AppleWorks 6: Difficulty Importing Microsoft Word Files in Mac OS 9 or Earlier

Symptom

1. When opening a Word file by double-clicking or choosing File > Open in the Finder, one of these symptoms may occur:
• The file does not open in AppleWorks 6.
• The file is imported as the wrong document type, such as spreadsheet or plain text.
• You see the message "Could not find the application program 'Microsoft Word' to open the document...".
2. When dragging a Word file onto the AppleWorks 6 application icon, the document may be imported as the wrong document type, such as spreadsheet or plain text.
3. If you choose the Open dialog within AppleWorks and try to select the Word file, the file is dimmed.

Solution

Check translation software

Make sure the file translation components are properly installed. See technical document 88150 "AppleWorks 6: Cannot Locate the Microsoft Word and Excel Translators After AppleWorks 6.1.2 Update".

Compatible format?

Confirm the file is in a compatible format. AppleWorks 6 does not import Microsoft Word 5 or earlier formatted files.

Try updating software

Update to AppleWorks 6.2.3 or later. Updates are available from the AppleWorks website (http://www.apple.com/appleworks/).

File Exchange settings

If you are using Mac OS 9.2.2 or earlier, edit the Microsoft Word entries from the File Exchange or PC Exchange control panel. Follow these steps:

1. Open the File Exchange (Mac OS 9) or PC Exchange (Mac OS 8) control panel.
2. Sort the PC Exchange listing by PC Extension/Suffix.
3. Delete all .doc entries from the PC Exchange listing.
4. Click Add. The control panel searches for applications on the hard disk, and the Add Mapping window appears.
5. In the Extension field, type: doc
6. In the Application listing, select SimpleText.
7. In the File Type menu, select TEXT.
8. Click Add.
9. Close the File Exchange control panel.
10. Copy a fresh copy of the file to the Mac OS computer.
11. Open the file as described below.

Use Open command

Do not double-click the file or drag and drop the file onto the AppleWorks application to open it. Instead, open the file from within AppleWorks 6 by following these steps:

1. Choose File > Open.
2. Choose Word Processing from the Document Type pop-up menu.
3. Choose the appropriate Word format from the File Format pop-up menu.