Word Docs get funky when sending to Windows XP user

[thinkclink]

I'm running Office v. X on my iMac with OS X.?!? Every time I send a
Word generated doc to a client running Windows XP he opens to find
garbage. Other clients with XP seem to have no problem. I'm quite
sure it's a setting on his computer but his I.T. guru (Fortune 500
company so they can't possibly be wrong) says it's because the doc is
generated on a Mac. Any suggestions? Can I save the doc as another
Word type? I've been sending PDF's but that doesn't give him the
opportunity to make adjustments.

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

A few possibilities:

It's always a good idea to add the .doc yourself.

When the client uses File | Open, ask him if the "open" or "files of type"
is set to Recover Text from Any File. That produces garbage--usually the
unformatted text all mixed up with formatting instructions at the end, or
somesuch. Ask if that describes what he sees.

Try sending as RTF, if that doesn't work it's almost sure to be a setting on
his computer.

Check the attachment encoding in your email program.
A Mac email program, Entourage, has this to say in Help:
About attachment encodings
When you choose an encoding format, it is helpful to understand how
Macintosh files differ from files created on other computers. Macintosh
files include additional resource information that files created on other
types of computers do not. If you are sending a data file, such as a
Microsoft Word document or Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, such resource
information may not be necessary. However, if you are sending something more
complex, such as a program, to another Macintosh computer, you must choose
an encoding format that preserves all the data.
The AppleDouble encoding format preserves the additional resource
information, and can be read by both Macintosh and other types of computers.
AppleDouble is a good choice for your default encoding format; it works most
of the time with most computers. However, if AppleDouble fails, you can
choose a different encoding format depending on the type of computer you are
sending the attachment to:
€ To send an attachment to a Macintosh computer, use BinHex, which
preserves the Macintosh resource information and data.
€ To send an attachment to a Windows-based computer, use MIME/Base 64,
which preserves the data only.
€ To send an attachment to a UNIX computer, use UUEncode, which preserves
the data only.

Hope that helps,
DM