.Doc format File Reader

  • Thread starter Thread starter Leo R.
  • Start date Start date
L

Leo R.

Hello All,

I have written up a lot of our family history and want to put it on CD.
I have done it in MS Word and there is too much to start over, so my
question is;

Is there a standalone .doc file reader which I could include on the CD so
that I don't have to rely on the host computers ability (or not) to open MS
Word files? Preferably freeware.
Any help or suggestions would be mush appreciated.
TIA
Leo
 
Leo R. said:
Hello All,

I have written up a lot of our family history and want to put it on CD.
I have done it in MS Word and there is too much to start over, so my
question is;

Is there a standalone .doc file reader which I could include on the CD so
that I don't have to rely on the host computers ability (or not) to open MS
Word files? Preferably freeware.
Any help or suggestions would be mush appreciated.
Click to expand...

Microsoft have a free Word97/2000 Viewer
<http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/wd97vwr32.aspx>

Nadeem
 
"Leo R." <[email protected]> wrote:
Click to expand...
I have written up a lot of our family history and want to put it on CD.
I have done it in MS Word and there is too much to start over, so my
question is;
Click to expand...
Is there a standalone .doc file reader which I could include on the CD so
that I don't have to rely on the host computers ability (or not) to open MS
Word files? Preferably freeware.
Any help or suggestions would be mush appreciated.
Click to expand...


CWordPad: 845k - 73 registry entries
http://users.erols.com/fwcetus/cwordpad.htm

AbiWord: 3919k - 15 registry entries
http://www.abisource.com/products.phtml

Atlantis Nova: 761k - 198 registry entries
http://www.rssol.com/en/html/download/nova.htm


I like CWordPad the best, but that's just me. If you want a program
with a similar interface try the other two.
 
(e-mail address removed) wrote:
Click to expand...

Whoops, these are not stand alone apps Leo. These will require an
install on whatever machine they are used on. Not enough coffee...
 
Hello All,

I have written up a lot of our family history and want to put it on CD.
I have done it in MS Word and there is too much to start over, so my
question is;

Is there a standalone .doc file reader which I could include on the CD so
that I don't have to rely on the host computers ability (or not) to open MS
Word files? Preferably freeware.
Any help or suggestions would be mush appreciated.
TIA
Leo
Click to expand...

MS publishes a free viewer for Word documents. Check at Microsoft or google on
"wordview" to find many links.
 
Hello All,

I have written up a lot of our family history and want to put it on CD.
I have done it in MS Word and there is too much to start over, so my
question is;

Is there a standalone .doc file reader which I could include on the CD so
that I don't have to rely on the host computers ability (or not) to open MS
Word files? Preferably freeware.
Any help or suggestions would be mush appreciated.
Click to expand...

There's a small application called CopyWriter which claims it can open
..doc files. I haven't tried it myself, but it might be what you need.
It's certainly a fraction of the size of MS Word Reader.

http://home.planet.nl/~gaale131/copywriter.htm


Cory Panshin
 
Thanks a lot for that Nadeem, It looks as if it will do the trick. I
am DL it now Thanks again,
Click to expand...

In a way, of course, that still "[relies] on the host computers [sic]
ability (or not) to open MS Word files", which is what you wanted to
avoid. In other words, if they have that MS tool (just as if they have
Word itself), they can read those. You've *gained*, but you're not out
of the woods. It would be better to be out of the woods. When all
of those computers in your family are replaced, will the users remember
to reload that proprietary viewer? Will they know where they put its
installation package? Will they have even kept it? Will you have,
permanently and forever, to be their backup?

If you really want safety and forward compatibility, you'd be a lot
safer to convert/save/distribute your work as a text file. All of your
audience already have text editors, and there's a better chance that
plaintext will still be accessible, years down the road, and you and
they won't have to keep dancing the Proprietary Shuffle.
 
Thanks for all the help Guys,
I've got a few options to try now.
I don't want to go the Text file way Blinky, I hope to be able to make up a
stand-alone CD so
that it will fire up and work on any PC. Also there are loads of embedded
jpg picture files
that I want to keep in their relative positions.
Kind regards to all,
Leo R
 
Alexei said:
There's a small application called CopyWriter which claims it can open
.doc files. I haven't tried it myself, but it might be what you need.
It's certainly a fraction of the size of MS Word Reader.

http://home.planet.nl/~gaale131/copywriter.htm
Click to expand...

