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Macs and PCs: Living Together in Harmony By Royal Van Horn Illustration © 1998 by Mario Noche

I GET more questions like the following than any other kind: "How can I get this paper I wrote using ClarisWorks X.X on my Mac to open on my colleague's PC running Office XX?" I get about an equal number of "I have this paper that I did on my PC that I need to get to my friend who uses a Mac." Lately, I've had to help a lot of teachers in "Mac schools" learn to survive in districts dominated by technology administrators who are, frankly, PC bigots. Conversely, I get questions from Windows users about why graphics designers don't like -- and often have to totally rework -- the graphics files they give them.

Transferring work done on a Mac to a PC and vice versa is not at all difficult. There are just two major areas of concern. First, you must figure out how to get files transferred from machine to machine. Second, you need to know the inherent differences in the way Macs and PCs handle your work.

Transferring Files from Mac to PC and Back

Nearly all Macs can read and write to PC-formatted diskettes and Zip disks. (Newer models are slightly less capable of this cross-platform transfer. More on this later.) However, the same is rarely true for PCs. So unless your PC has special software that lets it read and write to Mac disks, the first rule of thumb is: do the necessary file translation on a Mac.

Transferring files from Mac to PC and back works best if both computers have the same software. For example, if both computers run Microsoft Word, the transfer will usually go smoothly. (This is slightly less true for WordPerfect.) So a second rule of thumb is: get similar software for both computers. Even if you want to compose in ClarisWorks on a Mac or WordPerfect on a PC, just use "Save As . . ." to save the file as a Word document and then transfer it to the other computer's diskette.

The third rule of thumb was implied in the previous paragraph: always use the "Save As . . ." option to get the file saved in a format that is likely to be available on the receiving computer. If you just use the regular "Save" option, you can't specify how the file should be saved or where it should be stored. The majority of computer users fail to make use of the options available in the "Save As . . ." menu.

Unfortunately, how a particular piece of software was originally installed on your computer or your friend's computer can make a big difference in how easy it is to transfer files. Most programs come with installation menu choices that give you the option to install a few or a large number of file and document "translators." PageMaker is a good example. If you install all the "translators" available, you can read and write to about 50 word-processor formats. Most people who install PageMaker, however, figure they will never need all the translators, so they install just a few. Bad mistake. This brings me to the fourth rule of thumb: install or reinstall programs to ensure that all "translators" or options are installed.

I mentioned above that newer Macs are less cross-platform-capable than earlier models. This is true because in August 1998, Apple quit bundling MacLink Plus from DataViz with its Macs. Even when Apple did bundle MacLink Plus, it often shipped the program with a partial set of translators. I strongly advise all Mac users to purchase a recent copy of MacLink Plus from DataViz or a reseller (http://www.DataViz.com). As a fringe benefit, the latest version will recognize, decompress, and fix all those pesky e-mail attachments you get that are otherwise unreadable. Just save the e-mail attachment on your disk drive, then "drag and drop" the attachment to the MacLink Plus icon. This technique typically works better than launching the program yourself, since MacLink Plus is often better at recognizing the incoming file's format than you are!

On the PC side, I strongly recommend the Conversions Plus program, also from DataViz. It enables a PC to read and write to Mac disks and does all kinds of conversions from one program or file format to another. For example, Conversions Plus can save files in ClarisWorks and AppleWorks formats even if you don't have these programs on your PC. Which brings us to the fifth cross-platform rule of thumb: buy and use a specialty program that makes file conversions easy, from platform to platform and from file format to file format.

The sixth rule of thumb is: buy and keep a supply of diskettes and Iomega Zip disks preformatted for both Macs and PCs. My experience has been that this works much better than trying to use a Mac to format PC disks and vice versa. In addition, never reformat a Zip or other removable disk. In fact, I have much better luck transferring files using Zip drives and disks than using 3-1/2-inch diskettes. I seem to get optimum results when I save files in PC format to a PC-formatted Zip disk in my Mac's Zip drive. The receiving PC user rarely has trouble with the files. In fact, the people who get files like this from me don't even know that I did them on my Mac using an old copy of ClarisWorks 4.0.

The final rule of thumb is: keep word-processor files, spreadsheet files, and graphics files separate. Modern word processors, such as Microsoft Word and ClarisWorks, will let you embed spreadsheets and pictures in your documents. However, if you do this, it makes it tougher for the receiver of your work to translate it, since three translators are involved. Your best bet is to use the old-fashioned way of preparing documents, in which tables, graphs, drawings, and images were sent as "attachments."

