I was asked the other day by a staff member how he could open an Apple iWorks file for printing on his Windows 7 PC.
This process to do this is quite simple. The steps are as follows:
- Change the file extension of the Pages file from .pages to .zip
(You must first show file extensions in windows explorer)
- Open the newly renamed zip file and browse to the QuickLook folder.
- The QuickLook folder will contain a PDF file named Preview.pdf. This file is a PDF version of the original Apple iWork Pages document.
Done!
File Type: .rar (containing video file)
Software: Dziobas RAR Player
License: Free
I thought that I would start the new file association section with playing compressed RAR files that contain video files. I recently downloaded a video file from a source that had compressed and split the video file into a number of RAR part files. I wanted to make sure that the file was in fact the video that I was after without having to download all the RAR parts to be able to do so. I came across Dziobas RAR Player that allowed me to do just that and the following is how this is achieved:
- Download and install Dziobas RAR Player
- Open Dziobas RAR Player and from the File menu, select Streaming from unrar… (no rewind)
- Select the RAR file containing the video file and click Open
Note: You can select any number part file (ie: video.part3.rar) as long as you have the parts proceeding this file in the same folder. You must also make sure that you have part1 before you will be able to play any of the file.
- The software will now ask you for the RAR files password. If the file is not password protected simply click OK. if the file is password protected, enter the password then press OK.
- A command prompt window will now be displayed letting you know what the player is doing. Do not close this window as the process of attempting to decompress and play the video file will stop if you are to do so. If successful, the video should start playing in a new window.
Note: If you are using Windows Vista and 7 your colour scheme will be changed to basic whilst the video is playing. Once the video has completed or is closed, your colour scheme settings will return to normal.
I have found that some video files allow you to fast forward using the mouse scroll wheel or keyboard arrow keys. From my limited use of the software, I have achieved this with RAR files containing MPG files but majority of AVI files do not allow for fast forwarding.
I have decided that I might have a crack at a new section in regards to file associations and what programs I use to open and/or edit different file types. This section will take some time to grow so stick with me and please feel free to offer suggestions or ask questions. I intend to try keep the list to open source or free software but may mention commercial alternatives if an open source or free application is not available or adequate.
I am primarily a Windows user but support both OS X and Linux workstations and servers. This being the case, majority of my posts will be Windows related but from time to time I will attempt to throw in the odd OS X or Linux application.
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