Old Works wps files

[davisj01]

I am setting up a new desktop for a friend which comes with Works 9 pre-installed. I have transferred a large number of documents from the old machine using Windows Easy Transfer. Many of those files have the extension wps having been created with an older version of Works (although he cannot remember which!).

Works 9 on Windows 7 cannot open those files; and the Works converters available from M$ are not supported by Windows 7! So how can I open those old wps files in Works on Windows 7? Is the only way to obtain a copy of Works/Word which will read the files and save them as .doc files (a real pain because there are hundreds of them!) Btw I have set up a virtual machine using VMPlayer to run old software on XP so I could use that as a means of conversion if push comes to shove.

Thanks for any help and advice.

 

[not so gray matter]

You should read this support article:

How to open a Works 6.0, a Works 7.0, a Works 8.0, or a Works 9.0 word processing document in Word

Note: You may be able to open the documents and convert them if you select All Files in the view options of the Open Dialog.

How to open a WPS file

 

[davisj01]

Hi Notsograymatter

Thanks for the reply.

My problem is that I'm trying to open wps files in Works 9 which you would think would be straightforward. But, as far as I can tell, none of the converters for Works are supported by Windows 7. I've downloaded them and they simply don't work!. So that leaves a situation where M$ are selling a product which is incompatible with even the most recent previous version of Works. How could they do that!

The only solution I can see is to use Word - presumably that's M$' aim - to get you to upgrade from Works. At least they could be honest about it!

 

[not so gray matter]

Sorry, misread the post...

According to the microsoft support website, .wps files are supported in Works 9

File formats that are supported in Works 9

Using this viewer program will allow you to manually copy the text and paste it into a new document. It'll also allow you to print the files, but not edit them.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...87-8732-48D5-8689-AB826E7B8FDF&displaylang=en

One last suggestion:
Download Open Office

If you're lucky, that program will be able to open the files and convert them to something universal like .rtf or .doc.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5065887_open-wps-files-open-office.html

EDIT: I'm pretty certain you can still install the Office 2010 beta. At the very least you can use the 6-9 converter to convert the documents.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/default.aspx

 

[davisj01]

Hi Notsograymatter

Just thought you might appreciate knowing how I resolved this problem.

The old .wps files were just that - very old! The problem I had was that, although Works supports .wps formats, the converters for old .wps formats are not supported under Windows 7.

So here's what I did. I set up a virtual machine using WMPlayer and Windows XP. I installed my friend's copy of Word 2000 (yes, it was that old!) and the option to convert .wps files. I then created a file share under XP to enable the files I had transferred to Windows 7 to be accessed from XP. Bingo! - when my friend finds a .wps file he cannot read in Works he uses the VM to convert the file, saves it as a .doc file in the original folder, and then can revert to Works to read the file. If he subsequently edits and saves the file it is saved in the new .wps format which can be read by Works under Windows 7.

Here's hoping this might help others facing the same issues.