Pages '09 and Word .docx files

Andy

The extension is not necessary, which can be easily tested.

We have been down this path just recently, I wish people would actually investigate instead of spending enormous amounts of time guessing and disputing other's guesses.

All you have done is set the particular file type to open in your chosen application.

Peter

Then that is definitely a bug.

P.

May you read carefully ?

*_You didn't hide the extension, you removed it (or you never gave one)._*

Your document hadn't an extension name.

When the extension exists but is hidden, Pages is able to open the document.

The point upon which I insisted is that if we choose to hide extension, we have no direct way to see if there is one or if there isn't. We must ask the file to show it's passport thru the info window.

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) vendredi 9 juillet 2010 11:18:53

Have you ever tried to open a .doc or a .docx file with Pages if it doesn't have an extension name ?
I repeat : *_if it doesn't have_*

Pages will not open it.
It will do if there is an hidden or a displayed one.

Bug or no_bug, I don't know.
What is sure is that if we want to open a Word document with Pages, it must have its extension name.
This apply to drag & drop scheme as well to the open from dialog one.

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) vendredi 9 juillet 2010 11:33:16

Tested .doc, .docx and .dot files by creating sample WordMac 2008 documents (with and without extensions in name), deleting their extensions in Finder and not appending the file extension when saving. Also turning on the Finder preference : Show all file extensions.

*The following open in Pages '09:*

Sample Word file.doc
Sample Word file.docx
Sample Word file.dot
Sample Word file doc no extension
Sample Word file doc no extension/append

*The following report the file format is invalid:*

Sample Word file docx no extension
Sample Word file dot1 no extension/append
Sample Word file docx no extension/append

No guessing nor 'sposing involved.

Peter

PeterBreis0807 wrote:
Tested .doc, .docx and .dot files by creating sample WordMac 2008 documents (with and without extensions in name), deleting their extensions in Finder and not appending the file extension when saving. Also turning on the Finder preference : Show all file extensions.

*The following open in Pages '09:*

Sample Word file.doc
Sample Word file.docx
Sample Word file.dot
Sample Word file doc no extension
Sample Word file doc no extension/append

*The following report the file format is invalid:*

Sample Word file docx no extension
Sample Word file dot1 no extension/append
Sample Word file docx no extension/append

Here on my French system a Word document whose .doc extension was removed receive the *_file format invalid_* message.

I have no dot1 file available for check.

If you have one, you may send it, I will test the behaviour here.

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) vendredi 9 juillet 2010 12:26:01

So you finally found out that the .docx file needs an extension to be opened by Pages? This is what Yvan and I have been saying all the time. Andy sample file didn't have any extension hidden or otherwise.
Nor could Pages open a .doc file when the extension was missing.

A few lines from the Missing manual Panther -
As a Macintosh/Unix hybrid, MacOs x uses both creator codes (like Mac Os 9) and file name sufixes (like Windows)
The Type code specifies the document's file format.
The Creator code specifies which application that created the file.
In MacOs X plenty of documents don't have type or creator codes. Instead what determines which program opens when you double click a document is its +file name extension+.
The bottom line is that MacOs X offers two different mechanisms that associate documents with the programs that created them. MacOs X looks for Type and Creator codes first. Where they're absent, the file name suffixes kicks in.

In the Missing manual for Snow Leopard one can read this -
MacOs X no longer recognizes the invisible, four-letter Type and creator codes that has been the mainstay of program-document relationships since MacOs 9 days. The Creator code identified the program; the Type code specified the documents file format: GIT, JPEG and so on.

So it seems to depend on which Mac Os X system you have on the computer, if there are Type and creator codes embedded in the file and if you have the right program if you can open a file without file name extension.

I have to have the file name extension as I have Snow Leopard on my machine. I don't know how it is for Tiger or Leopard though.

Hello

I have no time to scan the entire thread to check if I already gave the info :

I tested under 10.5.8 French.

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) vendredi 9 juillet 2010 13:26:00

I tested under OSX 10.5.8

+Sample Word file dot1 no extension/append+

was a typo from my naming as I tested, should have been:

+Sample Word file dot no extension/append+

P.

fruhulda

I retested the above files in Mac OSX 10.6.3.

Exactly the same results as in OSX 10.5.8.

Peter

Peter could you send me those files? I'd like to test them on my two machines.

Could you also explain the word appended?