Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

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laup
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Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by laup »

As of the moment, it appears that Mellel can't open or import the newer versions of Word, i.e. files in the .docx format. Nor can it export to that format. Will this be changing? How much error is introduced by going through the time-consuming rigamarole of converting the .docx to .doc, or to using rtf? Sorry if such things have been much discussed previously but I didn't find the thread.
Paul
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by jannuss »

Importing
I pass any docx files I receive through NeoOffice to create doc versions. I haven't experienced any problems, but, then, I've received very few docx files so far.

Exporting
Export your files in rtf format and let the WORD users deal with them -- they sent you docx files without asking if it was convenient for you .. you should return the compliment!!

Janet
laup
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by laup »

Thanks Janet. Actually, I have and use Word commonly, because of collaboration needs, but the NeoOffice option is good to know about. As for .docx, I find that most documents that I now get are in that format. What I haven't figured out as yet is where the translations are imperfect, which is where I would expect translations between Mellel and Word to cause troubles as well--particularly when I'm not watching carefully.
Paul
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by Machiel »

An even easier way of working with docx files is opening them in TextEdit and then saving them as doc or rtf files.

Machiel
este.el.paz
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by este.el.paz »

An even easier way of working with docx files is opening them in TextEdit and then saving them as doc or rtf files.

Machiel
Machiel:

That would be nice if that is indeed possible as far as using TE; the question is whether TE can preserve all of the data from .docx or not. In the past when working with the export from Mellel to RTF items like footnotes and even page numbers (stuff in the footer or header boxes) was lost when checking the document in TE before sending it off to a WORD user. At that time, 1.5 - 2 years ago the Forum here informed me that TE just didn't have the "tools" to handle all of Mellel's capabilities . . . the question is has TE changed? Can TE handle stuff like TRK changes that are included with .doc or .docx?
Certainly for just straight words typed in sentences I'm sure TE is fine, but for more sophistication is it still there or would now Pages be in the running?

e.e.p.
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by Machiel »

este.el.paz wrote:
the question is whether TE can preserve all of the data from .docx or not.
TextEdit doesn't do footnotes, page numbers or track changes, although there is a workaround to insert page numbers. TE is more an editor than a word processor but still very useful when converting fairly simple docx files.

About Pages, I've had lots of trouble opening doc files including footnotes I had exported from Mellel. Pages just wasn't able to show them. I used NeoOffice to make sure the footnotes were still there. Pages can handle track changes however. So if you receive a doc file with track changes Pages can be a good alternative to Word.

Machiel
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by nicka »

So if you receive a doc file with track changes Pages can be a good alternative to Word.
I think it's actually nicer than Word for doing that -- but there are plenty of things that can be in a Word file that Pages does not support, so it depends on the complexity of the Word file whether it is safe to use Pages.

Also Pages is no good for converting between doc files and rtf files because its rtf support is poor.

The best translator and viewer for Word files is... Word. Open Office and Neo Office are incomparably cheaper, of course.
este.el.paz
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by este.el.paz »

The best translator and viewer for Word files is... Word. Open Office and Neo Office are incomparably cheaper, of course.
Nick:

Nicely said . . . and thanks for the details on Pages as far as its poor support for RTF . . . good to know. Looks like there is still a need for a number of programs to do all that we might need to, ah, DO in the world of word processing . . . .

Question for you then: who or what are the "Mellelers for Undo [sic?] Reform"??? I kind of like the ring of it but, ah, what reforms have been done to Mr Mel that this group would like to "Un-do"? According to many recent posts there have been no reforms done lately, and now apparently there will be some reforms coming?? Is there a Forum for this group that we can follow? I'd like it better if the group was for the reformation of Mr Mel so that he can be a fully participating person -- able to play well with others, share his toys, not being so anti-social, etc.

e.e.p.
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by DavidH »

Some other options:

docx Converter 3.1 from Panergy,

http://www.panergy-software.com/lp/gocpc/b_go_cpc.html

$19.95 after a free trial, outputs RTF, claims pretty good retention of formatting

Microsoft maintains a free OpenXML File Format Converter for Mac that gets you back to the pre-X formats for various Office application, e.g. docx to doc:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx

Online converters of various sorts, some of them possibly insecure, are listed at an unofficial site I came across:

http://www.docx.net
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by nicka »

who or what are the "Mellelers for Undo [sic?] Reform"???
See this thread.
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by este.el.paz »

See this thread.
Nicka:

Thanks for the link . . . I was not aware of this UnDo controversy in the Forum . . . haven't spent much time in the Nitty Gritty forum if that's where this conversation has been happening . . . .

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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by Cattus Thraex »

Machiel wrote:An even easier way of working with docx files is opening them in TextEdit and then saving them as doc or rtf files.

Machiel
NEVER do that, you will loose all footnotes, among others.
Dealing with rtf (and doc / docx) files may be a great problem if you ignore such details.
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by Machiel »

Cattus Thraex wrote: NEVER do that, you will loose all footnotes, among others.
It depends very much on the sort of text you're dealing with. As an editor I receive dozens of texts a week, many of them in the docx format. None of them contains footnotes or page numbers. TextEdit is then to me a very fast and easy way to convert the docx file to an rtf file. That way I can edit the text with my beloved Mellel and don't have to put up with slow and bloated programs like MS Word or Neo Office.

But, as I've said before, if your text does contain footnotes or page numbers, TextEdit should not be your weapon of choice.
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by Cattus Thraex »

Machiel wrote:
Cattus Thraex wrote:
It depends very much on the sort of text you're dealing with. As an editor I receive dozens of texts a week, many of them in the docx format. None of them contains footnotes or page numbers. [...]
It is a terrible risk to get files corrupt. Just because you receive so many texts... I assume you DO know they do not contain footnotes, otherwise you know what happens.
But perhaps this note is useless as long as you are aware of the footnote issue.
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este.el.paz
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Re: Compatibility with Modern Versions of WOrd?

Post by este.el.paz »

Microsoft maintains a free OpenXML File Format Converter for Mac that gets you back to the pre-X formats for various Office application, e.g. docx to doc:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx
Just wanted to say "thanks" to DavidH for posting this link to a free format converter . . . from Microsoft.

And then, to get the topic back to what the original poster "laup" had asked about . . . since he's so close in nearby Topanga . . . .
What I haven't figured out as yet is where the translations are imperfect, which is where I would expect translations between Mellel and Word to cause troubles as well--particularly when I'm not watching carefully.
The whole export topic has been fairly well flogged here, basically it's known that the "export to DOC" feature is not worth doing, but the "Export to RTF" feature is the better option, but "stuff happens" with that route as well. Janet has done yeoman's work on that topic, pointing out the method of opening the exported RTF in Mellel to check it rather than in TextEdit is just one of her helpful hints. And, in addition to possible fotnote/endnote tweaks that may get lost in the translation, specifically, one item that doesn't get imported into Mellel is the TRK changes feature which so many people use when collaborating on or editing a document--so that is one very obvious part of any DOC or DOCX which is not going to show in Mellel, but can be seen in Open Office or perhaps Neo . . .

e.e.p.
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