File Type Overview

File Type Overview

This is a collection of various file types and how they can be treated and opened.

Harvard Graphics

Harvard Graphics used to be the predominant software for creating presentations. The latest version of the software is still sold: http://www.harvardgraphics.com/. On the webpage the company also offers a free tool to open more recent Harvard Graphics files there: Harvard Graphics Viewer. However it only works for some file types.

Files from Harvard Graphics DOS 2.0 and 3.0 can be opened with the original software, which can be downloaded as abandonware at http://vetusware.com/download/Harvard%20Graphics%203.0/?id=4017 and installed using DOSBOX (see also the article Export DataPerfect). However, be aware that [abondonware] is a legal gray area.

Word 4

Word 4 (DOS) files can't be opened natively with the current versions of Microsoft Word anymore. However it is possible to import Word 4 files with an additional converter for word.

1. Download the file ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES/WDSUPCNV.EXE, open it (it is a self extracting zip file) and select a directory to save the files.
2. Copy all the resulting *.cnv files (but most importantly Doswrd32.cnv) to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared\TextConv (For users with a 32-bit Windows it is just C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\TextConv)
3. (Re)Start Microsoft Word
4. Open the Word 4 file via the Open-dialog within Word.
5. Word will show a prompt informing you that a text converter has to be started and that this might impose a security risk which you should only do if you trust the source where you got the files from. Press OK (if you trust the source of the files).
6. Word will most likely show a prompt like "Style Sheet D:/STANDARD.DFV not found". Press Ok. Now a file selector dialog will open asking you to select a style sheet (*.sty) file. If you do have a style sheet for the file (somewhere among the rescued data) then select this. Otherwise create a new empty file in the regular Windows Explorer, rename it "empty.sty" and select it in the file selector. Selecting such an empty file could cause opened file to loose some general properties like print margins etc.
7. Now you should be able to see the Word 4 file within the modern Microsoft Word