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+--- Thread: Any tips on Mac MS Office to Win Office/PDF document exchange? (/showthread.php?tid=130156)
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Any tips on Mac MS Office to Win Office/PDF document exchange? - Bimwad - 01-10-2012
Officially, MS Office files are supposed to be cross-compatible between the Mac and Windows versions. In reality, I suspect that isn't completely true.
Any tips of making sure a Mac Word document doesn't look like crap when I send it to a WIndows user? Or print it as a PDF? Is Quartz' PDF generator gonna cause any issues?
.docx vs. doc?
A good safe font?
Danke.
Re: Any tips on Mac MS Office to Win Office/PDF document exchange? - davester - 01-10-2012
The files are the same so in reality your assumption is wrong. You will have more of a problem with files created with different versions of word than you will with moving from mac to PC.
MS Word does not play nice with pdf.
Re: Any tips on Mac MS Office to Win Office/PDF document exchange? - Seacrest - 01-10-2012
Arial, Helvetica, or Times Roman if you're serif-inclined.
Use PDF for archival purposes, not data exchange.
Re: Any tips on Mac MS Office to Win Office/PDF document exchange? - Chakravartin - 01-10-2012
Seacrest wrote:
Arial, Helvetica, or Times Roman if you're serif-inclined.
Use PDF for archival purposes, not data exchange.
I disagree.
PDF is a widely compatible cross-platform document exchange format.
So long as the other party has no need to edit the document, PDF is an excellent choice.
Re: Any tips on Mac MS Office to Win Office/PDF document exchange? - Robert M - 01-10-2012
Davester,
I disagree wholeheartedly. The same file formats doesn't equate compatibility. People send me documents created in the Windows version of Word and I _always_ have to spend time correcting them else they won't display and/or print properly. Even if they are in the same file format and created with the same revision of Word. Always. But, if you have to deal with Word for Windows, your best bet on the Mac side is Word for the Mac. That's why my office standardized on it, despite the agita it causes us. Compatibility was more important than ease of use.
Bimwad,
On one hand I agree with Chak. PDF is a very useful cross-platform file format. If I need to send a document that doesn't require editing, I send it as a PDF, usually just using the Mac OS's built in PDF making capabilities. Very quick, usually comes out great. PDF causes lots of agita if the recipient needs to edit the file. Believe me, I've tried but it just too much of a pain. So, stick with Word format if the individual(s) receiving the file need to edit it, then stick with Word format. I also stick with Helvetica and Times for fonts and try to keep any special formatting to the minimum. Makes life easier.
Robert
Re: Any tips on Mac MS Office to Win Office/PDF document exchange? - Sam3 - 01-10-2012
Fonts are the biggest issue I've had with cross-platform Word-ing. As Seacrest and Robert suggested, I also stick with the basic similar fonts that are found on both machine platforms. I will send pdf's to people if it's something that is just for information, not to be modified, I find it loads faster on most people's computers, and pdf reading abilities are now built into most browsers, so Adobe Reader does not have to be installed. Believe it or not, not everyone has Microsoft Office.
Re: Any tips on Mac MS Office to Win Office/PDF document exchange? - cbelt3 - 01-10-2012
Compatibility issues:
#1- fonts
#2- Embedded graphics
#3- Embedded "objects".
Keep in mind that these compatibility issues aren't just Mac to Windows, they're also one computer to another. We have lots of issues with one user embedding an object that assumes the existence of a program, and it's not there on the next user's computer.
.PDF is the safest universal format to share printable information. Yeah, it's fatter than a .doc or .docx, but It . Will . Work. Period.
Re: Any tips on Mac MS Office to Win Office/PDF document exchange? - Bimwad - 01-10-2012
Thanks for the feedback.
I'm going to play it safe, stick with one of Office's standard fonts, and send PDFs. The documents are for information only, so presentation is the primary concern, and PDF readers are a lot more tolerant of variables, and suited to viewing flexibility than most apps.
In case it isn't obvious enough already, this relates to a job hunt. Last time I had to do this, the dead tree method was still predominant, and I would have reached for the linen paper first.
Re: Any tips on Mac MS Office to Win Office/PDF document exchange? - davester - 01-10-2012
Bimwad wrote: The documents are for information only...
There's the key. You're not even looking for a word processor so MS Word is obviously not the right choice. If you'd said that up front I bet everyone would have told you to use pdf, not a doc or docx.
Re: Any tips on Mac MS Office to Win Office/PDF document exchange? - Robert M - 01-10-2012
Davester,
You mean MS Word format, not MS Word. Bimwad still needs to use something to create the file be it MS Word, Pages, Appleworks, etc. But, I agree. If he'd said the file was for presentation purposes only, I'd've said PDF immediately.
Robert