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How can I open AppleWorks .cwk document?

I have several word processing documents I created back in 2001 using AppleWorks. Those documents all end in .cwk.


Apple's Pages app will not open these documents. How can I open them? What app should I use?


Thank you.

Posted on Apr 6, 2018 8:20 AM

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Posted on Apr 6, 2018 8:26 AM

  • Word Processing documents can be opened directly in Pages 4 (AppleWorks 6 only) but this is no longer available from Apple - the new Pages 5 (Yosemite required) does not open AppleWorks documents. (The older version is contained in the iWork '09 box set which may still be available from Amazon and other independent retailers.) Panergy Software's docXConverter v3.3 ($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 (Mountain Lion or above required) 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.
  • Draw Documents can be opened directly only in EazyDraw (the more expensive version from their website, not the cheaper one from the Mac App Store, and you will need v4.0 'Retro' not the most recent version) or Intaglio (though this appears not to be able to handle very complex drawings). LibreOffice will open simple Draw documents but I found it very unreliable with complex ones.
  • Spreadsheets can be opened directly in the older versions of Numbers - the new version for Yosemite will not do this. The old version is no longer available from Apple. (Again, the older version is contained in the iWork '09 box set which may still be available from Amazon and other independent retailers.) LibreOffice can open spreadsheets though some adjustment after doing so may be necessary.
  • Presentations can be opened directly only in the older versions Keynote; again, the new version for Yosemite will not do this. The old version is no longer available from Apple. (The older version is contained in the iWork '09 box set which may still be available from Amazon and other independent retailers.)
  • LibreOffice will open at least some Databases in spreadsheet format, though without any formatting or calculations. (LibreOffice is now available in the Mac App Store in the Applications folder.)
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Question marked as Best reply

Apr 6, 2018 8:26 AM in response to larrybobba

  • Word Processing documents can be opened directly in Pages 4 (AppleWorks 6 only) but this is no longer available from Apple - the new Pages 5 (Yosemite required) does not open AppleWorks documents. (The older version is contained in the iWork '09 box set which may still be available from Amazon and other independent retailers.) Panergy Software's docXConverter v3.3 ($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 (Mountain Lion or above required) 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.
  • Draw Documents can be opened directly only in EazyDraw (the more expensive version from their website, not the cheaper one from the Mac App Store, and you will need v4.0 'Retro' not the most recent version) or Intaglio (though this appears not to be able to handle very complex drawings). LibreOffice will open simple Draw documents but I found it very unreliable with complex ones.
  • Spreadsheets can be opened directly in the older versions of Numbers - the new version for Yosemite will not do this. The old version is no longer available from Apple. (Again, the older version is contained in the iWork '09 box set which may still be available from Amazon and other independent retailers.) LibreOffice can open spreadsheets though some adjustment after doing so may be necessary.
  • Presentations can be opened directly only in the older versions Keynote; again, the new version for Yosemite will not do this. The old version is no longer available from Apple. (The older version is contained in the iWork '09 box set which may still be available from Amazon and other independent retailers.)
  • LibreOffice will open at least some Databases in spreadsheet format, though without any formatting or calculations. (LibreOffice is now available in the Mac App Store in the Applications folder.)

Apr 7, 2018 2:12 AM in response to larrybobba

Hello, do you try with a recent version of LibreOffice ? Ie. normally, LibreOffice tries to convert:

- the bitmap cwk files in a graphic documents,

- the presentation cwk files(v6) as presentations,

- the spreadsheet and database cwk files in spreadsheet documents,

- the vector graphics and word processing cwk files in word processing documents.


Notes:

Apr 6, 2018 2:56 PM in response to larrybobba

No help for you, I'm afraid, but I've kept several older Macs with older operating systems just so I can keep using AppleWorks. I even bought (on eBay) the (unopened) educational version of AppleWorks 6 which will work on (at least older versions of) Windows.


I love AppleWorks, and even though Apple has abandoned it, it is very much alive in this household.


Just think how secure my AppleWorks files are!

How can I open AppleWorks .cwk document?

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