7/25/11

Troubleshooting.

I was all ready to post something nice for you all blogger buddies today, but I've reached a small stepping stone that need handling.

No, it's not about blogging..I can ramble with the best of them.

I sent my first few chapter to critique partner.  She ripped me a new rear end...NOT REALLY.  She's been wonderful and professional.  I totally love her.

See, here's the thing.  When I started writing it wasn't with the intention of publishing, so I've been using Microsoft Works Word Processor.  (You know, the program that comes with each computer.)

The problem is that she uses Microsoft Word, and I've discovered the two are not compatible.

When I email my sample pages over, they look like they were typed by a two year old with a crayon.

While I work on getting MS Word installed into my PC at home, does anyone know how to make these two programs compatible without converting them to RTF format?

I will be late visiting blogs today.  Have a wonderful day.

What programs do you all use to write on?

19 comments:

  1. Have no idea. Sorry. I had to buy MS Office with Word to install on my Mac when I got it too.

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  2. I'm a total techno tard. Sorry! Good luck, though.
    I use Microsoft Word.

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  3. Not any help at all here, I'm afraid. I installed Office on my laptop and use Word exclusively.

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  4. Other than copy and paste, I have no idea.

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  5. Geez, you'd think Microsoft would make Works & Word compatible! I love Word. It's easy & consistent.

    BTW, You should jump on over to The Kill Zone for their blog post today. It's all about the best word processing programs for writers.

    And hey, it was so worth the effort piecing it all together!

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  6. Alex is right : sometimes using "Copy & Paste" is the best idea for someone like you (and sometimes even me -- I first used Lotus Word Pro) to use. Copy your prose and then paste it on a blank Word document once you have installed Word. Don't feel alone -- I was in the same boat when I tried to convert my Lotus Word Pro into Word. Roland

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  7. I'm afraid I can't be much help; all I can think of is Copy & Paste-ing it into another document. :P

    I use Word, although I did try the OpenOffice program a couple of times . . .

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  8. Thank you all. You're all as knowledgeable as I am. LOL. I learn by experimenting so I do know about the copy and past option. I was trying to find a way out. I emailed myself here at work and pasted the first chapter onto Word. It seemed to look pretty good. The only problem is that I can't email it out to check the other end. My company quarantines anything that contains and sort of profanity. It was only one word...and it wasn't even bad. So I gave up...but my eldest stepson has agreed to come over tomorrow evening and install Word on both PCs for me. Should be back on business by Wednesday. Yay!!!

    On another note. I picked a winner at the horse races yesterday. It only paid $8.00. Yay!..a trip to McDonalds and binge from the dollar menu. :)

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  9. I have no idea how it would work. :( Sorry! I use Scrivener for my word processing needs, it's so convenient!

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  10. Laila, in Microsoft Works Word Processor, you can save documents in Microsoft Word format.

    Try: File > Save As
    There, you'll find a "Save as type" drop down menu. You can select either:
    1) .doc (Word 97-2003)
    - or -
    2) .docx (Word 2007+)

    I hope this helps! :)

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  11. @Bethany. Scrivener. Hmm, that makes me think of drinking for some reason. :) Ah, screwdriver, that's it.

    @Carrie. I was playing with that the other day. I'm going to give it a try as soon as they install Word. If it works, I owe you lunch. :) Oh, wait, you don't live in Nebraska. Thanks so much!

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  12. I am so glad to read that someone else is baffled with all the different word processing programs. I always feel technologically inept when people start spouting 2003 vs 2007 vs doc vs docx.

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  13. I use Word and I love it.

    But what do you have against saving in RTF format? Because it's such a common industry standard, it is one of the acknowledged ways of swapping documents between people who may or may not have compatible word processors. Whenever I upload documents to one of my critique groups I always save it as RTF first, because I don't know what software people are using at the other end.

    Note: copy & paste from Word can cause problems because it has a habit of including all sorts of invisible characters that can mess things up. For example if you are just going to copy text into an email, I'd always recommend saving the document as RTF first anyway. If you copy straight from a Word document, it might look OK when you send it, but could come out as garbage to the recipient.

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  14. @Lynda. That seems to be the most popular.

    @Julie. I'm definitely as confused as you.

    @Botanist. I was hoping you'd pop in. I tried saving into RTF format before sending it to critique partner and it still didn't come out right. You're right about it including invisible characters, and I worry about that. I guess for starters I'm just going to try it out and see how it works. What did you think about Carrie's suggestion (saving from Works as a doc (Word 97-2003). I've been leaning toward that. :)

    Thank you all for your comments. I do appreciate them.

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  15. I've been using MSWorks too. When I copy and paste it into emails it looks fine-I usually check my sent file to make sure. Yes, I know MSWord is much better for writers but the day I went to purchase the software was the day they took it off the shelves completely to re-format it for 2011 or whatever...so I have been fine with Works. It does what I want and that is to write words on to a blank screen--anything more and I might as well be a graphic artist.That being said, I think both of should get with the program. LOL

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  16. @Desert Rocks. Eve, I love Works and would gladly keep on using it...except when I try to email and attachment it comes out screwy. All my emails revert back to single space too.

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  17. Hmmm...Carrie's suggestion should work, but then so should saving as RTF! If you're having trouble with that, then it could be Works itself that's the problem.

    I just Googled a query on exchanging files between the products, and according to Microsoft there shouldn't even be a problem with Word opening your Works files, but obviously there is.

    Sorry, can't be any help there, I know nothing about Works. I'm just boggled by the fact that RTF causes you problems.

    But then, it's Microsoft :(

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  18. @Botanist. Thank you so much for trying. You rock! Hopefully my transition to Word will go smoothly. Maybe the trouble is my Works program. I've noticed that since I write on a desktop, whenever I try to open the same draft on my laptop it scrolls the worlds to the other line. I don't know if that's normal or just a product of it being on a shorter screen. Sometimes all this stuff just drives me insane. Bring back pen and paper. :)

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