Writing Spreadsheet for Windows and Macs

[cheddington]

I've created a pretty complicated workbook in Mac OS X and would like
it to be used on a Windows machine also. Of course, the problem is that
the font size on the Mac displays larger on the Windows machine and
many of the cells can't display the values in Windows. For example, the
number 130 may look like a 30 on the Windows machine because the
displayed font gets so big that the cell can't contain it.

What can I do to about this? Is there a way to globally reduce the font
size of all cells by a certain amount so that I can port this to
Windows?

 

[Domenic]

Have a look at the following link under 'Cross-platform Compatibility'...

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/excel2004/using.aspx?pid=usingexcel
2004#Cross-platform%20Compatibility

Hope this helps!

 

[cheddington]

Have a look at the following link under 'Cross-platform Compatibility'...

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/excel2004/using.aspx?pid=usingexcel
2004#Cross-platform%20Compatibility

Hope this helps!

Nothing in the article deals with this issue. Microsoft seems to ignore
the issue altogether.

 

[Geoff Lilley]

Nothing in the article deals with this issue. Microsoft seems to ignore
the issue altogether.

Try this?

Sub cleanFontWindows()
For x = 1 To ActiveWorkbook.Sheets.Count
Sheets(x).Select
Cells.Select
With Selection.Font
.Size = 10
End With
Next
End Sub

Basically, loop through each of the worksheets in the book, change the
font size.

 

[Bob Greenblatt]

Make sure yoou are using a font that it present on both machines. Ariel is a
good choice. Normally this isn't a problem with cross platform workbooks.
Bob Greenblatt

 

[little_creature]

Hi,
The another way how to change the font size on Windows based machines is in
Tools > Options> General tab.

My advise would be to use some font which is on both platforms such as
Arial, Verdana.

The other thing you can think about is to use this macro to autofit the cell
to your text (or do it manually):

Private Sub Workbook_Open()

Cells.Select
Cells.EntireColumn.AutoFit
End Sub

And put it into your workbook. This will autoadjust cell size to the text
inside.
If you do not know how to handle with macros post back.

 

[cheddington]

Many thanks to each of you!

I don't think the problem is the actual font but the issue of Windows
vs Mac assuming different resolutions. I think many/most Windows
machines assume 92 dpi as a resolution whereas Macs assume 72 dpi. I
was trying to find a way of getting around this short of changing the
font sizes on the spreadsheet.

I'll give your suggestions a shot.

Thanks again for taking the trouble to try to help me with this.