That's quite a handy looking app, Cory. But I think it suffers the same
sorts of limitations as the MS viewer solution for this situation. From
the website:

3.14 OPENING MICROSOFT WORD FILES Contents
CopyWriter 2.03 is capable of opening Microsoft Word files,
practically the
same way Microsoft Wordpad does.
Since Windows 98, Wordpad uses Microsoft Office converters to
convert binary
Word files to RTF format. These converters should be located at:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\TextConv.
The converters Wordpad and CopyWriter use are MSWRD832.CNV,
MSCONV97.DLL
and MSWRD632.WPC.
Depending on your system configuration a lot more converters may be
installed. If there are no converters present, CopyWriter can not
display
Word files correct.

Important note
CopyWriter opens Word files, but it can NOT save those files in
native Word
format. All Word files will be saved in RTF format. In most cases
the RTF format
covers all formatting in a file, but typical Word related formatting
like
footnotes, or inserted pictures will be removed.

Still, it could be very handy for a HD installation.
 
Blinky the Shark wrote:
In a way, of course, that still "[relies] on the host computers [sic]
ability (or not) to open MS Word files", which is what you wanted to
avoid. In other words, if they have that MS tool (just as if they
have Word itself), they can read those. You've *gained*, but you're
not out of the woods. It would be better to be out of the woods.
Click to expand...

Exactly. And this is why I recommend the Atlantis Nova solution. It
rides standalone with the CD, and is only about a megabyte in size.
 
Hello, !
You wrote on Thu, 11 Sep 2003 11:23:07 +1000:

A> Alexei and Cory Panshin wrote:
??>> In article <[email protected]>, (e-mail address removed) says...
??>>> Hello All,
??>>>
??>>> I have written up a lot of our family history and want to put it on
??>>> CD.
??>>> I have done it in MS Word and there is too much to start over, so my
??>>> question is;
??>>>
??>>> Is there a standalone .doc file reader which I could include on the
??>>> CD so that I don't have to rely on the host computers ability (or
??>>> not) to open MS Word files? Preferably freeware.
??>>> Any help or suggestions would be mush appreciated.
??>>
??>> There's a small application called CopyWriter which claims it can open
??>> .doc files. I haven't tried it myself, but it might be what you need.
??>> It's certainly a fraction of the size of MS Word Reader.
??>>
??>> http://home.planet.nl/~gaale131/copywriter.htm

A> That's quite a handy looking app, Cory. But I think it suffers the same
A> sorts of limitations as the MS viewer solution for this situation. From
A> the website:

A> 3.14 OPENING MICROSOFT WORD FILES Contents
A> CopyWriter 2.03 is capable of opening Microsoft Word files,
A> practically the
A> same way Microsoft Wordpad does.
A> Since Windows 98, Wordpad uses Microsoft Office converters to
A> convert binary
A> Word files to RTF format. These converters should be located at:
A> C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\TextConv.
A> The converters Wordpad and CopyWriter use are MSWRD832.CNV,
A> MSCONV97.DLL
A> and MSWRD632.WPC.
A> Depending on your system configuration a lot more converters may be
A> installed. If there are no converters present, CopyWriter can not
A> display
A> Word files correct.

A> Important note
A> CopyWriter opens Word files, but it can NOT save those files in
A> native Word
A> format. All Word files will be saved in RTF format. In most cases
A> the RTF format
A> covers all formatting in a file, but typical Word related formatting
A> like
A> footnotes, or inserted pictures will be removed.

A> Still, it could be very handy for a HD installation.

