I wrote my chapters in Scrivener and then had to export them into word for my editor. Now I am trying to import them back in and it keeps telling me “File Open Error” and the specified file is not a .DOC format file, hrresult : 80030050
I have no clue what is up, I figured someone here might be able to help.
Thank You.
Maverick:
EDIT: I should not reply to support questions while I have a head cold. My original answer here was super complicated, and I have remedied it with the post below. The problem is most probably that when Scrivener exports to .doc format, it’s actually outputting an RTF in a .doc wrapper, which is fine for opening in Word, OpenOffice, and most other word processors but which is throwing one of Scrivener’s import tools for a loop. By switching the importer used, as explained below, you should be able to have it import without issue.
Hold up, I’m a ninny. This is fixed, and all you need to do is go into Tools > Options and in the Import/Export tab, enable the option for using the Microsoft Word converters. That should let you import the .doc files without all the other fuss I was describing. Sorry!
“Use Microsoft importers” should be set as the default. The normal reason that I’m importing .doc documents is that I created them in Word! Having them be wrappers around an rtf is the less-likely case.
If this can’t be changed, please change the error message so that it’s more useful than it is now. Something like “Cannot import document; try changing importer in Tools/Options.”
Finally, when I imported an entire directory I had to wade through a separate “cannot import” message for each document; there ought to be a “Cancel” button that lets me abort the whole sequence.
Thanks!
Update: I changed the importer and import still did not work; I got “Unsupported document type” for every single file. Filing a bug now.
I think I’ve isolated my problem: it probably has to do with importing OpenOffice .doc files. Bug filed.
It’s not the default for several reasons; for one, it requires a licenced version of the programs to be installed and accessible, and for another, there was a case where the tool used to do the conversions when this enabled would sometimes open Word in the background and then not close it properly, resulting in confusing error messages popping up. In most cases, .doc and .docx files will import just fine without these converters enabled. The issue with the wrapper is much less likely, and that is one where you do need them enabled, not the other way around. Word-created files will import either way.
OpenOffice can save several types of .doc files; make sure you’re using the Word 97/2000/XP format. These should import correctly.
I’ll put in a suggestion about altering the import so that a multi-file import can be cancelled or so that all the error messages can be grouped together at the end of the process.
Thank You! 