- I have a large folder of .doc files made thru Word.
- Windows Works error message appears when I try to open these .doc files. The message says works cannot open file.which may be in use by another app.
- I dont wish to use Works.
- How do I get rid of this app so that I can access my .doc files
📎 AI Summary:
The forum thread discusses how to access .doc files when Windows displays errors related to the Works application. Multiple suggestions include opening files directly in Microsoft Word, changing default programs to Word, or using free alternatives like Word Viewer, Libre Office, or Star Office for viewing and printing. The overall consensus emphasizes that to edit such documents, a proper Office suite like MS Word or Star Office is needed, often requiring purchase, while free viewers suffice for basic viewing and printing needs.
The forum thread discusses how to access .doc files when Windows displays errors related to the Works application. Multiple suggestions include opening files directly in Microsoft Word, changing default programs to Word, or using free alternatives like Word Viewer, Libre Office, or Star Office for viewing and printing. The overall consensus emphasizes that to edit such documents, a proper Office suite like MS Word or Star Office is needed, often requiring purchase, while free viewers suffice for basic viewing and printing needs.
Solution
helpifIcan
Fantastic Member
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If you open the word app see if you can open the files from the word files from there.
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It's simple really, you need to buy the program that was used to create your .doc files, and that's MS Word, part of MS Office. If your computer doesn't have it; you can buy it new for about $130-$150 retail (lists for $199). Once you add MS Word to your computer, you'll be able to view all those .doc files. If you just want to view/print them, you could download the free Star Office suite for free; but if you want to edit/modify them you'll probably need to buy a legit copy of Word standalone or a Home/Student Office edition which of course includes Word, for about $125.
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zirkoni
Extraordinary Member
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Star Office? What is that?
I'd use Word Viewer instead. It's a free Microsoft product made specifically to view & print Word documents (does not allow editing). There's also Excel Viewer for Excel documents. Since they are made by MS they should not have any problems viewing the documents as intended.
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Star Office is the old Corel office suite that originally developed from the WordPerfect folks years and years ago. They had a word process, spreadsheet, slideshow, database, and graphics apps all in a suite that competed directly with MS Office. It was bought and sold several times, and the Libre Office neem mentioned was derived in the public domain from Star Office and MS Office both. Star Office will provide the same functionality including editing that MS Office will do for a fraction of the price. And they have a trial you can use to try before you buy. Libre Office is a free cut-down version of Star Office as I said, but it won't do many things that MS Office will do, such as OLE, OOB, and other object-oriented cross-app automatic linking functions. Star Office won't do all of those either, but you may not have embedded objects in your Word documents so it's not applicable. I've used all of these products, and have run them on many different platforms including Mac, Unix, and Linux.
The Word & Excel viewer apps that zirkoni mentions are excellent for viewing/printing as he said. If you are just trying to see the documents and get hard copy from your archives, they are great. Can't make edits or mods as we said.
Only you know what the sources of those Word docs are, if you made them or received them from someone else, or they belonged to a company you worked for or contracted for. Armed with the above information you can use whatever you want. If you had like 200 Word doc files that used to be on your old computer or your old work computer and you just want to view/print them (no changes), use the free MS viewers. If you need to change or update them, you'll need to look at using Libre Office or Star/MS Office to get there. And Star/MS is going to cost you money. If you have complex docs with object embedding & linking (OLE), you are most likely going to need to cough up money if you want those documents to open up and work properly.
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The Word & Excel viewer apps that zirkoni mentions are excellent for viewing/printing as he said. If you are just trying to see the documents and get hard copy from your archives, they are great. Can't make edits or mods as we said.
Only you know what the sources of those Word docs are, if you made them or received them from someone else, or they belonged to a company you worked for or contracted for. Armed with the above information you can use whatever you want. If you had like 200 Word doc files that used to be on your old computer or your old work computer and you just want to view/print them (no changes), use the free MS viewers. If you need to change or update them, you'll need to look at using Libre Office or Star/MS Office to get there. And Star/MS is going to cost you money. If you have complex docs with object embedding & linking (OLE), you are most likely going to need to cough up money if you want those documents to open up and work properly.
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