How to open Unix Executable file

You may have .rtf, .xml (Word XML format), and .doc Word files in that old document mix.

Apple's applications that open Word documents (Preview, Pages (any version), TextEdit) have a notion of “shelf life,” and if a Microsoft document is too old, you will get a warning dialog:

• The file format is too old
• The document was created by an unsupported version of Word
• Etc.

If I had doubts about the file, I would open it in LibreOffice v6.0.5+ and then save as to a newly named .docx format:

CSBlackburn wrote:

I figured out that you can open them by opening TextEdit, then from the File dropdown menu select Open. Select the Unix executable file and it will open. Then you can cut and paste into Pages or whichever word processing software you use.

Good computing CSBlackburn !

You may also be able to just add the appropriate file extension if you know what it is, in your example .doc.

However, newer versions of the software may not be "allowed" to open the older files (or maybe even capable). In that case, your solution may be the only alternative to get the data out of the file.

Hi,

Old MS Word files are not Unix executables, they just miss their extension.

Try edit the name of your file and add at its end one of these extensions: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/file-formats-for-saving-documents-88de3 863-c9e5-4f89-be60-906f9065e43c

Most probably: .doc

And see if some application is able now to open it. If you have MS Word it will do it (I hope...) Otherwise you can try LibreOffice.

Regards.

You could also try highlighting one of the 'files' do a command-i to get the info panel up and add the .doc extension (or whatever is appropriate) to its name, press return and confirm your decision.

Hi,

Try to convert online with Zamzar.