Appleworks from Tiger to Snow Leopard

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Level 3

507 points

Appleworks from Tiger to Snow Leopard

Hello. I will be migrating data from my eMac with OS10.4 to a new iMac with
Snow Leopard (SL). I really like using Appleworks(AW)(ver 6.2.9) and hope I can continue to do so. I have read the posts relating to this but am still having difficulty understanding it so would like to post some questions that I hope someone can help me with. I apologize if these have been answered previously but hope I may be able to clarify the situation for myself (and possibly for others who are as confused as I am!). The questions I have are:

1--When I do the migration to the iMac and SL and launch Rosetta in the process, will I still be able to open old AW files such as .cwk .doc, etc?

2--In the Migration process, can the AW app be moved over from the eMac to the iMac or should it somehow be newly installed on the iMac?

Thanks very much for any assistance.

emac 700mhz combo (Sep 2002) OS X10.4.11, Mac OS X (10.4.11), RAM 768, DVD Burner installed. Mail 2.1.3 (753.1), Int. HD 160 GB

Posted on Dec 25, 2009 9:18 PM

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Answer 1

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Peggy

Level 8

41,607 points

Dec 25, 2009 10:29 PM in response to whiskey sour

When you use the Setup Assistant or the Migration Assistant, you can tell it which users to migrate & you can chose to migrate your applications. You cannot pick & choose which applications, it's all or nothing. I think it's best to not move applications, reinstalling applications from your original installers. You may need new versions of many applications.

Rosetta is an optional installation in Snow Leopard. If you're doing a clean installation of Snow Leopard you can choose to install Rosetta as part of the initial installation. Otherwise, Snow Leopard will offer to download & install Rosetta the first time you launch an application that needs it.

As I said before, migrating/copying applications is probably not a good idea. However, that doesn't apply to AppleWorks. With AppleWorks you can copy the whole AppleWorks 6 folder from Applications on your Tiger Mac to the Applications folder on your new Mac. Make sure you move the whole folder including the AppleWorks 6.app & the supporting folders. I would also burn a copy of this folder to a CD to have for backup should you ever need to reinstall AppleWorks. When you migrate users, preferences are also migrated. Before you launch AppleWorks on the new Mac for the first time, you must delete the AppleWorks preferences that were moved. AppleWorks needs to create new, clean preferences on the new Mac.

As for opening documents, you should be able to open any documents that you can now. Opening .doc files with AppleWorks has been hit or miss (mostly miss) for some time, ever since Microsoft changed the format to something AppleWorks' translators don't understand. It's not generally a big problem as TextEdit (that comes with OS X) can open .doc files.

If you have any more questions, please post back.

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Answer 2

whiskey sour Author

Level 3

507 points

Dec 26, 2009 11:25 AM in response to Peggy

Hello Peggy and thanks for the information. I don't plan on moving any Apps from Tiger to SL, except for AppleWorks, using your guidance. I am still using the eMac (Tiger) until I am sure of what I am doing before I go into the Migration Process.
I will download and install Rosetta when I get the prompt from the new iMac.

I would appreciate a few clarifications as follows regarding AW:

1--Please confirm that I go into 'Applications' and COPY the AW6 file which consists of the following, AW6 Installer Log,AW6 Application,AW Essentials,Clippings,Late Breaking News, and Starting Points. I would then PASTE that into the new iMac 'Applications' Folder. (There is also a separate Folder in Applications called APPLESCRIPT--do I do anything with that one?)

2--I will follow your info on deleting the Prefs before using AW in the iMac.
You refer to the Button Bar in the link on deleting Prefs. Where is this located and am I to do anything with 'Button Bar'?

3--When using AW on Tiger and I open a .doc file, I momentarily see a MacLink translator open up. I tried looking for this in Applications or Utilities and cannot seem to find it. Can you tell me where that program may be located in this eMac and/or under what name? (I did a Spotlight on 'Maclink' with no luck).
Would this Maclink program have to be moved over from the emac to the iMac?

Thanks Peggy appreciate your help

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Answer 3

Peggy

Level 8

41,607 points

Dec 26, 2009 2:48 PM in response to whiskey sour

Yes, that whole folder with the application, essentials, clipping, starting points & AppleScripts needs to be moved. You don't need the installer log or the late breaking news (it's very old news now 😉 ) needs to be copied to the Applications folder on the iMac. It's not a copy/paste, just drag the icon of the whole folder to the new Mac. You should see a green plus indicating you are making a copy in the new location.

The MacLink translators are in the AppleWorks Essentials folder. In OS 8/9, MacLink Plus was a separate Control Panel. I don't think there is a similar application needed for AppleWorks in OS X. MacLink Plus is a separate program you can buy, though. The translators with AppleWorks are quite old (circa 2001) & don't work with newer .doc files.

The Button Bar Preferences is one of several AppleWorks preference files located in HD > Users > (your account) > Library > Preferences > AppleWorks (a folder). You only need to keep/move it if you have extensively customized the Button Bars in AppleWorks as I have.

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Answer 4

Dec 26, 2009 4:14 PM in response to whiskey sour

Hello!

I, too, have just begun using my new intel Mac, and have a lot of old Applework files. I used Migration Assistant to bring everything across to my new Mac, and then, as recommended here and elsewhere, I said YES to the install of Rosetta when I first tried to open Appleworks.

BUT. Appleworks will not open. All it does is bounce a few times in the dock.

I tried installing Rosetta again from the OS X Install disc, but Appleworks still will not open.
I tried deleting Appleworks preferences. Nothing.

Has this been a problem for anyone else? Any suggestions???

