cant open this darn attachment

[pauline]

this came as an attachment on an email. it is a booking form i have to complete and return but i can't open it. help please.
this is a screen shot that may help
[attachment=1632:Picture_1.png]
i have tried to open with various apps with no success
thankyou in anticipation

[Xairbusdriver]

Pages, Mariner Write, Neo Office and, of course, Word, can all open a Word document. Probably most any good wood processor could, also. Might even try Preview. This is just a newer version of a Word document (.doc) that they started using last year, I think. The "x" stands for Xtraspecial... In my opinion, in was created mainly to create some problems for all the other software that could open a Word document!

[pauline]

have tried to open with word but it keeps asking me to 'convert' the file no success with preview either

[jchuzi]

If you have successfully unzipped the attachment and have the .docx file available, you can use Microsoft Open XML Converter, provided that you have Word X or 2004. Word 2008 is already capable of opening .docx files.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have the impression that you cannot unzip the file and that you can't even get as far as seeing the .docx file within it. Please clarify.

[pauline]

you are right with the fact i can't unzip it, sorry if i didn't make that clear.

[jchuzi]

Several possibilities come to mind. You may have to reset the launch services database and you can do that with OnyX 1.8.5. I mention that because it looks as if the computer doesn't "see" the correct app to unzip the file. You could also try Stuffit Expander.

In addition, it's possible that you have directory and/or permission errors. See Mac OS X - Using Disk Utility to Repair a Disk for instructions.

BTW, once you have unzipped the file, you'll still need MS Open XML Converter if you have those older versions of Word.

[tacit]

QUOTE(be gentle just learning @ Oct 22 2009, 08:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

have tried to open with word but it keeps asking me to 'convert' the file no success with preview either

Let it convert the file.

What version of Word do you have? It sounds like you have an old version. A file with a name ending in .docx is the new Word format; the old version of Word will change it to a .doc file.

If you open it in an old version of Word and it turns out all garbled gibberish, you need to download a Word XML converter from Microsoft, or email whoever sent the file to you and ask them to send it again as a .doc instead of a .docx file.

[Paddy]

Actually, Jon, BOMArchivehelper IS the default archive handler in OS X and is showing correctly in the screenshot that was included in the original post. It usually can unzip things. Since it appears that it's not working for this file, you could, as Jon suggested, try the free version of Stuffit.

Once you get it unzipped, then you'll be able to figure out whether or not you need the docx converter. Which version of Word are you using?

I honestly don't know why someone bothered to zip a 16KB file!!

If all else fails, ask them to send it to you UNZIPPED as a simple attachment.

[jchuzi]

QUOTE(Paddy @ Oct 22 2009, 05:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, Jon, BOMArchivehelper IS the default archive handler in OS X and is showing correctly in the screenshot that was included in the original post. It usually can unzip things.

Yes, I know that. Even though it is showing correctly, it's possible that something with Launch Services is amiss so I suggested resetting that database. Would the correct default app show if Launch Services is wonky? I don't actually know the answer but it may be possible.

On another note, BOMArchiverhelper is the default app in 10.4 but in 10.5 it's Archive Utility.app, located in /System/Library/Core Services. (This may look like nitpicking but it really isn't. I don't want someone with a different OS assuming that the apps are the same.) I don't have 10.4 installed anymore, so I can't check, but the location for BOMArchiverhelper is probably the same. I don't think that reinstalling that app is necessary but it could be done after extracting it from the 10.4 Install DVD with Pacifist.

[dboh]

QUOTE(Paddy @ Oct 22 2009, 05:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I honestly don't know why someone bothered to zip a 16KB file!!

If all else fails, ask them to send it to you UNZIPPED as a simple attachment.

This very same thing happened to me a couple of days ago when a person sent me a Word 2007 document (very small, 1-page, text only) from a PC -- it came zipped, with 4 separate items in the unzipped folder. It was a .docx file. Since I have Word 2004, I asked her to backsave and resend, and when she did, it was an unzipped, standalone document.

This has happened to me occasionally over the past year or two -- it's always from PCs and it's always a Word 2007 file.

[pauline]

[attachment=1633:Picture_1.png] This the version of word that i have, does that explain anything. i have tried stuffit but that didn't work either.

[pauline]

QUOTE(jchuzi @ Oct 22 2009, 09:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you have successfully unzipped the attachment and have the .docx file available, you can use Microsoft Open XML Converter, provided that you have Word X or 2004. Word 2008 is already capable of opening .docx files.

many thanks this solved the problem and have now successfully opened the booking form and booked my cyprus villa  

[Xairbusdriver]

You are, apparently, still attempting to open the "Zip" file. There are some variants that may use ".zip" but may not be recognized by other apps that decompress the standard versions. Word, itself may have corrupted the compression. The user may have done something incorrectly. The transfer could be faulty. The Moon may really be made of green spaghetti! StuffIt and even the OS should be able to uncompress the file, if it is using the standard zip format. It appears that that basic task has still not been accomplished.

I see twothree easy options:
1. Send the attachment back to the sender and ask if they can uncompress it and return it to you.
2. Ask the sender to send you the original, uncompressed file.
3. Ask the sender to send the document in a different format.

Why should you do any hard work? Just because someone else doesn't concern themselves with the ease of others? I don't think so...

As tacit implied, older versions of any software may have trouble opening the newer version's documents. So even with choices 1 and 2, you may still end up with a document that your version of Word may not open. As stated before, there are many alternatives to Word, in the first place, all of which have been able to open any .docx file sent to me or Judy. But that's your choice.

As for choice 3, "RTF" is fine for simply transmitting information with most 'styling' retained. And practically any text/word processor (even Word) can open/display all the data. What is the purpose of the document? Your editing or your edification? If the former, the alternative software options are still valid, if for simply reading/commenting, what's the point of irrelevant styles?

Or is this a learning experience for you? A challenge you've accepted?

[pauline]

QUOTE(Xairbusdriver @ Oct 23 2009, 03:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Or is this a learning experience for you? A challenge you've accepted?

most definitely a learning experience and a challenge.
i suspect that you were right about the file being currupt, this was the reason stuffit gave for not being able to unzip. but never one to give up at the first ten hurdles i managed with the help of TS (jchuzi in particular)  to succeed.

[Paddy]

Glad things worked out, but in the interests of making this a useful thread for others with similar problems...what exactly did you do to successfully open the file?