Inherent Differences

There are inherent differences between Macs and PCs that you should keep in mind whenever you want to move your work from one platform to another. First, Macs and PCs come from the factory with only two similar text fonts. On the Mac, these two fonts are called Helvetica and Times; on the PC, they are called Ariel and Times New Roman. Helvetica and Ariel are sans serif fonts -- no curlicues on the letters; Times and Times New Roman have the serifs. Typically, Helvetica and Ariel are used for headings while Times and Times New Roman are used for body text. Use these fonts, especially for webpages, and your work will display and print better on the other machine. If you absolutely must use your favorite font, you might have to install it on the machine to which you are transferring your files.

Second, Macs and PCs can typically be set to two or three different screen sizes. For example, my Mac at home can be set to either 640 x 480 or 832 x 624 pixels. It cannot display the third popular Mac screen size, which is 1024 x 768. The corresponding sizes on a PC are 640 x 480, 800 x 600, and 1280 x 1024. Virtually every computer (and Web browser, for that matter) can display 640 x 480, and most can display 800 x 600. Don't use the highest pixel dimension unless you actually know the capability of the other computer that you want to use your files. I stick exclusively with 640 x 480.

Third, Macs and PCs do not like exactly the same file formats. "Text" files transfer well, but you can't use any fancy features, such as bold and italic type. (More about this topic below.) For image files or pictures, your best bet is to save your pictures in JPEG (joint photographic expert group) or GIF (graphic interchange format); less good choices are Pict (pcx on PCs) and TIF (tagged image format). TIF files print especially well, but they are usually huge. For movie clips, your best bet is QuickTime, but Macs don't like the movie file name to end in .mov, while PCs do. Hint: just change the file name before you send a digital movie to a friend. MPEG (motion picture expert group) files and GIF animations also transport well, but many people don't have the software to create them. PC files saved in the "AVI format" rarely work well on Macs.

Transferring Microsoft Powerpoint files from machine to machine works well, except when they contain offbeat fonts or digital movies. The bullets you use in text lists don't transfer well either, so just use Times or Helvetica/Ariel asterisks.

Fourth, Macs and PCs don't display colors in exactly the same way. Typically, colors will appear slightly darker on PCs than they do on Macs. Technically, the two machines use a different "color temperature." Pick colors on the light side if you're working on a Mac, and pick colors on the dark side if you're working on a PC.

Fifth, graphics files that appear as circles and squares on a Mac will often look like ovals and rectangles on a PC. Just keep this in mind, or test it if the technical drawing you are sending depends on the accuracy of the geometric figures displayed.

Sixth, screen resolution on both Macs and PCs is typically about 72 dpi (dots per inch.) If you create such graphics as organizational charts, conceptual models, and other diagrams on your PC, they will look great on your screen. But they will print poorly. The problem is that 72 dpi looks good on the screen, but printers need at least 300 dpi. You can solve this problem by adjusting your paint or draw program to 300 dpi before you do any work with it. Check under the help menu or read the software manual to find out how to do this.

Screen Size

I saved the most technical information about screen size for last because some readers might not want or need this much detailed information. Technically, four things influence or dictate the screen size you can or should use: the operating system, the video display card, the monitor, and the projection device. If you will need to project your work using a video/data projector, many of the screen sizes discussed below will not work. It is always a good idea to get the specifications for the video projectors in use at your school and design your work accordingly. Many video/data projectors cannot operate at resolutions higher than 800 x 600. Furthermore, many projectors can display only a limited number of colors: 256 or "thousands." At a mere 256 colors, highlight colors, such as yellow, are often not visible.

Notice that the lower two screen resolutions of Macs and PCs are nearly identical, but the highest resolutions (1024 x 768 for Macs and 1280 x 1024 for PCs) are not. The main problem at the higher resolutions is that the aspect ratio (ratio of width to height) is 1.33 on a Mac and 1.25 on a PC.

In the last year or so, better Macs and PCs have started to offer a much wider range of screen dimensions. PCs now typically have a fourth screen size of 2048 x 1536. Newer Macs now feature a wide array of screen resolutions, which include the three standard PC resolutions. Incidentally, the 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution of the newer Macs is identical to the 16 x 9 aspect ratio used on new wide-screen, high-definition televisions. It takes an expensive multi-sync monitor to display many of these resolutions effectively, so most users will not have access to this wide a range of choices.

Whether you are a Mac or a PC user, you can keep your computer set to any screen size you want. But it is best to change your settings to those available on the receiver's computer if you plan to send others a document that they can see just like you do.

Most of what I've said here is easier to do in practice than it is to read about. Before you jump to condemn the computer makers for lack of uniformity, you might want to remember that brand recognition and differences are a part of the American way.

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Last updated 24 February 2000
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