Migrate from Win-WordPerfect to Mac Word?

[Thomas Landry]

Hello:
I'm a newbie here - hope these are the easiest of easy questions!

I am considering migrating BACK to Mac after 12+ years on Windows.
My current system is made up of Dell's running Win XP Pro, WordPerfect
10 & some specialized Apps, and connected by a basic Windows
ethernet network. I'm experimenting with a G5 with OS X 10.3.2, Office
v.X, etc.

Q 1:
(A) is Virtual PC (next version) the ONLY way to use Windows apps on a
G5??, and if so,
(B) any idea when it will be out?
(C) (can I volunteer to Beta test it?

Q 2:
I have tons of documents stored in various WP formats from DOS 4.2
through current.
(A) CAN Word Mac (either v.X or 2004) be modified, upgraded, or
whatever to actually READ these docs?
(B) If I'm allowed to ask (or you are allowed to answer) is there ANY
OTHER viable Wordprocessor for Mac OS X?
Really, *ANY* at all?
ANYTHING Other than Word???????

Q 3:
Is there ANY WAY to accomplish Windows System level messaging (a-la
"WinPopUp", etc.) between the Win-PC's and Mac OS??

Q 4:
(A) Can anyone tell me how to get the Win-PC's to access doc's on the
Mac HD?
(B) Can anyone tell me how to get the Mac to automatically reconnect to
the WIN HD's on startup, the way the Win PC's reconnect to each other
automatically?

Thanks Much -
Any Help will be appreciated!
Tom.

 

[Eric Olson [MSFT]]

You've got quite a few questions there. I'll do my best to assist.

Q1. I am not aware of another program that will emulate a windows machine on
a Macintosh. Virtual PC Version 7 is scheduled to be released in the first
half of 2004. We appreciate your volunteering to Beta test VPC 7 but they
are not looking for additional testers at this time. Thank you.

Q2 There are other word processors with various strengths and abilities.
Though you will find different feature sets with other word processors, I
don't think that another word processor would help with this situation.

Word 2001 and Word X has translators for some, but not all versions of
WordPerfect. I have two suggestions for you on this matter:

1. Consider a third party solution. There are computer software developers
that specialize in creating converters exactly for this type of situation.

2. Save open your documents on the PC in Rich Text Format (RTF). This format
will preserve most formatting and will allow you to open these documents in
any version of Word, or any word processing program for that matter. From
the File menu choose Save as then under Format choose Rich Text Format or
RTF.

Q3 Not my area of expertise. Any messaging as you described would probably
be done with AppleScript

Q4. With 10.3.2, accessing another computer by choosing Connect to Server in
the Go menu. To have a shared folder from a PC or Mac reconnect at start up,
do the following steps:


1. Open System Preferences. 2. Click on the account you want to change. 3.
Click on the Startup items tab. 4. For any items that are already there that
you want to launch at startup, simply click to add a check mark. For any
item you want to add, click on the plus sign under the items list, then
browse to the item you want to add.

Eric Olson [MSFT]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Tom,

Word 2001 and Word X has translators for some, but not all versions of
WordPerfect. I have two suggestions for you on this matter:

1. Consider a third party solution. There are computer software developers
that specialize in creating converters exactly for this type of situation.

Most frequently recommended is DataViz' MacLinkPlus Deluxe:
<http://www.dataviz.com/products/maclinkplus/>

--
Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/WordMac/index.htm>
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/toc.html>

 

[John McGhie [MVP Office Systems -- Word]]

Hi Thomas:

(A) is Virtual PC (next version) the ONLY way to use Windows apps on a
G5??, and if so,

Currently, yes. There are other emulators, but as far as I know, VPC is the
only one with an announced upgrade path for the G5.

(B) any idea when it will be out?

No. It's quite a major job of work: probably next year.

(C) (can I volunteer to Beta test it?

Join the queue...

Q 2:
I have tons of documents stored in various WP formats from DOS 4.2
through current.
(A) CAN Word Mac (either v.X or 2004) be modified, upgraded, or
whatever to actually READ these docs?

Yes: DataViz will read almost everything that Word won't. But if you still
have the original applications, save the files out to RTF now and save
yourself a lot of heartache.

(B) If I'm allowed to ask (or you are allowed to answer) is there ANY
OTHER viable Wordprocessor for Mac OS X?

Yes, depending on what you call "viable". For my purposes, word X is not
viable, but Word 2004 is a huge leap forward and is very definitely viable.

The other Mac guys here will chime in with a list, but there's plenty of
product out there. I need absolute Microsoft Office compatibility so I will
be sticking with Word. Then again, I say that on the PC too. For what I do
(huge and complex documents) and what I need (Lots of automation and very
high throughput) Word is the only thing that comes close.

Tim will be along in a moment singing the praises of Adobe FrameMaker. It's
good, but too slow and fiddly and it crashes too often for me. It is also a
rather "Professional Grade" application with a steep learning curve. But it
will certainly do nearly everything that Word will.

Really, *ANY* at all?
ANYTHING Other than Word???????

Sure there are, and they're in use too for specific needs. I simply don't
know them well enough to recommend one, but there are plenty of folks here
who do.

Q 3:
Is there ANY WAY to accomplish Windows System level messaging (a-la
"WinPopUp", etc.) between the Win-PC's and Mac OS??

No, not without writing your own. Fire up your compiler and off you go.
Personally, I use MSN Messenger. It works and you don't have to spend money
to get it.

Q 4:
(A) Can anyone tell me how to get the Win-PC's to access doc's on the
Mac HD?

If you are running OS X.3 on the Mac and have correctly assigned user
permissions you have no problem, it just works. I FTP stuff back and forth
all the time: the only reason I do not open Word docs is because I have set
the firewall up to prevent that. Again, you will get a better answer to
this from the Mac specialists who will chime in here.

(B) Can anyone tell me how to get the Mac to automatically reconnect to
the WIN HD's on startup, the way the Win PC's reconnect to each other
automatically?

Yep: Read the help in the Finder. Make sure you have Windows Sharing
running and set to start on login.

Cheers

--

Please respond only to the newsgroup to preserve the thread.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. GMT + 10 Hrs
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

An update - Virtual PC version 7 should be out by mid-2004. You can sign up
for the announcement here:
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/virtualpc/using.aspx?pid=usingvirtual
pc>