Please to note, if you save the file down to Microsoft Word version 6, any
computer with WordPad (which comes with Windows versions 95 and up) can read
it. No need to install nuthin'

With best regards, John H.. E-mail: (e-mail address removed)
 
Alan said:
That's quite a handy looking app, Cory. But I think it suffers the same
sorts of limitations as the MS viewer solution for this situation. From
the website:

3.14 OPENING MICROSOFT WORD FILES Contents
CopyWriter 2.03 is capable of opening Microsoft Word files,
practically the
same way Microsoft Wordpad does.
Since Windows 98, Wordpad uses Microsoft Office converters to
convert binary
Word files to RTF format. These converters should be located at:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\TextConv.
The converters Wordpad and CopyWriter use are MSWRD832.CNV,
MSCONV97.DLL
and MSWRD632.WPC.
Depending on your system configuration a lot more converters may be
installed. If there are no converters present, CopyWriter can not
display
Word files correct.

Important note
CopyWriter opens Word files, but it can NOT save those files in
native Word
format. All Word files will be saved in RTF format. In most cases
the RTF format
covers all formatting in a file, but typical Word related formatting
like
footnotes, or inserted pictures will be removed.

Still, it could be very handy for a HD installation.
Click to expand...

CopyWriter and also Atlantis both open doc files but do not display the
embedded jpg picture files.
If anybody knows how to change this I would be very grateful :~)
Leo R
 
And said:
Hello All,

I have written up a lot of our family history and want to
put it on CD. I have done it in MS Word and there is too
much to start over, so my question is;

Is there a standalone .doc file reader which I could
include on the CD so that I don't have to rely on the host
computers ability (or not) to open MS Word files?
Preferably freeware. Any help or suggestions would be mush
appreciated. TIA
Leo
Click to expand...

Personally, I recommend download Open Office and saving your
file as a PDF, viewable on any platform with Adobe Acrobat
Reader, which is pretty universally available.

This has two added benefits:
- file can become much smaller
- it can't be altered, so that parts don't get accidentall
deleted or some such thing.

--
:-) Christopher Jahn
:-(

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/xjahn/Main.html

After a number of decimal places, nobody gives a damn.
 
Hey Christopher,
That sounds loke a pretty interesting suggestion and one which I'd never had
thought of.
I will give it a go.
Thankyou
Leo R
 
In a way, of course, that still "[relies] on the host computers [sic]
ability (or not) to open MS Word files", which is what you wanted to
avoid. In other words, if they have that MS tool (just as if they
have Word itself), they can read those. You've *gained*, but you're
not out of the woods. It would be better to be out of the woods.
Click to expand...

Exactly. And this is why I recommend the Atlantis Nova solution. It
rides standalone with the CD, and is only about a megabyte in size.
Click to expand...

A project like this is better suited for HTML since it's far more
platform independent than a doc file. But you still have time to
convert all your doc files to HTML. Ms Word could do the conversions,
but Openoffice will too, and its HTML markup is easier to understand
by other browsers.
 
Thanks for all the help Guys,
I've got a few options to try now.
I don't want to go the Text file way Blinky, I hope to be able to make up a
stand-alone CD so
that it will fire up and work on any PC. Also there are loads of embedded
jpg picture files
that I want to keep in their relative positions.
Click to expand...

How about Publishing to HTML?
That way, any machine capable of reading a CD-ROM, and running a
graphical web browser will be able to view.

Not everybody runs Windows, but only the most Neanderthal of systems
don't have a suitable web browser.
 
M.L. said:
A project like this is better suited for HTML since it's far more
platform independent than a doc file. But you still have time to
convert all your doc files to HTML. Ms Word could do the conversions,
but Openoffice will too, and its HTML markup is easier to understand
by other browsers.
Click to expand...

The OP specifically asked about Word .docs... "I have done it in MS Word
and there is too much to start over". But I'd agree that using HTML for
such a distribution, with unknown target platform etc. is a better
choice.
 
Hello Team, Thanks very much for taking an interest in my project and for
all the suggestions.
I had a brief look at HTML awhile ago but couldn't seem to get to grips with
it and I was a fair way down the track using Word. The changeover seemed too
daunting.
I have followed up on a suggestion from Christopher Jahn and am converting
my individual Word files to PDF format. Have tracked down a freeware
conversion program called pdf995 and it works like a dream :~) Will
spend half a day converting all the files and will include an installer for
Acrobat Reader on my CDs for those who may not have it already.
You've all been a great help, thanks a bunch.

Leo R
 
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