Month: February 2007

“I get lots of email attachments that are Word documents. Why do they change to Nisus documents? What are you doing to my files?” This is probably the single most asked question we get in support. Actually, some of the emails are … uh … less friendly than that.

First, you should know that we do not do anything to encourage this behavior. The finder does this, not Nisus. I just want to make that clear before we move on.

Since Nisus Writer Express opens “.doc” files, the Finder has to choose between the two applications to open this file. How does the system determine which application to open these files? Something called Launch Services looks at, among other things, the file extension to determine which application to use to open these files. The official Apple explanation of this phenomenon can be read here.

Note that the system changes the icon only, not the file itself. In other words, nothing has been changed except the icon.

To change the association from Nisus back to Word, simply choose a file that you want to change, then go to the Finder and from the File menu, choose “Get Info” (or Command-I). In the “Get Info” window, find “Open with:” and from the pull down menu, choose “Microsoft Word” and that document will be associated with MS Word. If you want all documents of that type to open with Word, click the “Change All…” button. “Get Info” picture here.

Nisus Writer Express can still open those documents, but you will have to drag it to the Nisus icon in the dock or use the Open dialog in Express.

By the way, you can find this and other interesting stuff in our FAQ section.

Way back in the old days, before Rip, Mix, Burn and iLife, I didn’t bother to backup. It won’t happen to me, says I. Right. Of course, it did happen to me. My hard drive died, and everything on it was gone. Thankfully, nothing of value was lost, including my mind.

I have since learned my lesson, and I backup everyday. But, I will bet that a great number of you do not. Trust me, do not screw around with this. Backup your stuff.

In that vein, for those who want to backup but do not know what’s out there, or how to get started, our old friend Joe Kissell has updated his Take Control of Mac OS X Backups book. It is pretty thorough, and highly recommended by both myself and my Bookie.

The normal cost is $10.00, but if you buy through our our special link, you can save 30 percent, which brings the cost to only $7.00. It’s $7.00 well spent.

Don’t be like me, thinking that nothing bad will happen, because it will. And when it does, will you be prepared?

Let’s hope so.

Pocky fever goes unabated here at Nisus. We love those biscuit sticks dipped in chocolate, we really do!

Think we are the only ones? Ha! I laugh at you. There are actually Pocky fansites*, where fans of their beloved snacks gather to share their love of this Japanese treat.

Oh Pocky, fetch me a dream!

*Thanks to Rick (you know who you are) for the link