Appleworks spreadsheet unexpedly quits

In using the spreadsheet when I try to delete a number Appleworks quits.
This is a new problem.
thanks

When AppleWorks has stopped working correctly, a good place to start is this post in the User Tips Library:
http://discussions.apple.com/click.jspa?searchID=600823&messageID=607287
For other AppleWorks tips, go to the User Tips Library (at the bottom of the Discussions page) and search "kaw"
Regards.
Barry

Similar Messages

AppleScript & AppleWorks Spreadsheet

For years I have been using AppleWorks spreadsheets on my Quadra (ease-of-use, nostalgia, old habits die hard, etc.). After eventually deciding to transfer some of them to my G5 and work with them (as well as creating new ones) in a newer and faster environment, I started fiddling around with using AppleScript to automate some of the repetitive tasks within each document, especially for the new ones. One task appears to have either no solution or a particularly well-hidden one. Except for the example given here, all the other scripting is working to my satisfaction.
The relevant part of the script is:
tell application "AppleWorks 6"
    activate
    make new document at front with properties {document kind:SS}
    tell spreadsheet of document 1
        select menu item "Display…" of menu "Options"
    end tell
end tell
The line "select menu item "Display…" of menu "Options" brings up a window as pictured here.
I would like to be able to use AppleScript to uncheck the checkboxes labelled "Row Headings" and "Column Headings" so that the whole script (of which this is only a small part), can run without ANY manual intervention. So far, no luck. The arrow keys and tab key (with and without modifier keys) have no effect within this window. If you hold down the command key for a a few seconds, the window displays command-key equivalents for the checkboxes, as pictured here;
Turning on GUI scripting by enabling access for assistive devices in System Preferences and using calls to System Events with various permutations of the "keystroke" command had no effect. To try to discover if the items in the window were actually UI elements and of what type, I used the "get entire contents of window ... " approach, which worked beautifully in the main document window. The calls I used, inserted after the line ""select menu item "Display…" of menu "Options" and before the two "end tell" lines, were:
tell application "System Events"
     tell process "AppleWorks 6"
          get entire contents of window 1          -- each of these four lines,
          get entire contents of window 2          -- and other various similar attempts, was used by itself
          get every item of window 1               -- (all included consecutively here to save space)
          get every UI element of window "Display"
     end tell
end tell
The line "get entire contents of window 1" only took effect once the "Display" window had been dismissed, and then it quite happily returned the contents of the main document window. The others returned either: "System Events got an error: NSReceiverEvaluationScriptError: 4" or "System Events got an error: Can't make every item of window 1 of process "AppleWorks 6" into type reference."
My guess is that the window "Display" is a modal dialog which is not letting anything else happen until it is dismissed. In the script, the next command after "select menu item "Display…" of menu "Options" waits until the window has been dismissed.
I have also tried saving the document (once the row and column headings have been hidden) as a spreadsheet template. That ALMOST achieved what I wanted. The new spreadsheet template shows up in Starting Points as "Spreadsheet" with the previous (pre-defined) template being renamed to "Standard SS". When clicking on the new template in Starting Points, a new SS document opens up with the row and column headings hidden, but when a new SS document is created using AppleScript, it uses the pre-defined template (headings not hidden). So near yet so far!
If anybody has any suggestions, tricks and workarounds for both AppleScript and AppleWorks, I am willing to try them out.
If I can't get this (small) part of the script to work without having to use the mouse or keyboard, then it's not the end of the world. But I do like sitting back and watching the computer do what it is good at - repetitive tasks, etc. - from start to finish.
- - -    break for food and thought   - - -
While not having found the reason for AppleScript's inability to access the "Display" window, I have worked out a way to achieve what I want. Even though the AppleScript command "make new document at front with properties {document kind:SS}" causes AppleWorks to ignore the customized template document and use the original, pre-defined one, the following routine makes a copy of the customized template document, converts it from a stationery document (template), renames it and opens it.
tell application "Finder"
     set TemplateCopy to duplicate file "AppleWorks SS Options.cws" of folder "Templates" of folder "Starting Points" of folder "AppleWorks 6" of folder "Applications" of startup disk to desktop
     set stationery of TemplateCopy to false
     set NewFileName to "My spreadsheet.cwk"
     set the name of TemplateCopy to NewFileName
     open file NewFileName
end tell
One other approach which might have led somewhere was to explore the ability to prevent row and column headings from printing, even if they are displayed on screen. Scripting the print end of things may not have been easy, if possible at all, and would have required much more complexity in scripting. Also, I would prefer the screen display to match what is going to be printed.
The end result I wanted has been achieved, although using a different approach than I expected. Given the legacy status of AppleWorks 6 and its oddities of behaviour with AppleScript (even though much functionality was added and many bugs fixed from version 5), I doubt that the original approach will ever work, although if anybody has some ideas/knowledge, etc., I am willing to listen.

