I can't view mac word 2008 with my pc Vista MS word 2003

[Pam]

I can't view mac word 2008 with my pc Vista MS word 2003. Whenever I am sent
an email with a doc from mac's it comes over as an xml file only even when
the sender insists it was sent as a ms word 2003! WHAT can be done about
this. not impressed with MS word these days.. too many issues in their
software each time they upgrade it to a new version..just seems to be highly
user-unfriendly these days!

Thanks for your time and tlc!

Pam

 

[CyberTaz]

What makes you think it's an XML file? And why do you assume it to be Word
that's at fault? File formats used by Mac Word (.doc, .docx) are identical
to those used by PC Word, so if things are done correctly there's no way for
the recipient to even know what version of Word created the file.

The attachment sent by the other user is being handled by other software
along the way ‹ the sender's email client, their mail server, your mail
server & your email software ‹ and that's normally what causes the
attachment to be altered... Not to mention possible user error on either or
both ends. There's no reason for a Mac Word file to arbitrarily modify
itself along the way nor is there any inherent "issues" with Word (PC or
Mac) that cause such a problem. To avoid such problems there are certain
steps that need to be taken regardless of the source or destination.

First, the sender needs to make sure to use file name extensions when saving
the file. They also need to make sure that their email software settings are
properly set to encode attachments, but what specific settings to use varies
depending on the program. It's also a good idea for the attachment to be
Zipped before sending in order to protect it from the mail systems that
handle it along the way.

On the recipient's end [especially on a Windows system], *never* open
attachments directly from the mail server ‹ always download the files to
your local hard disk & open that copy. Otherwise what you're "opening" is
only a shell of what the file actually contains.

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