Zamzar
5 Feb 2009 by Fran Jensen | Posted in FamilySearch
I will admit that Zamzar is an interesting title for this post. You are probably wondering what it means. The title is actually the name of a website I discovered a few days ago. I’m actually jumping for joy because this site is going to help me with a big project I’ve had on my list of things to do for several years. With the help of the services offered on this website, I will finally be able to complete my project, and at no cost to me!
My project is to convert all my old WordPerfect documents to the Word format so I can preserve all my family history projects that I’ve worked on for the past fifteen years. I haven’t used WP for the past five years or so, and my files just sit on the hard drive. I’ve tried to open several of the files in Word, but the success rate is very low and mostly zero.
The services offered on Zamzar are file conversions, many different types of file conversions. And converting files from WP to Word is what I need. I sent a single file for conversion as a test case. I chose the free option, so the conversion didn’t cost a dime. I expected the file would be converted and made available to me in a day or so. To my surprise, less than two hours later I had the converted file. I don’t use a PC at home, but opening the new Word file on my Mac in Word for Mac was a breeze.
The next test I conducted was sending five files. This is the maximum you can send in a single request when using the free service. Of course you can send more if you pay for the service. Plus you can have a secured site where your converted files are sent after conversion when you have the paid service option.
All five files were converted and sent to me via e-mail notification in less than two hours. I figured if I sent five files every day that in a week or two I would have all my WordPerfect files converted to Word … just like magic!
5 Feb 2009 at 7:55 pm
Ryan Says:OpenOffice.org is a free office suite that, if I remember right, can open Word Perfect files and save them in MS Word format. That might be another viable option, and its a great office suit too. And runs on a Mac.
22 Mar 2009 at 9:39 am
Bill Buchanan Says:Several months ago, a relative sent me some genealogy in Microsoft Publisher format. My old copy of MS Publisher couldn’t open it. (Each new version seems incompatible with the previous, so if you have MS Publisher documents convert them or print them while you still can!) Neither could I open it with anything else I had available. I sent it to Zamzar, and asked for it in Word format. The resulting Word file opened perfectly.
Yeah Zamzar! Boo MS Publisher!