Scripting printing in AppleWorks
As a spin-off from my efforts described above, I think I have found a way of using AppleScript to save documents from AppleWorks as PDF's. At the moment the script is pretty wordy and maybe not as efficient as it could be, but it works (almost 100% of the time).
In the Print dialog, the tab key can be used to move between the various elements in the dialog. Depending on which one has been arrived at after each press of the tab key, you can select and do various things by using the space key, up and down arrow keys and the return key. I'm not sure if they can all be consistently emulated using the keystroke command from within System Events, as here I have restricted myself to just the tab, down arrow and return keys.
When the Print command is issued (via keystroke "p" using command down), the Print dialog opens up.
On my system, the number of copies is highlighted by default when the Print dialog opens and by pressing the tab key five times the PDF button is selected (although it's not all that obvious). The down arrow then activates the dropdown menu - press it again and the first item in that menu is highlighted. Press Return and that item is accepted and the Save dialog comes up.
On my system it takes one press of the tab key with shift down to move "back" from the Save As text field to the Save button (originally I had been using ten presses of tab in the "forward" direction), at which point Return selects it and the document is saved as a PDF. As with the Print dialog, the arrow keys, space key and Return can all be used to do/select various things along the way.
In the script I have inserted a number of delays to give things time to happen. Originally they were longer and allowed me to observe what was being selected at each emulated press of the tab key. Those that are one second or longer need, at least on my system, to remain fairly long otherwise I get errors such as "connection not valid" and the script hanging to the point where the only way out was to force quit. I would assume that some things are timing-dependent and need a specific amount of time before the next action can be performed. If anybody tries my script and finds odd things happening, I would suggest lengthening the delay times as the first thing to try. Also, on various System versions, there might be a difference in the number of tab presses required to move from the default highlighted attribute to the PDF and Save buttons.
The script as it stands at the moment requires at least one AppleWorks document to be open (and checks for that to avoid an error at the start). It could be modified to be a droplet (and possibly open only one document at a time from those dropped onto it, as AppleWorks would have a limit of how many documents it could have open concurrently), but I will get around to doing that later on.
The script itself:
tell application "AppleWorks 6"
    activate
    set HowManyDocs to count of documents
    if HowManyDocs > 0 then
        set DocNames to name of every document
        repeat with CounterA from 1 to HowManyDocs
            try
                set ThisDoc to (item CounterA of DocNames)
                select document ThisDoc
                tell application "System Events"
                    tell process "AppleWorks 6"
                        keystroke "p" using command down -- brings up Print dialog
                        delay 0.1
                        tell window "Print"
                            delay 1 -- or longer
                            repeat with CounterB from 1 to 5
                                keystroke tab -- tabs through to PDF Button
                                delay 0.1
                            end repeat
                            key code 125 -- down arrow - selects PDF dropdown menu
                            delay 0.1
                            key code 125 -- down arrow - selects first item in PDF dropdown menu
                            delay 0.1
                            keystroke return -- accepts selection and brings up Save dialog
                            delay 1
                            keystroke tab using shift down -- tabs back 1 to Save button
                            delay 0.1
                            keystroke return -- "presses" Save button
                            delay 2 -- or longer
                        end tell
                    end tell
                end tell
            end try
            close document ThisDoc -- closes each document after it is "printed" to PDF
        end repeat
    else
        display dialog "You have no AppleWorks documents open." & return & "Open some and then run this script again."
    end if
end tell

