Open Old Files

ClarisWorks 1 to 5

Open old ClarisWorks files

Even AppleWorks 6 couldn't open some early ClarisWorks files. Drop yours here; the page reads every version.

  • Nothing is uploaded: files are opened on your computer
  • Free to view, print and save as PDF or CSV
  • Works on Mac, Windows, iPad and Chromebook

Drop your old files here

One file, a whole folder, or a ZIP. They're opened on this computer and never uploaded.

No file to hand? Try , or .

The converter downloads when you add your first file.

The early versions

ClarisWorks came out in 1991 and was renamed AppleWorks in 1998. Files from ClarisWorks 4 and earlier often fail even in AppleWorks 6, which gives an error when asked to open them. libmwaw, the reader this page uses, handles ClarisWorks 1 to 5 as well as the later AppleWorks versions.

Stationery and missing extensions

.cws files are ClarisWorks stationery, its word for templates, and open like any other ClarisWorks document. Files that have been on a Mac since the 1990s usually have no extension at all, because classic Mac OS kept the file type separately. When such files are copied to Windows or to a USB stick, that information is often lost. Drop them here anyway: the page recognises ClarisWorks files by what's inside.

Files with a resource fork

If your old files came as MacBinary (.bin) or BinHex (.hqx) copies, drop those directly: the page unwraps them first.

Questions about this

What if the page says it doesn't recognise the file?

It may be from a program this site doesn't cover, or be damaged. The home page lists every format it opens.

Free to open. £6 once for the rest.

Opening, reading, printing, PDFs of documents and drawings, and CSVs of spreadsheets are free, one file at a time, for as long as the site runs.

£6 one-time, no account

  • Word files (.docx) of documents, with formatting and pictures
  • Excel files (.xlsx) of spreadsheets and databases, every sheet
  • Whole folders or ZIPs converted into one ZIP

Coming soon. Everything free on this page works now.

Other old files

Microsoft Works databaseOpen a Works database (.wdb) fileWorks .wdb to .xlsx and .csvConvert a Works database to ExcelMicrosoft Works word processorOpen a Microsoft Works .wps documentTwo formats, one extensionIs your .wps file from Works or from WPS Office?Microsoft Works spreadsheetOpen a Works spreadsheet (.wks or .xlr)AppleWorks and ClarisWorks .cwkOpen AppleWorks files on a modern Mac