help with file recovery?

[Todd Denniston]

Todd Denniston wrote, On 05/09/2008 03:31 PM:
> Dave Stevens wrote, On 05/09/2008 03:02 PM:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I have a MS Word file from several years ago that I want to look at. 
> 
> Are you sure it is Word and not Write or Works?
> I had one from Write which a decade later I wanted the data from, I 
> ended up having to find an OLD version of Word (the new ones did not 
> handle it) to open the file and then save as Word95, so I could then use 
> OOo.
> I expect similar or worse from a Works document.
> 
>> I can not open it with OpenOffice Writer, Abiword, gedit. All give a 
>> message that indicates there is something wrong with the file format - 
>> character encoding, damaged file etc. But when I use less to view the 
>> contents I get an initial warning that the file may be binary (fair 
>> enough, it is) then it shows me the content I more or less expected, 
>> though horribly unformatted and hard to read.
>> It is all text that I want, no figures or graphics. As far as I know I 
>> could cut and paste from less, or use a hex editor, but that is 
>> horribly tedious for 35 pages or so of text. Anyone have a suggestion?
>>
> If you have a friend who is still infected with MS products, you could 
> ask for help converting to a newer format.
> 
> But since you don't care about the figures/graphics the easiest Unix way 
> is:
> strings file.doc > file.unformatted.txt
> then pull that into your favorite editor to apply formatting.
> 

Darn send button, forgot to mention... if you don't mind sharing part or all 
of the file, contact the folks who develop OOo and see if they would like to 
take a peek and give a try at adding a personality to read the file.

-- 
Todd Denniston
Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC Crane)
Harnessing the Power of Technology for the Warfighter