Scripting AppleWorks Spreadsheet

I am trying to write a script to create an Appleworks Spreadsheet document with various characteristics and content, going one step at a time.
So far I have been able to create the document and name it via AppleScript, using the following:
tell application "AppleWorks 6"
activate
make new document at front with properties {name:"NewDoc123", document kind:SS}
end tell
As an occasional user of AppleScript it took me a while (don't laugh) to get the "document kind:SS" bit right. Once I saw the potential of "with properties" I thought it must be possible to specify the number of columns and rows. To give myself some clues on the grammar/syntax/formatting, etc. I saved a SS document and did a "get properties" using AppleScript. To my dismay, it provided information only on the following properties:
class, name, index, displayed name, name extension, extension hidden, container, disk, position, bounds, kind, label index, locked, description, comment, size, physical size, creation date, modification date, icon, URL, owner, group, owner privileges, group privileges, everyones privileges, file type, creator type, stationery, product version, version.
It did not have any mention of the rows and columns, unless that is hidden somehow in the bounds and size properties.
Is it actually possible to specify the number or rows and columns, or am I barking up the wrong tree? Viewing the AppleWorks dictionary I have seen references to "data bounds", "object specifier", and "named range". These seem to be tantalizing hints of maybe what I am looking for. However, I cannot find anything anywhere which tells me how to use them, not even an example script.
Quadra 700 - sys 7.0.1, PowerMac 9500/200 - sys 9.2.2, Beige G3 MT - sys 10.3.9.

Even though it's not quite the method I was envisaging, it achieves the desired result and is plenty quick enough, plus there is some visual effect to "keep the troops entertained". This will certainly enable me to proceed further. Thanks a million.
Your additions to my script appeared to be missing a line, but I had no trouble understanding what you were explaining, and added a line so that it reads:
tell application "AppleWorks 6"
activate
make new document at front with properties {name:"NewDoc123", document kind:SS}
tell spreadsheet of document 1
-- Note that the name contains an ellipsis (option-colon) and not three periods.
select (rows 10 thru 500) -- this is the extra line I inserted
select menu item "Delete Cells…" of menu "Format"
select (columns 5 thru 40)
select menu item "Delete Cells…" of menu "Format"
select cell "A1"
end tell
end tell
Without the extra line, the script brought up the dialog asking which way to shift cells.
The only drawback I can see in this method is that it relies on a default AppleWorks Spreadsheet always being 40 columns by 500 rows. If the default ever gets changed, there would have to be some error-checking lines inserted to check for range errors.

Can't import AppleWorks spreadsheet with Japanese

I can't import an AppleWorks spreadsheet with Japanese writing into Numbers. The fonts are all just like this.
Å@Å@â∫ãLÇÃÇ∆Ç®ÇËå©êœÇËÇ¢ÇΩÇµÇ‹Ç∑ÅB
In AppleWorks, the fonts are fine.

How do I get AppleWorks to export to TAB delimited?
Save As… text in the File Format drop-down menu. You will need to add the .txt extension to the file name. AppleWorks won't do it for you & Numbers may not recognize the file as one it can open without the extension.

Appleworks spreadsheet e-mail to a PC?

Is is possible for me to send an Appleworks spreadsheet to a person with a PC? I've tried "save as" with 2 different names that looked like Excel and my friend can't open either one.

Thanks! I am using Appleworks 6.2.9. I tried "save as Excel Win 5 spreadsheet" and "save as Excel Win 97, 2000, XP2002 spr". My friend could not open it either way. I did not add .xls because it showed up automatically. Since I first posted, she sent me a spreadsheet she created and I could easily open hers. The icon and .xls endings on my desktop for hers and mine look exactly the same. Mine does not look like that on her end. I'll try typing in .xls and see if that works.

