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WORKING
WITH MICROSOFT OFFICE DOCUMENTS IN OS
X
Just about everyone
who uses a computer needs
to be able to exchange
documents with other
computer users and some of
the most common document
types used worldwide are
Microsoft Office files -
Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
All new Macs ship with a
limited trial version of
Microsoft Office for Mac,
but this is only useful to
get an idea how the various
program modules work. A
more permanent solution is
needed. So what are your
options? Here they are in a
nutshell:
-
Purchase
Microsoft Office
(relitively expensive,
highly compatible with
Windows Office
documents, somewhat
boring)
-
Purchase
Apple’s iWork
(inexpensive, almost
100% compatible with
all Windows Office
documents, exciting
features that create
magnificent
documents)
-
Purchase one of
several other
“Office-compatible”
programs (inexpensive,
not 100% compatible
with Windows Office
documents, somewhat
boring)
-
Install
NeoOffice or OpenOffice
(completely free,
highly compatible with
Windows Office
documents, somewhat
boring, lacking some
"Mac-like"
features)
This tip will focus on the
last option (specifically
NeoOffice, but the same
information applies to
OpenOfice - just substitute
the name OpenOffice
wherever you see NeoOffice)
which, because its free, is
available to anyone almost
immediately.
Downloading
NeoOffice
NeoOffice is distributed as
a free download from the
net at <http://www.neooffice.org/>.
Because its a rather large
download its best done over
a high-speed connection and
not via dial-up. While on
the website you should also
download the latest
“patch” which
will include any program
fixes and new features. Be
sure to download the
correct version for your
Mac processor type - if you
have an Intel-based Mac
download the Intel version;
if you have a PowerPC-based
Mac, download the PowerPC
version. You can see your
Mac’s processor type
by selecting “About
This Mac...” from the
Apple menu:
The processor type is
displayed in the window
which appears (outlined in
red
below):
Configuring NeoOffice to
work seamlessly with Office
documents
Once you have installed
NeoOffice along with its
the latest patch, you need
to configure it. This
involves two
things:
-
Ensuring that
when you save a
document in NeoOffice
it saves in the
Microsoft Office format
for that type of
document (word
processing saves as
Word,
spreadsheet
saves
as Excel and
presentation
saves
as
PowerPoint).
-
Ensuring that
when you double-click
an Office document it
opens automatically in
NeoOffice.
Configuring
saving:
1. Open NeoOffice
and select
"Preferences"
from the NeoOffice
menu:
2. Click on the
triangle next to the
Load/Save item on the
left panel of the
Preferences window and
select
"General":
3. Under the
"Default file
format" heading
select "Text
document" then
select
"Microsoft Word
97/2000/XP"
under the
"Always save
as"
heading:
4. Now select
"Spreadsheet"
under the
"Default
file format"
heading then
select
"Microsoft
Word 97/2000/XP"
under the
"Always save
as"
heading:
5. Finally,
select
"Presentation"
under the
"Default
file format"
heading then
select
"Microsoft
PowerPoint
97/2000/XP"
under the
"Always save
as"
heading:
6. Click
the
"OK"
button:
From now on all
documents you create
with NeoOffice will be
saved in the standard
Microsoft Office
formats.
Opening:
1. Locate a
Word document in the
Finder. If you
don't have one
available or cannot
find one, simply
create one with
NeoOffice and save it
(your icon may differ
from the one shown
below):
Repeat the
four steps above for an
Excel document and for
a PowerPoint document.
From now on anytime you
double-click an Office
document it will open
in
NeoOffice.
Gordon Gonsalves,
2007-2009
gordon@rightent.com
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copyright 2006-2007, right
enterprises
last updated friday december 14, 2007
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