This week subscriber Doug Clapp, proprietor of PocketPCpress (http://www.pocketpcpress.com/), wrote with an interesting question. He'd received a book that had been typeset in QuarkXPress (Doug didn't have QuarkXPress) and sent to him as a "stuffed" (.sit) Macintosh file (Doug didn't have the StuffIt program or a Macintosh). What Doug *needed* was an unstuffed Microsoft Word document that he could use on his PC.
If you're ever in the same predicament, there *is* a way out. Even better, it's (relatively) easy, and it's free!
First, you'll need StuffIt for Windows, which will "unstuff" that stuffed file. (StuffIt is a file compression program similar to WinZip.) You can download a trial version here:
http://www.aladdinsys.com/stuffitwin/index.html
When you install the program, it will ask if you have a "serial number" password, but you can click "No" to install in "demo mode." Then you can use the program free of charge for 30 days. (After that, you can register the program for a reasonable price if you want to keep using it.)
To unstuff the file, simply drag and drop it to the "Aladdin Expander" icon on your Windows desktop. The unstuffed file will then appear on your desktop as well.
Next, you'll need to convert the unstuffed file from QuarkXPress to Word. That means you'll need the QuarkXPress 4.1 Demo program for Windows, which you can download here:
http://www.quark.com/products/xpress/demos.html
The name of the program to download is "QuarkXPress and QuarkXPress Passport 4.1 Demo (Win)." The download page explains that the "Save" function of the demo program has been disabled, but don't worry about that. To download and install the program, read and follow the instructions here:
http://www.quark.com/support/downloads/instructions.html
After you've installed the QuarkXPress demo, follow this procedure:
1. Start the QuarkXPress demo.
2. Click the "File" menu.
3. Click "Open."
4. Find and open the unstuffed file that you want to convert to a Word document.
5. Click the "File" menu.
6. Click "Save Text" (which is different from the disabled "Save").
7. Save the text as a Word document, which will preserve styles and other formatting.
And there you have it! Now you can open the file in Microsoft Word and do what you need to do.
The downside to getting the QuarkXPress demo is that it's 23 megs. If you have fast Internet access, no problem. On a slow modem, though, the download may take several hours. An alternative is to request a demo CD from Quark, which you can do at their Web site. The QuarkXPress demo will run forever, but you can't use it to save QuarkXPress documents. You *can,* however, use it as a wonderful Quark-to-Word converter whenever the need arises.
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READERS WRITE
Subscriber Dwight Purdy sent information about a program that you may find useful if, like me, you're prone to hitting certain keys accidentally:
"While reviewing some of our long-ago discussions, I decided to go back to www.Phoebusnet.com to see if there was anything happening to their sMaRTcaPs program. As it turns out, there are some things which they have done with it, including branching out to your personal nemesis, the Insert key. The price for this gem is now $5.00. I couldn't resist that, so I downloaded it. If you hit the insert key, it tells you so! Ditto for Caps Lock and Num Lock, and all of them also respond audibly to holding them down for a moment. I haven't had time to explore what other little extras might be there, but this is a 'must have'."
Thanks for the tip, Dwight.
