accessing Word docs on windows...

[dark.deadpool]

Hi there everyone, I'm new here and have 2 questions.

1. Is there any way to save word documents in OSX so they can be accessed by both XP and OSX?

if not, how can I save it as an XP file from my mac (is this possible?)

2. What is a good program for converting word files into PDFs?

Thanks in advance.

 

[mduser63]

Hi there everyone, I'm new here and have 2 questions.

1. Is there any way to save word documents in OSX so they can be accessed by both XP and OSX?

if not, how can I save it as an XP file from my mac (is this possible?)

2. What is a good program for converting word files into PDFs?

Thanks in advance.

1. Word files work on Windows XP and OS X with no conversion. Office uses the same file formats on both platforms.

2. Any file on a Mac that can be printed can be saved as a PDF. Just select "Save As PDF" in the dialog box that comes up when you print.

 

[steveca]

sometimes when saving word documents on OS X and then you try to access them from an XP machine it does not recognise it immediately. You just right click on the file on the windows XP machine and then click on Open With... and choose MS Word. It should then open fine.

 

[mduser63]

sometimes when saving word documents on OS X and then you try to access them from an XP machine it does not recognise it immediately. You just right click on the file on the windows XP machine and then click on Open With... and choose MS Word. It should then open fine.

The only time I see that happen is if I save the Word file without a file extension on the Mac. Macs don't need file extensions, but Windows can't figure out which program to use to open a file unless it has the proper file extension. For that reason, if you're transferring a Word file to a PC, make sure it has a .doc file extension, and if not, rename it so that it does.

 

[mad jew]

Macs don't need file extensions...

Technically they do need extensions but these can be hidden by Finder.

 

[SmurfBoxMasta]

Macs can use file exts, but OS X is, for the most part, smart enough to select an appropriate app to open things with. If it cant, it will give you a selection dialog

me seems to recall this is due to "metadata" reading capabilities.....

I have been using word, excel, ppt and other files back & forth between home mac & office peecees for alot of years now, notta problemo

 

[mkrishnan]

Yes, usually, if you use the .doc extension, you should be good. What versions of Office are you using on Mac/PC? There's a "compatibility" report that can help you make sure that Office 04 will be compatible with older PC versions, since right now, it's the newest version of Office on any platform (well, except for Windows Mobile).

What you probably want to do is the following:

- Preferences -> Compatibility -> Recommended Options for: "Microsoft Word 2000-2004 and X"

And then in the save dialog, click "Append File Extension" at the bottom. And you should be fine, unless you are using an older version of Word than 2000 on Windows.

 

[mad jew]

The compatibility of the two systems is surprisingly great for Word and Excel but PowerPoint can have its issues, particularly with images and transitions.

 

[mkrishnan]

The compatibility of the two systems is surprisingly great for Word and Excel but PowerPoint can have its issues, particularly with images and transitions.

Yes, this is very true. PPT 2004 has transitions that are not in PC versions of Office. And it isn't our fault that they're the only good ones!

Also, font issues come more to the fore, because you use more of them in PPT. And it can be dangerous to drag and drop or copy and paste images into PPT. For the last issue, it tends to help to save the image as a file and insert it from the menus, rather than copying and pasting. But it isn't perfect, and I don't really trust running a powerpoint file on any computer other than the one I made it on.

I think that's part of the reason that, at conferences now, they very rarely provide computers. If they make you bring yours, it eliminates this concern.