annoying files

[juan123]

I have 2 versions of Word on my 6500 since my HD was extracted from a 630CD. The thing is that when I open a word document with a .doc extension, it keeps opening with MS word 5.1, all messed up. How do I get it to open .doc files with MS word 98?? Thanks!

 

[equill]

There are two ways, at least, to control the application that opens a file. Simplest of these is to load the app. first, and then open the file from within the app. If app. and file are compatible, that's the end of the story.

The second is to specify—file by file if need be, but sometimes it is possible to do so globally—what app. will open what file. There are apps that arrange this for you. For example, Internet CP allows you to do so for your downloads. MacLink Plus in OS 8.1 enables much the same, and more.

de

 

[pee-air]

I was actually screwing with a similar problem the other day. I had a bunch of images on my hard drive that would launch Graphic Converter when they were clicked on. I love GraphicConverter -- it's a great graphics utility for the Mac -- but when I just want to view images, I prefer to use JpegView.

The first thing I tried was Macintosh Easy Open. I scrolled down to the entry for JPG files and changed the default application from GraphicConverter to JPEGView. That didn't work. I suppose it would have worked if I had been dealing with images that didn't have their creator set to GraphicConverter, but these images had their creator set to GraphicConverter. You know Mac OS! The first application it's going to try to launch a file in, is the application that it thinks created the file.

Next I tried changing the creator for the image files. I just changed the four charcter creator from GraphicConverter to JVWR, which is the creator that specifies JPEGView. That did it. Now Mac OS launches JPEGView instead of GraphicConverter whenever I click on one of those image files.

I used Norton Utilities Disk Editor to change the creator on my files, but you can use ResEdit or any of a whole range of utilities that will get the job done for you. Another way to do it, is to manually open the file in Word 98 and resave the file with Word 98. That will change the creator so that Mac OS will always try to open that document with Word 98 first.

 

[equill]

... way to do it, is to manually open the file in Word 98 and resave the file with Word 98. That will change the creator so that Mac OS will always try to open that document with Word 98 first.

Quite so. That was implicit in the above, but there is no harm in making it explicit. Easy Open is much touted, but it seems that it has its sticking points, as you have cited. I believe that MacLinkPlus does better.

de