Tip #1522: Salvaging Dead Codecs: LibreOffice
… for Codecs & Media
Tip #1522: Salvaging Dead Codecs: LibreOffice
Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com
LibreOffice, unlike Apple’s apps, can convert decodes old text and images.
I’ve been creating files on computers for a long, long time. One of the challenges is opening files that are decades old created with dead codecs. Here’s an invaluable application that can help solve this problem.
LibreOffice, unlike Apple’s current applications, can convert decades old images and text into something readable today. LibreOffice is free, open-source and continually evolving – without losing track of its past.
I find this software especially useful for AppleWorks/ClarisWorks files and older PICT (.pct and .pic) image files.
Once opened, LibreOffice can convert a file into a PDF, which simplifies preserving history for the future.
LibreOffice link
EXTRA CREDIT
As a quick side-trip, here’s a short history of PICT files – the original Mac graphics format.
Here’s a Wikipedia article with a quick history of the PICT file format.
LibreOffice is indeed a great choice for rescuing older files, especially if you no longer have the original application and a machine to run it on. Another good choice for graphics is GraphicConverter. It’s not free, but well worth the price as it can open just about any graphics format. I used it to rescue some QT Pict files from the original Apple QuickTake camera that nothing else would recognize.
Bernard:
Good to know – I’ve heard of this for years, but haven’t purchased it yet.
Larry