Opening old AppleWorks/ClarisWorks files with Numbers '09

[rickf]

I had been using some old files I created in AppleWorks/ClarisWorks a lifetime ago, gradually upgrading them to Numbers or Pages files when I thought about it; all of this under OS 10.6.8.
In January I finally upgraded my OS to 10.9.5 and found a copy of Numbers/Pages '09 (the old one that works like it should, not like the newer dumbed down version). I can't open my old files, which means that years of business letters, spreadsheets, etc are lost to me! NOT GOOD!

Anybody have a solution? Thanks

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Some folks have had success with LibreOffice for AppleWorks 6 and some ClarisWorks documents. Also, if you have access to a Mac running an older version of Mac OS X and Pages 4.x or AppleWorks 6.x, you could convert them there and move them to the Mac running Mavericks with an external HD or USB flash drive. iWork '09/Pages 4.x should be able to open the AppleWorks documents...is your not working?

C

 

[rickf]

Thanks for the reply Cory

When I upgraded to Marvericks it was on all machines as it meant that I had to upgrade some third party software (CAD programs, Filemaker etc), so no older OS available.
iWork '09/pages 4.0 does not open my old Appleworks files.

Don't know anything about LibreOffice - any cautions I should be aware of before downloading and trying it?

 

[Cory Cooper]

No problem.

I am not sure why Pages won't open up the AppleWorks files...it should. Which exact version is it? Have you tried dragging and dropping the AppleWorks file onto the Pages application icon, or right-clicking the files and choosing Open With Pages?

I downloaded LibreOffice on my Mac running Yosemite 10.10.4 and it opens old AppleWorks .cwk files, albeit with a few minor formatting issues. It is a safe, Open Source application that has its roots in OpenOffice. AMD, Google, Intel, and Red Hat are part of The Document Foundation Advisory Board.

C

 

[rickf]

Yeah, I had tried all of the different ways of opening the Appleworks files with Pages 4.0, no success.

Just downloaded LibreOffice and that seems to be able to open both word processing and spreadsheet files, so ... Thanks!

 

[Cory Cooper]

Glad it worked for you.

We can continue to diagnose the Pages issue if you would like.

Be well,

C