AppleWorks won't quit in drawing environment.

Though AppleWorks has been used quite extensively in our lab with few problems, it seems that when students are working on a drawing document, their work appears to be saved, but AppleWorks won't quit, unless the Force Quit option is used. I seem to remember this with using the database environment last year as well. Removing the Recent Items did not solve the problem.
imacs (white) not eMacs Mac OS X (10.3.9)

A few of possibilities come to mind.
The first is that it may not be that AppleWorks won't quit, but that the Recent Items &/or AutoSave folders are full, causing AppleWorks to crawl, virtually to a stop. These folders are created for each user, so you would have to check each one. There are three articles in the User Tips Library dealing with Recent Items.
Dale Gillard - AppleWorks slow? Spinning ball appears?
Dale Gillard - Recent items not visible/updated
Yvan Koenig - No More Recent Items
Second, there might be an element in the draw document that is corrupt. I think this is unlikely unless all of the students are using the same elements from the same source.
Third, any time AppleWorks crashes or you Force Quit, there will be some corruption of the AppleWorks preferences. Again, these exist for each user. See my user tip, AppleWorks has stopped working correctly, for more info.
Peggy

Appleworks spreadsheet to Numbers problems

I'm trying to convert an Appleworks spreadsheet to Numbers. When Numbers opens it, a couple charts with line graphs do not show all the data. There are 8 series in the original, but in Numbers, only 6 of the series are shown on the charts (line graphs). If I change the chart style to 3D line graph, all 8 series are then visible, but I'd rather have just a 2D graph. Trying to create a new chart from the data table does the same thing. It's the two series of data at the bottom of the table (ie. last two rows) that aren't showing up. What's going on; how do I get all the data to display? Thanks.

Barry,
Here are screen shots of one of the tables with its chart selected, the chart in 2D and 3D. Sorry it's so hard to read; it's a large table. Thanks.

Opening an AppleWorks spreadsheet in Pages.

Hi, there !
I am puzzled. I am trying to open an AppleWorks (6.2.9) made spreadsheet with Pages and cannot. Pages does not seem to acknowledge my AppleWorks document. When I launch Pages and try to open the desired file, it does not allow me to select the file (listed but not selectable). What is evenmore puzzling is that the same procedure worked fine with wordprocessing AppleWorks documents ! So here is my question : how do I get Pages to open an AppleWorks spreadsheet document ?
Thanks,
iMac 700 PPC G3 SE Mac OS X (10.4.7) 512 Mo, Airport.

Olivier,
I can understand why this might puzzle you. Pages will open AppleWorks word processing docs, but it will not open AppleWorks spreadsheet docs. While Pages offers a few formulae to allow limited spreadsheet functionality, it doesn't have a true spreadsheet module like AppleWorks does.
Having said that, iWork '07 will likely be released next Tuesday at MacWorld San Francisco, and it's possible it will have a true spreadsheet application bundled with it.
-Dennis

How do you open an Appleworks spreadsheet (.wks) in Numbers?

Is it possible to open an Appleworks spreadsheet (.wks) in Numbers? If it is not possible is there a file converter out there somewhere?. The oiriginal spreadsheet was created in 2004 on a MacBook running Appleworks.

Numbers '09 (but not Numbers 3.1) should be able to open an AppleWorks spreadsheet that was saved in AppleWorks running on a MacBook. That file would have the extension .cwk, though.
.wks is the extension for Microsoft Works, and I don't know of anything else that opens those files.

Importing AppleWorks Spreadsheet Into OpenOffice.

I would like to know if it is possible to import an AppleWorks spreadsheet into OpenOffice.
If so, does anyone have an idiot's guide on how to do it?

In AW save the spread sheet as an Excel 98 document. Open it by dragging the new doc to the Open Office icon.

