Converting files from PC Word to Mac

[W2DU]

Does anyone on this forum have the computer-program capability of converting a file in Word format into Mac format? I have a Word file of 108 KB that needs converting to Mac.

The file that needs converting contains many math equations with Greek symbols. I know there are programs that convert Word to Mac, but some do not convert equations, instead simply omit them. I need the equations to be included, and converted without error.

Can anyone help me on this?

Walt, W2DU

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

If you have MS Word on your Mac, you should be able to open the file no problem in most cases. It may depend on which version was used to create the file and which version you are using.

Can you provide some details?

[W2DU]

Thanks for the reply, Steve. I should have been more specific. I only have a PC with Windows 2000 Professional, but need to have someone convert the file to Mac.

CQ Magazine is publishing the 3rd ed of Reflections, but they use Mac for formatting the pages prior to converting to PDF for printing. Their present program for converting Word to Mac deletes the equations, and I don't want to ask them to buy a new program for this one chapter that contains many equations. Just hoping that someone here on the AMforum would have the capability of making the conversion.

Walt

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Hmmm... If you want to send it to me, I can give it a shot.

[W2DU]

That's great, Steve!

I'd prefer to send it via email if that's ok with you, but I'll first need your email address.

Right now it's my beddy-bye time, so once I have your address I'll send the file tomorrow, ok?

Thanks Steve,

Walt

[n2bc]

Hi Walt,  If they can take a PDF file directly, I can create one from the PC WORD document.

73, Bill   N2BC

[W2DU]

Thanks for the offer Bill, but they need the file in Mac to perform the page making. They would not be able to perform the page making in PDF. I can convert the Word file to PDF, but that wouldn't help either.

Thanks again, Bill,

Walt

[W1AEX]

Not sure if you already have the problem solved Walt, but in my school environment I could always find a converter pack at the Microsoft download center that seemed to handle compatibility between my PC version of Word and the word processors on the school's MAC equipped boxes. I suspect if you have the equation editor installed at both ends it should work. Looks like they have several different compatibility packs floating around, but this page might be a starting point:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=cf196df0-70e5-4595-8a98-370278f40c57

[W2DU]

Hello Bob,

Thanks for your response. I clicked the link you provided and subsequently downloaded the conversion program that's susposed to convert Word to Mac. However, there was no explanation of how to use the program--the instructions just said to use it in the normal way you use Microsoft Office. I can find nothing in my Office files that indicates how to use the converting file. Can you help further on this?

I have already emailed the Word file to be converted to Steve, HUZ, and he's going to attempt to convert my file tonight, but it would be nice if I could convert the file myself, that is if I can find out how to use the conversion file I just now downloaded.

Walt

[nq5t]

The real question is what does "convert to Mac" mean?  There is not a single "Mac" format.  I presume there is some application they are using (OpenOffice, NeoOffice, MS Office for Mac, an Adobe product, whatever).  Also a variety of file formats -- such as ODF, Windows native formats,  and others.

What application did you use to generate the equations on Windows -- a version of LaTex (I'm guessing not), generic graphics, standard font symbols, etc.?

Grant/NQ5T

[W2DU]

Responding to Bob and Grant,

Bob, I forgot to tell you the the name of the converting file I downloaded is 'Oconvpck.exe (the first letter is capatilized, not my error) I'm attaching a copy of it for your amusement(?). But since exe files are not permitted in this forum I've renamed it Oconvpck.jpg, which you'll have to rename again to install it. Once you install it perhaps you can discover how to use it--I can't.

Grant, thank you for your response. I entered the equations in Word, using the standard equation function and font symbols accessible from the task line on the top of the Word window.

Walt

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

I think Grant is looking for information like

What version of Word did you use?

What version of Word will CQ use?

If they aren't using Word on their Mac, what are they using?

[Pete, WA2CWA]

For their ads, they say this: Printed by web offset. Please supply hi-res PDFs or digital ad files
(QuarkXpress or PageMaker, Macintosh preferred, no embedded photos).

I know whenever I do any ads  for them in Word, I can't use any unusual symbols or unique Word fonts. The first time I did that, all my fonts can out different then what I wanted.

[W4EWH]

Does anyone on this forum have the computer-program capability of converting a file in Word format into Mac format? I have a Word file of 108 KB that needs converting to Mac.

The file that needs converting contains many math equations with Greek symbols. I know there are programs that convert Word to Mac, but some do not convert equations, instead simply omit them. I need the equations to be included, and converted without error.

Walt,

Try saving the file you have as "HTML" format, and see what it looks like in a browser, such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. If the symbols render correctly in the HTML version, you can use that as a middleman format and go from there to Mac.

HTH.

