Need Mac to PC help...

Mongo

Mongo

Joined
Nov 5, 2001
Messages
8,969
Greetings all,
Yep, the missus is unhappy again with my choice of my new iMac over a PC. She needed to make and send via email a document. We have a program from Mac called Open Office (I think... going from memory here at work). Long story short, she typed up the document and sent it to her sister, who naturally has a PC. She couldn't open it up. There HAS to be a way to do this, but I am too computer illiterate to know how. So... how on God's green earth can she create and send attachments via email? She is involved in girl scouts and will need to be sending stuff to her girl's parents often, and SOON!

Please make this simple for me!

Mongo
 
morrowj_98's solution is a good one, but you can also save it as a Word file.

I don't use Open Office, but I do use Neo Office, which is based on Open Office (they're virtually identical). Either program will open Word files, and save as a Word file (along with a whole lot of other files) as well.

Simply create your document as usual, then go to "Save as." (Command-Shift-S) in the file menu. Click on that: it will open up a window where you can name your document (if you haven't already). Down near the bottom you should see a thing that says "File type." Click on that, and you open a drop-down that lists more file types than you really ever want to see. Simply select the version of Word that you want to save as, then click the "Save" button at the bottom right. Bingo. Now you can send a Word file.
 
Better yet, use PDF's. :)

Though you could also be sending a too large attachment or something along those lines. In that case you could try Google Docs as a method of sharing documents with other people.
 
Josh K said:
Better yet, use PDF's. :)

Though you could also be sending a too large attachment or something along those lines. In that case you could try Google Docs as a method of sharing documents with other people.
Click to expand...

While I'm a big proponent of pdf files, they have one major drawback for most people: they're read only, unless you have the full application — and even then they're not fully editable. Either RTF files or Word files are both fully editable native file types editable by many different applications.
 
dawsonbob said:
While I'm a big proponent of pdf files, they have one major drawback for most people: they're read only, unless you have the full application — and even then they're not fully editable. Either RTF files or Word files are both fully editable native file types editable by many different applications.
Click to expand...

Right, so if she needs them to be editable then it won't work. I read the question as she just needs to send information, in which case Mac OS has a lot of PDF support baked right into it.

RTF and Word files can also choke on the CR/LF line endings if you aren't careful. While this is less of an issue now, it still can be a problem when using legacy versions or exporting as older versions. PDF's are still the king for read only because how you send it will be how it's seen. Fonts, pictures, layout. Everything is perfect, and the trade off is size and the ability to edit.
 
Josh K said:
Right, so if she needs them to be editable then it won't work. I read the question as she just needs to send information, in which case Mac OS has a lot of PDF support baked right into it.

RTF and Word files can also choke on the CR/LF line endings if you aren't careful. While this is less of an issue now, it still can be a problem when using legacy versions or exporting as older versions. PDF's are still the king for read only because how you send it will be how it's seen. Fonts, pictures, layout. Everything is perfect, and the trade off is size and the ability to edit.
Click to expand...

As you point out Josh, line ending problems are less frequent nowadays — almost nonexistent, really. I've been a designer, illustrator and copywriter for over thirty years, and I've done most of my work on a Mac for around twenty of those years. As you might imagine, I've had to deal with almost every type of file there is in that time. Most of the things I do go to publishers, who almost all use Macs, but I also often have to deal with PC files. That used to be a tremendous headache, but nowadays it's almost seamless (knock on wood).

Ninety-nine percent of the work I deliver to publishers nowadays is as pdf files, for all the reasons you stated. What I send will be printed exactly like I mean it to be. The publisher doesn't even need to have my fonts: life is good.

But in this instance, where she needs a raw, editable file, saving as Word is the best option. Most PC users aren't even really aware that there are other word processors out there: for them, it's Word or nothing. Anything else just confuses them.
 
If you're using Apple's built in Mail program, have a look when you select the file to attach to the email.

Down the bottom there is a check box called "Send Windows Friendly Attachments". Check it - that will help. If your recipient is using a Mac no harm will be done.
 
As usual, you'se guys ROCK! I haven't gotten a chance to test out all this advice as Mrs. Mongo is in the throes of redecorating our kitchen... but I'm sure it will work, and I'll be her hero once again.;)

Thanks again for the advice,
Mongo
 
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