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Answer 5

Peggy

Level 8

41,607 points

Dec 26, 2009 5:22 PM in response to Quartermoon

Welcome to Apple Discussions

I believe I may have just answered your same question on AWUG's forums. In addition to deleting all of the AppleWorks preferences, make sure you use Disk Utility to repair permissions.

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Answer 6

whiskey sour Author

Level 3

507 points

Dec 26, 2009 5:24 PM in response to Peggy

Peggy thanks for clarifying the DRAG in lieu of COPY/PASTE, I will do it the way
you recommend. As I indicated, when I open a .doc file I momentarily see
'Maclink Plus' flash across the page. It must be something that was always in my AW as I never purchased anything regarding that.

Re Button Bar, I'm quite sure I havent done much, if any, customization of them
so wont bother doing anything with them.
Thanks again and Seasons Greetings.

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Answer 7

whiskey sour Author

Level 3

507 points

Dec 28, 2009 7:09 PM in response to whiskey sour

Hello Peggy. I have started the Migration Process and have copied AW6 from my eMac to the new iMac Applications folder. I am confused about deleting the Preferences and hope you can help me again. (I am staying in this topic in case someone else has the same problems, they can follow along).

1------I dont follow the process of deleting the Prefs. The instructions say to go to "HD/Users/username/Library/Preferences/AppleWorks"---pls confirm that by HD, they mean the words "Macintosh HD"?. If so, I have done that and when I get as far as PREFERENCES, I dont see any 'Appleworks'.

2---- ~/Library/Preferences/ In this one, what does the ~ indicate? I'm assuming when I do follow that, I will delete 'com.apple.appleworks.plist'?

Thanks Peggy.

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Answer 8

Peggy

Level 8

41,607 points

Dec 28, 2009 8:19 PM in response to whiskey sour

Here's a screenshot of the location of the files on my Mac. The Library in the first column is in my "Home" folder. There is an AppleWorks folder in the Preferences folder. And, yes, you need to delete the .plist. ~ is a forum shortcut for the user's home/house folder. HD does mean your hard drive. Many of us rename our hard drives.

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Answer 9

whiskey sour Author

Level 3

507 points

Dec 29, 2009 6:21 PM in response to Peggy

PEGGY, I cant thank you enough for your time, patience and knowledge. My Appleworks is functioning well on the Snow Leopard now--still a small glitch but I will check with you on those. 🙂 Cheers.

Message was edited by: whiskey sour

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Answer 10

Dod60

Level 1

19 points

Dec 30, 2009 9:42 AM in response to whiskey sour

Hi whiskey sour,
Just out of interest I migrated from Tiger on an eMac to Snow Leopard on an iMac a couple of months ago. I used the migration assistant and just through everything over, then filtered through the things I didn't want to keep or wouldn't work on Snow Leopard. I didn't do any of the recommended above (out of ignorance not smartness) and Appleworks works just fine. Having read through the above I have now deleted the plist file as above but I haven't noticed any difference. Hope this gives you some confidence!

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Answer 11

Barry

Level 9

59,861 points

Dec 31, 2009 3:08 PM in response to Dod60

Dod60 wrote:
I have now deleted the plist file as above but I haven't noticed any difference. Hope this gives you some confidence!

AppleWorks is an old enough application that it keeps several preferences files, not just a .plist, for each user. When you do find it necessary to delete them, make sure you get not only the plist but the prefs files in the AppleWorks folder in Preferences as well.

Regards,
Barry

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Answer 12

Jan 9, 2010 2:51 PM in response to Peggy

Peggy,
Thanks a million from me as well. Your detailed explanation is much appreciated for
many of us who are moving from an older Mac to a new iMac. Not being familiar with
Migration Assistant, I put my whole AW folder on a CD and moved it to the iMac. The
first time all graphics moved, but all text documents were blank. I tried again and
can now open text, copy and paste to Pages - one by one. I am unable to set any
preferences, but am grateful to at least have a way to save text which was formerly
saved on CDs. Incidentally, for all those interested, I read earlier today on the
forum that Hard Core Mac has AW 6.2.9 in stock. However, they want $50 for it, with
no guarantees on whether it will work in Snow Leopard. I would be interested in anyone's
results with their CD. If it works correctly as a full application it would be worth the
money - at least to me. I have used AW since the beginning of time and learning Pages will take MUCH MORE time! Now I need to backtrack to Barry's explanation of how to move
the User dictionary. Many thanks to you both for your patience with our frustrations.
Deanna-Marie

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Answer 13

Steve M.

Level 5

4,757 points

Jan 11, 2010 8:48 AM in response to Peggy

Peggy, I too am getting ready to do a similar move from a PPC iMac with Tiger to a new Intel iMac. In addition to wanting to move AppleWorks (I now have a clear picture of this thanks to your wonderful explanations) I am still undecided about whether to use Migration Assistant at all or just do a manual migration. I know this is an AppleWorks forum, but I'd appreciate a quick thought or two about whether you would use MA or not. Many thanks.

P.S. Would you ever recommend reinstalling AppleWorks for the original DVD (my G4 came with Jaguar and I'd be kind of hesitant about using those old installers without a recommendation).

Regards,
Steve M.

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Answer 14

Mar 1, 2010 7:23 AM in response to Peggy

Dear Peggy,
Thanks for your tips about deleting preference files for AppleWorks. My copy crashed every time starting after upgrading to Snow Leopard. AppleWorks has long had problems with crashing if font files were corrupt or duplicated, so I deactivated my user fonts in Font Book.app which allowed me to start AppleWorks for the first time. Thanks again for your help.

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