THREE files - how to open them

[GeriatricWanderer]

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the sharpest pencil in the box when it comes to computers.
I'm still a bit stuck in the age of ink wells and blotting paper - but I try to keep up a little.

I recently volunteered to help someone proof read a book and the first files arrived yesterday but they are "THREE" files and my laptop (Windows 7) doesn't want to open them.

I've had a look around Google for some free software to download but I keep finding myself sucked into sites that want to sell me an expensive package. There must be a simple free download I can do.

Any suggestion?

Tony

 

[Madwife]

Ask the person to send them again in word or PDF format is probably the easiest solution.

If you are editing on line Word will be best (presuming you have Word on your computer). If you haven't got Word then PDF format is easiest as free Adobe software is readily available. Only thing is you cannot edit on line but as you are proof reading it you will probably want to read it on a paper copy and note any changes in the good old pen or pencil.


Kath

 

[mariner]

What is the file extension used ?

 

[magicsurfbus]

As far as I can see, the .THREE file extension is associated with Apple II computers, which were sold between 1977 and 1993, so it's highly likely you have an obsolete file format there.

The simplest solution would be to ask the author to re-send a different version of the file by re-saving it. Presumably if you're proof-reading text the exact page formatting won't matter so I'd suggest asking for a .rtf file which opens in pretty much anything.

 

[GJH]

As far as I can see, the .THREE file extension is associated with Apple II computers, which were sold between 1977 and 1993, so it's highly likely you have an obsolete file format there.

The simplest solution would be to ask the author to re-send a different version of the file by re-saving it. Presumably if you're proof-reading text the exact page formatting won't matter so I'd suggest asking for a .rtf file which opens in pretty much anything.

Very good point, it's amazing how many people don't know about Rich Text Format.

Following on from local government reorganisation in 1996 the council I worked for inherited a mix of PCs running either MS Office or Lotus Smartsuite. We received several requests to install MS Office and, on investigating, found that all the staff wanted to do was exchange fairly simple word processor documents. Smartsuite (being written properly) would read Office .doc files but MS Office would not read Smartsuite .lwp files. Saving the Smartsuite file as .rtf for onward transmission saved hundreds of pounds.

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[MattR]

What are the extensions for these files? Word docs might be .docx. Asking for .rtf would be a good start but I have a feeling that there is another solution (including using OpenOffice or LibreOffice which are free) and that the 3 file name may be a zip file (I vaguely recall using a zip system including 3 in its name years ago).

 

[GeriatricWanderer]

Thanks guys.

I'll ask for a resend in a different format and see if that helps.

The file extension is ".THREE"

 

[GJH]

What are the extensions for these files? Word docs might be .docx. Asking for .rtf would be a good start but I have a feeling that there is another solution (including using OpenOffice or LibreOffice which are free).

If I've read the thread correctly, the extension is ".three" which, as has been said, indicates an obsolete format.
Whether Open Office will work will depend how much proprietary formatting there is in the file.

 

[magicsurfbus]

..it's amazing how many people don't know about Rich Text Format.

With the advent of school virtual learning environments and the setting of online Homeworks I found .rtf solved a lot of issues where pupils had different word processors and Operating Systems at home.

Setting homeworks where they captured some video was another story - ruddy nightmare.

 

[GeriatricWanderer]

I've since discovered that the files were sent to me from the computer at the Keats Museum library in Hampstead and it's likely that the computer used was the same one Keats used to write his poetry so no great surprise that the software is a bit out of date.

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[MattR]

I've since discovered that the files were sent to me from the computer at the Keats Museum library in Hampstead and it's likely that the computer used was the same one Keats used to write his poetry so no great surprise that the software is a bit out of date.

I hope that the book is not titled something like "New ideas for the 1990's" or great predictions for the start of the C21st!

 

[GeriatricWanderer]

Well I suppose it would be fitting if it were an Ode or Sonnet to someone or other but in fact it's a biography of the English jazz pianist/composer Mike Taylor of whom very few people have heard.
In his time (died in 1969) he was considered to be quiet brilliant but sadly came to a mysterious end.
Oddly enough, it's taken an Italian jazz enthusiast to put the book together but he just needs a little help with the English wording.

 

[Madwife]

Good luck with it all. I helped a friend and neighbour with her book last year and got it published on Kindle and MySpace. She is so delighted to now be a published author as although she has written extensively in the past for several regional magazines she never had a book! She is a very young 80+ and so delighted with it all. Her book is about her father who was an antique dealer in rural Lincolnshire and I found it very interesting to type up and proof read.

Kath

 

[pappajohn]

I must be missing something as I can find no reference to a 'three' file extension

 

[pappajohn]

Could be wrong but it appears to be a unique Apple file extension used on early Apple computers.
No other reference except that one.
NOTHING will open the file.

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[GJH]

If all else fails, Notepad or Wordpad may open it. There might be some rubbish at start and end but with luck the (possibly un-formated) text will be there and can be copied/pasted into a modern word processor program.

 

[pappajohn]

Easy option...

Withdraw your offer until they can send in a recognised format.

 

[Bertie Bassett]

Interesting thread and I (another neanderthal) have learned a lot thanks to the OP and all those contributing!