[Opensource] building an information fortress

[Phillip Pike]

Roland- are you saying that if you have an old Word document that will no
longer open, that if I change the extension to ODT and open it in Open
Office it will read Ok?

 

Phil Pike

Director of ICT

Bacchus Marsh Grammar

P (03) 5366 4800

F (03) 53664850

 

  _____  

From: Roland Gesthuizen [mailto:rgesthuizen at gmail.com] 
Sent: Friday, 14 March 2008 7:15 PM
To: Open Source Software Mailing List
Subject: [Opensource] building an information fortress

 

A post on another list mentioned the problem of dealing with bloated Word
DOC files that refuse to shrink in size.

I have had more luck using the ODT file format for word processed files, try
it with your RTF file. The open document format is in fact a compressed zip
file (sneak a peak inside by just renaming the extension) bundled with
objects and an XML file.  Only yesterday, an old DOC file I created in 1997
refused to open whilst the ODT version could still be accessed, resurrecting
an old lesson and string of teaching ideas.

Following a lead I took from the National Library, I now do this for all my
old file archives, building a small information fortress against the
creeping rot of digital decay.

Regards Roland

PS: I notice that OpenOffice version 3 is due for release later this year ..
the road map notes that Sun are also rebuilding this for the Mac
environment. Very cool.

-- 
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au <http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au> 

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead
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