How do I create compatible documents that I can send out to others (especially Windows users)?

When sending a document to any other computer (not just Windows users) you may find that what they get doesn’t look anything like what you sent them or they can’t open the file at all. This is especially important when you’re emailing a document to someone and you don’t know which application they have to open it. When creating documents to send out to others, here are few pointers to keep in mind.

The person I'm sending this document to will NOT need to edit my file...

If you’re sending a document that the recipient doesn’t need to edit in any way, always create a PDF to send them. Almost all Internet connected computers have an Adobe PDF reader and will be able to open your document. You can easily make almost any text or graphics file into a PDF by opening it, choosing Print... from the File menu, and then clicking on the Save as PDF button in the Print dialogue window that comes up. PDF files appear the same way across almost any system.

The person I'm sending this document to will need to edit the document...

If the recipient will need to edit your document, you’ll need a compatible application on both computers (like similar versions of Mac & Windows Excel). If the document is simple, almost all computers can edit plain text (.txt) or rich text (.rtf) files. You can’t save fancy layouts but it works well for simple documents. You can create a plain text or rich text file with most word processors by choosing Save as from the File menu and then selecting a different file format from the drop down menu.

For more complex documents, a Microsoft Office file format is likely to work on most computers. Microsoft introduced new XML formats for all of their applications in 2007 (.docx/.xlsx/.pptx). Since many people don’t upgrade their Office software regularly, we recommend using the older .doc/.xls/.ppt file formats for now (which were used from 1997-2006.) Anyone who has upgraded their software will still be able to open the older file formats. To create a Microsoft Office file, you’ll need a to purchase a copy of Office or use an open-source alternative like NeoOffice or Open Office. Recent versions of Microsoft Office include a compatibility report that can help you identify issues before you save a file.

Even with a compatible application on each computer, there will still be differences in how the file appears if you don’t use the PDF file format. Your first issue is that the fonts used to create your document, aren’t included when you send that file. If the person who opens your file doesn’t have the same fonts installed, their system will substitute your fonts for others. Even fonts with the same name but from different “foundries” may not be identical. Your text is very likely to reflow, changing line endings and page breaks. Your best bet is to use the most common fonts available like Arial, Georgia, Times New Roman, Verdana, and Webdings.

Second, the more complex your document’s layout is, the more likely you are to have problems. iWork ‘06 created some especially bad Word files when you exported complex layouts. We recommend upgrading to iWork ‘09, which improved the compatibility of exported Word files significantly.

The last issue you should be aware of is that almost every computer displays color differently. Color tone, brightness, and contrast will be different depending on a computer’s operating system, monitor model, and monitor calibration. In general, Windows computers display colors darker than Macintosh computers. You can learn more about how to color calibrate your monitor by reading the question, “The color of my prints doesn’t match my screen, how do I fix that?”

Published March 24, 2009 12:00 PM
Last modified on June 16, 2009 5:41 PM