If the document looks like gibberish, the converter might be trying to read an encrypted file, or the file was corrupted during transfer from floppy to modern storage.
Whether you choose Microsoft's legacy converters, a third-party tool, or an online service, follow this general procedure to convert your WordStar documents to modern formats:
Use a standalone utility to turn the file into Rich Text Format.
Many law firms, government agencies, and established corporations have deep digital vaults containing legacy contracts, briefs, and documentation that must be accessed for modern litigation or compliance. wordstar converter pack for microsoft word
Originally, Microsoft included built-in support for WordStar in early versions of Word (up to Word 97/2000). As Word modernized, this support was moved into a separate download known as the (often found under the filename wdsupcv.exe or WRD97CNV.EXE ).
: Integration of classic Ctrl+K commands for marking, copying, and moving blocks of text.
LibreOffice (the free, open-source office suite) supports a wide range of legacy file formats, including some versions of WordStar through its StarOffice XML import filters. While the WordStar import filter is not as comprehensive as Microsoft's original converter, LibreOffice can successfully open many WordStar files—particularly those in .ws format. If the document looks like gibberish, the converter
You may find on archive.org or old software repositories:
Technical users can use simple scripts to strip the "high-bit" characters from WordStar files, turning them into clean plain-text files that any program can read. Online Converters:
By the early 1990s, millions of documents existed in the proprietary LibreOffice (the free, open-source office suite) supports a
If you have the correct, older system in place, follow these steps that have been documented by users who have successfully performed the installation:
Because this is discontinued software, finding it can be tricky. Official download links from Microsoft have long since been taken down. However, it is still available on a few reputable archival and community sites for historical purposes. You would be looking for files named Convpack.exe (for 32-bit Windows) or Cnvpck16.exe (for 16-bit Windows). The specific WordStar filter file included in the pack is Wrdstr32.cnv .
Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Text Converters\Import Create a new key named WordStar .
– Organize your WordStar files into a single folder to streamline the conversion process.