Converting Mac Word to PC Word

[mysterybks]

I have clients who send me Word documents from their Mac. They open
up just fine. But what we're finding is that the page numbers shift
dramatically. Is there a way to keep the formatting from the Mac to
the PC in the conversion?

 

[CyberTaz]

What exactly do you mean by "shift"?... Left/right, up/down, page to
page...?

Two of the most common contributors [depending on which of the above] are
differences in the fonts used in the document as opposed to what's installed
on the system displaying the document & differences in printers/printer
drivers on the systems involved.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[John McGhie]

Just to agree with Bob:

Word processors (such as Microsoft Word) are designed to automatically
repaginate any document to fit to the currently-available fonts and printer,
when you open the document.

There is no way to prevent this, in any word-processor. Automatic
pagination is one of the main reasons people buy word-processor software, so
they do not have to lay the document out manually, as we used to have to do
in the days of typewriters

If the document is formatted in the recommended way, the changes will be
slight and for the better (if a paragraph won't fit at the bottom of a page,
Word will move it to the next page, etc).

We recommend formatting your documents knowing that these changes will
happen, so that you are pleasantly surprised by the effect when the changes
occur.

However, some users prefer to send their files in formats that do not have,
or disable, this repagination. For example: PDF or XPS.

Other users find it more convenient to switch to a Page Layout program,
which is designed to enable precise manual control over the pagination of a
document. Adobe's InDesign and PageMaker are examples of the breed.

Hope this helps

I have clients who send me Word documents from their Mac. They open
up just fine. But what we're finding is that the page numbers shift
dramatically. Is there a way to keep the formatting from the Mac to
the PC in the conversion?

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Sydney, Australia. mailto:[email protected]

 

[mysterybks]

Yes, Pagination is the problem.

I will try to mirror what they use and see if it helps. I was
thinking that might work.

Thanks.

Dawn

 

[Su-Z-Q]

<[email protected]
s.com>,

I have clients who send me Word documents from their Mac. They open
up just fine. But what we're finding is that the page numbers shift
dramatically. Is there a way to keep the formatting from the Mac to
the PC in the conversion?

It's a font issue.
I generally convert my Mac docs to pdf format to maintain
the pagination. If the PC receiver needs to change the
document, then no choice but to allow for that when working
on the Mac. I work with Mac and PC and always open my Mac
docs on the PC to see how they display, and then adjust
accordingly. Of course, on long docs this could be a real
pain.

 

[Clive Huggan]

<[email protected]
s.com>,


It's a font issue.
I generally convert my Mac docs to pdf format to maintain
the pagination. If the PC receiver needs to change the
document, then no choice but to allow for that when working
on the Mac. I work with Mac and PC and always open my Mac
docs on the PC to see how they display, and then adjust
accordingly. Of course, on long docs this could be a real
pain.

Try telling this to your Mac-owning clients:

Differences in pagination are less likely if you stick to the stock-standard
fonts installed by Microsoft Office.

It helps if you prepare the document using "minimum maintenance" formatting:
for example, headings glue themselves to the text underneath them so you
keep just the right amount of pagination without producing (as you get when
using hard page breaks) pages containing only two lines of text when the
text should really just flow on.

There are many ideas for minimum maintenance starting on page 164 of some
notes on the way I use Word for the Mac, titled "Bend Word to Your Will",
which are available as a free download from the Word MVPs' website
(http://word.mvps.org/Mac/Bend/BendWordToYourWill.html).

[Note: "Bend Word to your will" is designed to be used electronically and
most subjects are self-contained dictionary-style entries. If you decide to
read more widely than the item I've referred to, it's important to read the
front end of the document -- especially pages 3 and 5 -- so you can select
some Word settings that will allow you to use the document effectively.]

As you observed, sending a PDF in addition to the Word file when different
pagination is likely is a good idea.

Cheers,

Clive Huggan
Canberra, Australia
(My time zone is 5-11 hours different from the Americas and Europe, so my
follow-on responses to those regions can be delayed)
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