[Solved] Open very old documents (XLS and WPD)

[kjuarez]

My newish version (Apache 4) has stopped opening old OpenOffice documents. How can I either fix or work around this problem?

[FJCC]

What format are these old documents in?

[kjuarez]

OpenOffice.orgXML 1.0 TextDocument

[robleyd]

These would be files with extension .sxw ? Exactly how are you trying to open these files, and what happens as a result?

[kjuarez]

No, they are just texts and spreadsheets, Extensions .wpd or .xls.

i work part-time for an attorney, so I am opening a legal document, letter, etc. to use as a template. Never had any trouble doing this previously.

[robleyd]

.wpd files are WordPerfect word processor format files; I think older versions of OpenOffice used to be able to open them, but version 4 cannot. Zamzar offers a conversion service from .wpd to .odt

.xls are Microsoft Excel spreadsheet format files; current OpenOffice should be able to open them.

[kjuarez]

Thanks! I’ll try it.

[jopower]

As I said on a similar query, I had very good luck with Zamzar. It was not difficult and allowed me to download the converted file without issue in Firefox (124). When opened is rendered correctly. There's also a download of the program for free (version 1.1 currently) allowing you to convert files offline native to the PC. Strongly recommended!!!