Appleworks Spreadsheet Character Limit

Is there anyway to get around the 256 character limit in each of the cells in Appleworks spreadsheet?

No.
But if you need to put more than 255 characters in a box, perhaps the spreadsheet is not the right tool. Have you considered using a database document? The DB can hold about a thousand characters in a field.
Regards,
Barry

APPLEWORKS SPREADSHEET TIME CALCULATION

CAN YOU CALCULATE TIME IN AN APPLEWORKS SPREADSHEET APPLICATION, I.E. I WANT TO SUBTRACT AN END TIME IN 1 COLUMN FROM A START TIME IN ANOTHER COLUMN TO DETERMINE THE TOTAL TIME? E.G, 9:15 - 9:10 = 5 MINUTES.

Hi PW...
Welcome to Apple discussions and the AppleWorks forum.
If your MacBook is still under warranty, you might want to get that sticky CAPS LOCK key fixed. Most of us have reasonably good hearing here, so there's no need to SHOUT.
Calculations with time are (more or less) the same as with any other numbers.
For your example:
Start time in A1: 9:10
Stop time in B1: 9:15
Formula in C1: =B1-A1
The result is displayed in C1.
But that display might not be what you expected.
The default Number format setting (Number: General) will show the number in scientific notation (3.4722222e-3) if the cell width has not been changes since opening the spreadsheet.
If the cell is wide enough to display AW's maximum 11 significant digits plus the decimal and the zero placeholder before the decimal, the number will be shown in standard (decimal) notation (0.00347222222)
If Number format for the cell has been set to time, the result will show as one of the following 4 examples, depending which Time format has been chosen.
12:05 AM
12:05:00 AM
0:05
0:05:00
The third of these seems most suitable to your needs. To set the number format of a group of cells, select the cells, then go to the Format menu and choose Number... (or press shift-command-N). In the Number format dialogue, click the Time radio button, then use the menu beside that button to choose 13:59. Then click OK.
To set the format for a single cell, you may also open the dialogue by double-clicking the cell.
If you want to display the result as "5 minutes", that's possible, using a more complicated formula, but has the disadvantage that the result is a mix of numbers and text, which can make it not useable in further calculations.
=ROUND(((B1-A1)2460),0)&" minutes"
Regards,
Barry

AppleWorks Spreadsheet file crashes

An AppleWorks Spreadsheet file which I have been using for over a year has developed a problem--it crashed the entire program.
Some symptoms include non-user initiated locking of cells, cell coloration, etc. Program seems to crash whenever the elevator, mutli-cell selection, or other quick command is issued.
Any suggestions?
Thanks.

Hello
You didn't wrote which AW version you are using.
I assumes that it is not the 6.2.9 one.
What you describe looks like the behaviour of spreadsheet corrupted by the "autocalc on strike" bug available on every version before 628/629.
Yvan KOENIG (from FRANCE mardi 7 août 2007 07:01:44)

How can I import my old Appleworks spreadsheets into Neo Office or Pages

I am a new MBP owner and have some spreadsheets in Appleworks from my old iMac. I don't have Appleworks on my new MBP. I have downloaded Neo Office and could use it to create a new spreadsheet but can't import my previously created ones. Must I retype then? Or...as an alternative, I have iWorks. Can I import them into Pages? How? Thanks for any help.

The above suggestion didn't work for me. However, I did find this site that helped me--and it might help someone else:
http://neowiki.neooffice.org/index.php/OpeningAppleWorksdocuments
It worked for spreadsheet--now I have to try to convert a data base document in Appleworks.

Appleworks Spreadsheet Saving Error

When using Appleworks 6 Spreadsheet, we tried to save the file as an Appleworks 5 Spreadsheet and received this message: "Off sheet references will not be saved". The formulas are not saved in the Appleworks 5 file.
What are off sheet references?

Off sheet = not on sheet
If your document contains references to cells in another spreadsheet, those references will not be preserved in the AW5 copy.

Appleworks spreadsheet unexpedly quits

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