Writing and Compatiblitiy

[longey]

hey,
i switched bout 2 months go really happy,
anyways i want to start writing again , just things bout my life and feelings, i want to use mac but i want to be able to burn them on to a cd or flash drive and still be compatible with pc word formats,

does apple works do it so the file will word on ms wordpad on pc???
or anther program i could use it dont have to be fancy just to type and be pc compatible save file???

thanks

 

[robbieduncan]

Text Edit can read and write plain text, rtf and even .doc files that are totally Windows compatable. It's built in!

 

[MisterMe]

hey,
i switched bout 2 months go really happy,
anyways i want to start writing again , just things bout my life and feelings, i want to use mac but i want to be able to burn them on to a cd or flash drive and still be compatible with pc word formats,

does apple works do it so the file will word on ms wordpad on pc???
or anther program i could use it dont have to be fancy just to type and be pc compatible save file???

thanks

It you want to spend money, Microsoft Word 2004 is most compatible version of the Microsoft word processor on any platform.

 

[Abulia]

It you want to spend money, Microsoft Word 2004 is most compatible version of the Microsoft word processor on any platform.

Seconded.

I am also a writer (follow my blog link for credits) and I've had, to date, 100% compatability between MS Word 2004 on the Mac and my PC at work.

The interface is a bit different to get used to, but the functionality is the same, if not better.

If MS Word is outside of your price range I'm afraid I can't help you much.

 

[calebjohnston]

I would highly recommend purchasing office : mac 2004 if you are serious about writing/editing pieces on your mac. It's flawlessy compatible with a Windows computer, and the interface is really cool. Much better than Windows'.

 

[Macky-Mac]

I would highly recommend purchasing office : mac 2004 if you are serious about writing/editing pieces on your mac. It's flawlessy compatible with a Windows computer, and the interface is really cool. Much better than Windows'.

well, MOSTLY flawlessly compatible anyway........at work we get text sent to us from consultants who are windows Word users and it's not uncommon to find little formatting issues that dont translate perfectly......and I hear that it sometimes happens when we send them documents

whenever formatting and layout is really critical we make pdf files and send those around instead of .doc files

 

[OldCorpse]

Yes of course office 2004 for mac will have all the bells and whistles and compatibility... I just wonder if it's worth it to you. For example my wordprocessing needs are very simple, I don't do tables and complex stuff, so for my needs office is definite overkill. For specialized wordprocessing (screenplays: Final Draft), you can use dedicated software (novels: CopyWrite), or for diary type work some other dedicated software (diary: Journler). MS Word is very complex and in my experience, buggy (on PC at least), and a resource hog (slow to open etc.).

Evaluate your needs, and if you don't need all the sophisticated features of Word, you can save a pretty penny and still get everything done you need (most wordprocessing software is file-compatible with .doc). JMHO. YMMV.

 

[MisterMe]

well, MOSTLY flawlessly compatible anyway........at work we get text sent to us from consultants who are windows Word users and it's not uncommon to find little formatting issues that dont translate perfectly......and I hear that it sometimes happens when we send them documents

whenever formatting and layout is really critical we make pdf files and send those around instead of .doc files

When dealing with Microsoft products, compatibility is always relative. In my experience, the compatibility between Word 2004 and any Windows version of the app is greater than the compatibility between any two versions of Word:win.

 

[calebjohnston]

Ah, I haven't yet run into any problems between PC <-> Mac but if you say there are small problems, then there are. However, as he said, .PDF's are better if you need specific formatting. Word pizzowns my life.