2013 2:17 PM in response to Niel

    @jolson49: Word Processing documents can be opened directly in Pages 4 (AppleWorks 6 only) but this is no longer available - the new Pages 5 (Mavericks required) does not open AppleWorks documents. Panergy Software's docXConverter v3.2 ($19.95) can convert Appleworks 5 and 6 Word Processing documents to RTF (though it has been reported that it can only handle documents which contain only text, not those which include images or frames). The latest version of the free LibreOffice has announced that it can open AppleWorks 6 Word Processing documents and an ability to open ClarisWorks documents has been reported: it does appear to be able to handle at least some embedded images.

     

    You may find it helpful to read this article on 'Abandoning AppleWorks':

     

    http://rfwilmut.net/aw

  • by fruhulda,Helpful

    fruhulda fruhulda Dec 13, 2013 11:19 PM in response to jolson49
    Level 6 (15,126 points)
    Dec 13, 2013 11:19 PM in response to jolson49

    I wouldnt update to Mavericks if there wasn't an absolute need for it. I have threee partions on my computer with one for snow Leopars, onr for Mountain Lion and One for Mavericks and I still prefere Snow Leopard as it is working so well. What I have seen of the other two MacOs' are mostly graphical changes and not any real improvements.

  • by Peggy,

    Peggy Peggy Dec 14, 2013 11:11 AM in response to fruhulda
    Level 8 (38,885 points)
    Applications
    Dec 14, 2013 11:11 AM in response to fruhulda

    Instead of separate partitions I have separate Macs running Snow Leopard, Mountain Lion & Mavericks that I can access remotely via screen sharing from the other Macs. I even have a G4 iMac running Tiger that I can access but I usually don't have it running.

     

    Peggy_sig.png

  • by jolson49,

    jolson49 jolson49 Dec 23, 2013 11:41 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 23, 2013 11:41 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1

    thank you Roger, you're a wealth of information as I've seen from your other posts.

  • by smtID,

    smtID smtID Feb 13, 2014 5:50 PM in response to jolson49
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Feb 13, 2014 5:50 PM in response to jolson49

    On another thread about this problem, someone suggested Libre Office. I had recently upgraded to Mavericks. Libre Office worked extremely well and even kept the formatting of my Claris and Apple Works documents which date back to 1996.

    https://www.libreoffice.org

     

    I am never again using any Apple word processing apps again and deleted Pages and Numbers from the dock. It is shameful they don't offer backward compatability for something as essential as this.

  • by jolson49,

    jolson49 jolson49 Feb 13, 2014 7:49 PM in response to smtID
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 13, 2014 7:49 PM in response to smtID

    If this works for me, I'm grateful for the suggestion! Kind of shame on Apple, really.

  • by Remag1234,

    Remag1234 Remag1234 Apr 6, 2014 9:48 AM in response to smtID
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 6, 2014 9:48 AM in response to smtID

    Shame on you and not Apple. Yes, I'm disappointed as I love Apple Works, Pages is Okay but AW is better IMO.

    Anyone who is unhappy with Apple should migrate to WinBloze Micro$oft Office.

    Mac use since 1991.

  • by Barry,

    Barry Barry Apr 6, 2014 12:49 PM in response to smtID
    Level 7 (32,420 points)
    iWork
    Apr 6, 2014 12:49 PM in response to smtID

    smtlD writes:

     

    "It is shameful they don't offer backward compatability for something as essential as this."

     

    For "something as essential as this," it's usually a good idea to read the writing on the wall and pay attention. The last update to AppleWorks was version 6.2.9 circa 2004. Apple declared AppleWorks EOL (no further sales, development or support) about a year later.

     

    Backward compatibility (in the sense of current applications from the same developer being able to open the earlier applications files and preserve most formatting) for word processor documents was available in the version of Pages then available, and was carried through to each current version until last November (2013).

     

    Backward compatibility (same sense) was available for spreadsheet documents in the first version of Numbers, released in 2007, and in the second, current until last November.

     

    Backward compatibility for presentation documents was available in Keynote.

     

    For those three types, at least, you've had about ten years to make the move.

     

    The biggest issue for me has been the lack of an Apple replacement for AppleWorks's Database module. That's the biggest reason I still have an iBook running Tiger (and an intel based iMac still on Leopard)—I'm still using one db file because of the formatting options available in the AW DB. Eventually it's going to fail. With luck, I'll have found a path forward by then. But I doubt I'll blame (or shame) Apple for my delay.

     

    Regards,

    Barry

  • by Roger Wilmut1,

    Roger Wilmut1 Roger Wilmut1 Apr 6, 2014 2:05 PM in response to Barry
    Level 9 (78,278 points)
    iTunes
    Apr 6, 2014 2:05 PM in response to Barry

    Barry wrote:

    I'm still using one db file because of the formatting options available in the AW DB. Eventually it's going to fail. With luck, I'll have found a path forward by then.

    The only solution is FileMaker Pro - it has similar formatting capabilities to AW (though the operation is often different so there is a learning curve) and does have a number of additional facilities. Unfortunately it's rather expensive. You may have seen my page on this - it was written with FM Pro 10 in mind and it's been updated to v13 since then but the basics will be the same.

     

    http://www.wilmut.webspace.virginmedia.com/notes/aw/page6.html

  • by christopher rigby1,

    christopher rigby1 christopher rigby1 Apr 18, 2014 9:35 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1
    Level 4 (2,146 points)
    Apr 18, 2014 9:35 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1

    Luckily I've used FileMaker since Day One as a Mac user (v2.0, 1994) so I've never used the AW version.

     

    As well as the database module, there are howls of anguish concerning the drawing module, conspicuous by its absence in iWork. However, that gap has now been filled (though not by Apple) with iDraw, which apparently is to Adobe Illustrator as Pixelmator is to Photoshop. Whatever, it's had very good reviews, is an inexpensive vector graphics program, and worth looking into.

  • by MlchaelLAX,

    MlchaelLAX MlchaelLAX Apr 25, 2014 5:07 PM in response to Barry
    Level 4 (2,256 points)
    Apr 25, 2014 5:07 PM in response to Barry

    Barry wrote:

     

    The biggest issue for me has been the lack of an Apple replacement for AppleWorks's Database module. That's the biggest reason I still have an iBook running Tiger (and an intel based iMac still on Leopard)—I'm still using one db file because of the formatting options available in the AW DB. Eventually it's going to fail. With luck, I'll have found a path forward by then. But I doubt I'll blame (or shame) Apple for my delay.

    Continuing to run Appleworks 6.2.9 in Snow Leopard Server in Parallels; a $99 solution to be able to open your Appleworks files and then export your paint documents and database data while in Lion, Mt. Lion and Mavericks:

     

    Appleworks in SLS.png

                                  [click on image to enlarge]

     

    More information here:

     

    http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1365439

     

    Installing Snow Leopard Server into Parallels for DUMMIES!:

     

    http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=17285039&postcount=564