Opening Works Documents in Word

Here is the problem: A patron comes into the library asking if there is a computer with word processing on it. You show them the computer with Microsoft Word on it. The paper they saved on their floppy won’t open up or doesn’t show up at all. What’s the deal? Most home computers come with a word processing program called Microsoft Works. When you save a document using Works it has the extension .wps (Example: file_name.wps). Microsoft Word looks for filenames with the extension .doc. This is why the document made in Works doesn’t show up.

To solve this: open Word and go to File>Open. This will bring up the Open Window. Towards the bottom of the window you should see Files of Type:. To the right of this you should see a drop down arrow. Clicking on the arrow should show you a list. In the list you should see Works, select it and the file with the .wps extension should show up.