Convert from word .doc file to pages and pages to .doc.

Question

Level 1

4 points

Convert from word .doc file to pages and pages to .doc.

When I save a pages document in word the formatting is hopelessly changed. I am writing a book and reformatting 400+ pages is not fun. PDF save is not appropriate because I send bits to folks using word. When the formatting is messed up, they have no idea what it actually looks like.

And of course the reverse is true. When I edit a piece created in word, pages changes the formatting creating hours of work. Are there any solutions to this?

If I had windows resident w/word would I still have the same issue? No reason to have windows on the Mac otherwise.

PS: Open office has the same issue.

macbook pro, Mac OS X (10.0.x)

Posted on Jun 17, 2010 7:04 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 17, 2010 7:26 AM in response to ritaashley

Pages is not Word and the cross formatting is not perfect.

Nevertheless you have not said exactly what it is that is "hopelessly changed".

I suspect that you are having a fonts issue. Start by using only fonts that are common between Windows and Mac such as Times, Arial, Verdana, Georgia etc.

Having Windows installed on your machine would be irrelevant. The OSes do not interact. Having Word for Mac installed may help with the common fonts.

Peter

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Answer 2

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

115,946 points

Jun 17, 2010 8:06 AM in response to ritaashley

Are there any solutions to this?

It sounds like you need Word for Mac.

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Answer 3

fruhulda

Level 6

15,161 points

Jun 17, 2010 8:30 AM in response to ritaashley

Even PC people can read pdf files. They can get the Adobe reader for free.

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Answer 4

KOENIG Yvan

Level 8

41,807 points

Jun 17, 2010 9:21 AM in response to ritaashley

I never understood why, when Apple write :

+iWork makes it easy to exchange documents with anyone.+
+Open Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files in iWork.+
+Save your iWork document as a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file.+
+Email your document as an iWork, Office, or PDF file from within iWork.+

some users understand that the exchange will not introduce changes in the documents.

Translation always introduce some changes. The only way to get a perfect clone is to use the tool which created the document and the fonts used to create it.

Alas, many users guess that there is some sorcery in computers allowing them to exchange documents between different apps under different operating systems with different sets of fonts with no change.

And of course, when they discover that they where wrong, they blame the application.

Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) jeudi 17 juin 2010 18:21:04

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Answer 5

Jun 17, 2010 3:54 PM in response to KOENIG Yvan

Simple!

Because the text does not warn them and the Apple Store staff tell them absolutely they will have no problems.

Yvan only you seem to be able to read between the lines to see what +they really meant.+

Even there you seem to twist and turn to make it fit whatever preconceived notion you have at the time.

May be you should be stuck in the documentation to translate what it really means!

P.

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Answer 6

dwb

Level 7

32,920 points

Jun 18, 2010 7:41 AM in response to KOENIG Yvan

One of the difficult lessons I learned when I started my consulting business 25 years ago is that what I said and what the client heard were often totally opposites. Working for an Apple reseller I'm up front about the issues and we even have a couple sample documents ready to show the customer. Even that doesn't always break the disconnect.

When I read that XXX open YYY's documents I hope for total compatibility and expect something less. When it comes to Pages, I've learned to expect the Word document will be imported more or less okay but pagination will be totally wrong. And when I export as a Word document I expect something akin to chaos if my document is anything but straight text - though paragraph styles generally survive as long as I use Microsoft 'safe' fonts.

But that's me after years of experience. Most people read the box and expect if it reads and writes Word docs it must do so perfectly. As I've said before on this list, even 2 Windows users using Office can create documents that don't translate perfectly due to different fonts and different versions of Office.

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Answer 7

ritaashley Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 18, 2010 10:43 AM in response to ritaashley

Thanks for the input. I spoke to Apple about the issue and they said if I need to share documents with non-Pages using people, and wanted them to see what I see, my only choice is Word. They stated there is and will never be any 'fix' for the issue and I said, well, guess I have to stop using Pages.

PDFs are great for the finished product but you can't make changes to them and I need my editor to see what I see and make appropriate changes. This is not a font issue, it is about spacing, indentations, images and margins.

It is worse for my career coaching clients. A simple example: Their Word created Two page Resumes opened in Pages scroll to three or four even when they use Arial or other common font.

And why Pages crashes 15 times in an hour? No idea... Reload the application. Of course I did. That's not a fix. Well, it must be your documents then. And the finger points where?

For book writing purposes, Pages offers wonderful layout and easy formatting solutions. They just don't translate to Word making Pages useless except for stand-alone documents I can send as PDFs. And readers, be clear, when I purchased the MacBook Pro and Pages, I clarified how I would use it and that I needed to work between the two products. "Oh, yes, that's simple," said the eager sales dupe.

What a waste. I am now stuck editing my books myself which any author can tell you is a fool's errand. Back to the keyboard....

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