Formatting from Word docs in TextEdit

Question

When I open Word docs in TextEdit some formatting is lost, especially numbered lists, the numbers are simply not displayed. Is there some hidden preference?

This is really annoying, because I have to open the files in Google Docs to check if there are numbers, and I really really don't want anything Microsoft on my Mac -.- Actually not even any other text editor if I can help it. Tried to google, but couldn't find anything.

Answer 1

No, there isn't a hidden preference. It's a function of the not quite standard way MS defines a standard - it's almost impossible outside MS to get all the small details of formatting right. They also have the tendency to change the file format slightly on every version.

Have you tried opening them in Pages? It usually does a better job than TextEdit. Do you get the same problem if you open them in Quick Look?