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Jeff Jones · Jul 9, 2003, 05:13 AM

Hello there,

I have read elsewhere that the Panther version of textedit can read/write (import/export?) MS Word .doc files. Is that correct?

And if yes, how well does it read them? How much of the format is preserved?

Would be great if someone with access could try that out!

Just because I'm nosy...

JJ.

EDIT: I am especially interested in how tables are imported...

Developer · Jul 9, 2003, 05:19 AM

There's a Service that allows this in Jaguar already.

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14744

Jeff Jones · Jul 9, 2003, 06:50 AM

Yes, but AntiWordService only gets plain text, no images, no formating. It also only reads the documents.

Being able to open Word .doc files without the need for third party apps would be great for our publishing house. Well, and the rest of the Mac community, I suppose...

JJ.

bygimis · Jul 9, 2003, 08:21 AM

Originally posted by Jeff Jones:
Yes, but AntiWordService only gets plain text, no images, no formating. It also only reads the documents.

Being able to open Word .doc files without the need for third party apps would be great for our publishing house. Well, and the rest of the Mac community, I suppose...

JJ.

OpenOffice can do this, and although its 3rd party, its also free!

Jeff Jones · Jul 9, 2003, 09:32 AM

Yes, but that's not even OS X native yet.

Could someone with access to Panther try out opening a Word document in Textedit, if possible one with a graphic in it, an tell me how much of the formating it retains?

JJ.

lookmark · Jul 9, 2003, 09:49 AM

Originally posted by Jeff Jones:
Yes, but that's not even OS X native yet.

Could someone with access to Panther try out opening a Word document in Textedit, if possible one with a graphic in it, an tell me how much of the formating it retains?

JJ.

I'd like to hear more about this feature too -- and whether it works across all Cocoa apps.

Jeff Jones · Jul 9, 2003, 10:29 AM

Very good point! It would be kinda cool if it worked for more apps.

Anyone?

Art Vandelay · Jul 9, 2003, 01:01 PM

Yes, TextEdit currently has limited support for Word files in the DP of Panther.

Sven G · Jul 9, 2003, 01:07 PM

Any idea if it uses the DataViz translators found in MacLinkPlus and AppleWorks? (They should probably be inside the application bundle, or in /Library/Application Support...)

Art Vandelay · Jul 9, 2003, 01:20 PM

Based on the results in this thread, I'd guess it is not using the Dataviz translators.

lookmark · Jul 9, 2003, 02:16 PM

Originally posted by Art Vandelay:
Based on the results in this thread, I'd guess it is not using the Dataviz translators.

Do other Cocoa apps (e.g. MacJournal or Alepin) inherit this ability in Panther?

I'm curious if it's now in the Cocoa frameworks.

(If this is technically wacky, please correct me.

)

MrK · Jul 9, 2003, 06:15 PM

Sorry. Seems like you are out of luck.

piracy · Jul 9, 2003, 06:44 PM

Originally posted by MrK:
Sorry. Seems like you are out of luck.

Uh, no he's not. And it's not TextEdit that does it. Panther provides support for MS Word format documents at the OS level.

derekn · Jul 9, 2003, 07:35 PM

Screenshot of it here:
http://www.macosxrumors.com/

Go to the June 28th update and check the screens before Apple Legal says to take them down. He does note that it's limited in it's support for tables, an interesting feature either way.