Bill, W1AC

[W2DU]

For Brian and Bill,

We were out to dinner when you both posted. In the meantime, son Rick, W8KHK, called after reading Bill's post, alerting me concerning saving the file in HTML format. Sorry Rick, the copy of my file you attached in HTML left the equations out. And Brian, I also saved the file in .txt, and again, the equations were absent.

Thank you all for trying, so now I'm waiting to see if Steve, HUZ, had any luck converting with his Mac machine.

Walt

[W2DU]

Brian, thanks for posting the thumbnail of the pic. That brings up another problem that I've delayed asking Rick about. For more than a week now I've been unable to see an enlarged view of the thumbnail on any post. I get the error msg that my program cannot decipher that file. I haven't changed anything in my computer, so they must have made a change in the format at AMfone. Has anyone else been confronted with this problem?

Walt

[W2DU]

Grant, I forgot to mention that I'm using Office 2003 for Word. I don't know what version they use at CQ.

Walt

[w8khk]

We were out to dinner when you both posted. In the meantime, son Rick, W8KHK, called after reading Bill's post, alerting me concerning saving the file in HTML format. Sorry Rick, the copy of my file you attached in HTML left the equations out.

I went back and compared the word file, as viewed in word, to the html file, as viewed in the browser.  All the equations rendered accurately.  So there may be a problem with your browser.  I can confirm the problem is not in the .htm file content. 

[W2DU]

OK Rick, I'm going to send you a copy of the current Chapter 25 for you to convert to HTML to see if it still works.

Dad

[W2DU]

Rick, I saved the file again to HTML. This time the equations came out, but some of them were overlayed on top of the text. Did this twice and it came out the same both times. Doesn't look good.

Dad

[w8khk]

Yes, it appears to work with your latest chapter 25 file.  Screenshot of some of chapter 25, as viewed in Internet Exploder:  IE 7  Version 7.0.5730.13

While the html method may work to retain the equations, it may still be better to have Steve provide a native mac file to CQ for the book.  Big question is what program is CQ using, what version, what is really compatible?  Will need input from them to sort it out.

[W1UJR]

I use Mac OS and Window XP on the same computer, at the same time, with Parallels.
Have both MS Office/Word 2004 and the new Mac Pages counterpart.

Couldn't Walt just print out the document and save it as a PDF file?
That is the way I work with my graphics design guy, nothing gets lost in "translation".

Simple matter of selecting "print", then use the pdf menu on the lower left of the
print box screen.

Or am I missing something here?

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

I was able to open the file with the Apple word processor Pages. All the equations were there. I saved the file as a Pages document, and then exported it as a Word document and a PDF. All were sent to CQ. We'll see if they can deal with them. If they have any recent vintage Mac, the should be able to open the Pages doc. Not knowing what version of Word they have (assuming they have Word), it's a crap shoot.

BTW, Open Office opened the file too, but messed up all the equations. Many were just boxes.

Pagemaker is a pretty old product, so it doesn't surprise me that there are some problem. InDesign is Abobe's layout/publishing app now. Apparently you can import PDFs into Pagemaker, but only one page at a time.  

Yes, it appears to work with your latest chapter 25 file.  Screenshot of some of chapter 25, as viewed in Internet Exploder:  IE 7  Version 7.0.5730.13

While the html method may work to retain the equations, it may still be better to have Steve provide a native mac file to CQ for the book.  Big question is what program is CQ using, what version, what is really compatible?  Will need input from them to sort it out.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Yep.

http://amfone.net/Amforum/index.php?topic=21445.msg152824#msg152824

I use Mac OS and Window XP on the same computer, at the same time, with Parallels.
Have both MS Office/Word 2004 and the new Mac Pages counterpart.

Couldn't Walt just print out the document and save it as a PDF file?
That is the way I work with my graphics design guy, nothing gets lost in "translation".

Simple matter of selecting "print", then use the pdf menu on the lower left of the
print box screen.

Or am I missing something here?

[W1AEX]

I can find nothing in my Office files that indicates how to use the converting file. Can you help further on this?
Walt

Hi Walt. It looks like the guys here have already solved the problem, but here is the quick answer to your question regarding the word conversion pack(s). After installing any of the converter packs, when you go to save a document, at the bottom of the save box, there is a little drop down menu labeled "Save as type". If you hit the down arrow, you will see all the possible formats other than the standard word format of *.doc that are available on your system. The converter packs add more formats to that list for you to choose from. Scroll down the list until you find the one that is compatible for your needs and save the document in that format. That's all there is to it. That being said, the link I posted looks like it might not have what you needed to resolve the compatibility problem you were faced with. As someone mentioned in the thread, Mac itself is an OS and not a file format. Somewhere at the Microsoft site is a converter pack that adds a number of formats used for publication with various products used with the Mac platform, and that would be good to have for the future. It's been 3 years since I had to work across OS platforms, so I'm afraid I don't have a quick link to give you!

Good luck!

Rob W1AEX