Hey folks, Microsoft documents...

[jenkinsmd]

Or one could download and use OpenOffice to deal with those pesky Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) files. Works great for me, and it can export files to a number of different formats (including Microsoft Office formats).

Check it out here: http://www.openoffice.org/" target="_blank" target="_blank

Just an idea!

[Donn]

What he said!

Yes, there are ways to read that junk without using Microsoft's software (e.g., Open Office), but a word processing document is not an appropriate format for an ordinary text email.

[jenkinsmd]

Agreed. I was thinking more along the lines of an extra attachment than the contents of the email itself.

[justinbarleben]

Or, convert the file into PDF. PDF files can be read no matter what type of computer the recipient has, and the file sizes are generally pretty small.

[iiipopes]

I find at the office where I work, in dealing with clients and others who may have different platforms and different word processing programs, that I keep my document formats as simple as possible (who cares if a contract or lease has more than one typeface or strange paragraph formatting -- it actually makes it more difficult to read, not less), and save documents to rich text format, .rtf , so that they are more portable when more than one person has input to make suggested changes and edits.

Yes, OpenOffice is good. "Publishing" (as the menu command) to pdf is good, if the document is finished. But very few people by comparison have the full Adobe Acrobat, so I can't save to pdf unless I'm sure everyone has had their final say.

The format for rtf documents functions for just about everything, including Mac, Unix, etc., and most if not all the better known word processing programs.

Yes, the primary word processor I use is WordPerfect.

[Rick Denney]

One of the things I have learned is that for everything people accuse Microsoft (or Adobe) of cornering the market on, there is a cheap or free alternative that does mostly the same thing.

Open Office is an example. It provides a way to produce files that Office users can work with. It does not provide all the features needed by some offices, such as change tracking and collaborative editing, but that is beyond what most people need.

Another example is CutePDF, or any of several other free or very inexpensive PDF writers that install as "printers". There is no need to own a full version of Acrobat to produce PDF outputs from other programs. Just "print" to the PDF writer and it will produce a PDF file. Sometimes it's not quite as compact as Adobe provides, or with the same bookmarking, but for most people it works fine.

Linux is a free alternative to Windows, but I advise not expecting too much. I built a Linux box last year to see what all the fuss was about, and discovered that though it has improved tremendously, it's still an operating system that computer industry people or casual users will find more attractive than non-geeks who need the power of mature Windows or OSX applications. The first time one needs their Open Office spreadsheet file to display, say, Arial Narrow, the way the MS user thought it would before sending it, and then discovers what it takes to install a new font in Linux (such as recompiling the kernel from instructions not written by people who care to be understood by non-geeks) , they'll realize that more work still needs to be done to make a fully productive office tool. But for people surfing on the web, reading email, doing the occasional picture editing, and spreadsheet and letter writing, Ubuntu Linux, with Open Office and Gimp, is entirely free and it indeed works.

Joe, if you want it, let me know and I'll download Open Office at the office, burn you a CD and drop it in the mail.

Rick "more worried about the Google juggernaut these days than Microsoft" Denney

[scottw]

Since this thread is already hijacked, could someone answer this: Why does my Open Office-version of Power Point crash
EVERY time I close it out after using it? It works fine when using it. I have notified them [as they request], I have NOT notified them, I still get the same results and no answers. It's not enough to send me somewhere else [Is there somewhere else?], but it is a pain for this to happen every time. Note: this doesn't happen on the Writer or Calc or any of the other components.
Anyone have any ideas?
TIA
Scott

[elimia]

Wake up. Get a Mac. It runs all the previous software I've had.

[WakinAZ]

Since this thread is already hijacked, could someone answer this: Why does my Open Office-version of Power Point crash
EVERY time I close it out after using it? It works fine when using it. I have notified them [as they request], I have NOT notified them, I still get the same results and no answers. It's not enough to send me somewhere else [Is there somewhere else?], but it is a pain for this to happen every time. Note: this doesn't happen on the Writer or Calc or any of the other components.
Anyone have any ideas?
TIA
Scott

Worth a try: Try uninstalling Open Office, completely. Reboot. Download, install and run the free CCleaner program (Google it, sorry Rick). Make sure you let CCleaner make its recommended registry fixes, and allow it to back up your registry prior to making changes. Reboot. Reinstall Open office. Reboot. Think good thoughts. Did I mention rebooting?

There are user forums for most open source projects, try one for Open Office, if the above does not work. There are tons of geeks with way too much time on their hands who will help you narrow down the problem. Be prepared for trying stuff that may be complicated and not quick.

Software troubleshooting boils down to UDAS, which means the problem is with one of four things:
User
Data
Application
System
I am sharing your assumption that the software (application) is the problem, but it could be something else: a conflicting program, a process running in the background, virus, not enough computer resources, etc.

Eric "who used to work for a big, ugly software company that everyone loves to hate, until they sent his job overseas" L.

P.S. Rick, I am also underwhelmed with Linux. The smug feeling of independence from the Evil Empire quickly fades when you realize what a pain it is to actually do anything or try and find some apps...

P.P.S Joe, you *can* set up a computer dual-boot with Linux and Mr. Softie, but it's easier to get back at the man just running open source stuff like Firefox browser and Open Office on a Windows box.