a friend just bought a new pc using xp. his original computer is an imac. how can you transfer and convert appleworks files to word files?
as far as i can tell there is no way to copy the files on the imac. do we have to put them in an email and send them to the pc? is there a conversion program?
First off does his new PC have an ethernet card? If so it would be as simple as a crossover cable and some form of server software (If his iMac is running OS X he can connect to his PC using Windows networking).
As for converting to and from Appleworks: Some versions of Appleworks came with Word a word converter. If not then you can buy one or just save the files as rtf (Rich Text Format). You might loose some formatting but the info will still be there.
HTH
Easiest method:
a) Download the free evaluation copy of Miramar System’s PC MacLan product for XP. It puts an AppleTalk stack on the PC and lets you connect to AppleShare resources in Network Neighborhood. Or “My Network Placeys” or whatever the #^@ they renamed it to in XP.
b) Share the entire hard drive over AppleTalk on the iMac. Control-click the drive, Get Info, Sharing tab. You’ll be prompted to turn on File Sharing if it isn’t already on. Allow sharing to guests (it’s an obvious setting in the dialog).
c) crossover ethernet cable.
No subnet masks to enter, no IP addresses to enter, no domain names or workgroups to define, no opportunity to screw up your existing TCP network configurations, etc. , because it’s a separate protocol.
Just doubleclick the new AppleTalk icon within Network Neighborhood and you’ll see the iMac’s machine name. etc. AppleTalk may not be as robust as more modern networking protocols but there’s nothing as easy to set up. Your friend can decide whether or not to keep MacLan around or discard it depending on the likelihood of networking with Macs on a regular basis.
As FyreFiend says, if full-scale conversion is desired, you can buy one. [URL=“http://www.dataviz.com/products/conversionsplus/index.html”[DataViz is the best option. Since friend is going with XP, I’d recommend the PC version, Conversions Plus. Nice tool to keep around, converts from some Unix formats and non-MS PC formats that Word (and Excel) don’t natively speak as well as AppleWorks and other Mac formats. It’ll do your friend’s spreadsheets as well as word processor documents, including formulas and even most of the pie charts & etc.
If your friend does not wish to go the MacLan route, you can set up a TCP network (192.168.0.1) over the crossover cable and use FTP to move the files.
File Sharing with a Windows-based PC is pretty straightforward with Mac OS X. A quick search in the Support section on Apple’s site will explain the process. However, with Mac OS 8 & 9 (most iMacs prior to 2002) - assuming your friend uses the TCP/IP method instead of AFP for the transfer - you can use the built-in Web Sharing feature which will allow access to the files through a regular web browser where they should appear as downloadable documents.
http://www.macwindows.com/netbasc2.html#FileSharing
As for the AppleWorks to Word conversion, aside from saving each file out to Word format in AppleWorks, the conversion software AHunter3 mentions is probably the best (only?!) solution. Having never used it, I can’t comment on the Windows version, but the Mac version, MacLink Plus, works great.
My own, thoroughly Mac-biased opinion: No need to move files. After spending some quality time with XP, your friend will be back on the Mac within a week. 
Best of Luck!
.d
you macaholics crack me up , hahaha.
i’ll bet you still have your betamax hooked up.
If we did, we could boot from it 