MS office & Open office compatibility issue

[Kristian Erik Hermansen]

On Sun, Feb 24, 2008 at 7:32 PM, William Muriithi
<william.muriithi-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>  I wonder if there is someone out there how have found a work around on
>  this problem. If you happen to be using open office and editing a
>  document in collaboration with some who is using MS office, the paging
>  get really messed up.

Welcome to the world of non-standards.  When no one publishes the
specs, you get hacked specs.  There is not much you can do...

>  For example, you have a 3 pages document in OO, send it across to
>  someone who  uses MS office, the document will have around 2 1/4
>  pages.  This of course is not good, as the person across may think you
>  are not serious.  I have looked at the fonts, line gap, anything that
>  can lead to different page size with no luck.

Tell them you are using "office" as well, but if they would like to
purchase a copy of Microsoft's version, you would be happy to continue
using an undocumented format :-)  Of course, this won't get you very
far at first, and people will be pissed, but Rosa Parks did the same
thing.  Now look at the progress we have mad...

>  If there something that I can do to avoid this issue? If not, what
>  should I change on receiving a document to have it paged properly
>  automatically. I would be happy with a toggle function - ie, receive a
>  document, do one or two things, and the document automatically get
>  back to the intended paging, then just before sending it out, reverse
>  the steps you used on receiving so that people using MS office don't
>  get pissed off.

Use Microsoft Office if you have to.  That is your only option to
ensure the "best compatibility"...
-- 
Kristian Erik Hermansen
--
"It has been just so in all my inventions. The first step is an
intuition--and comes with a burst, then difficulties arise. This thing
gives out and then that--'Bugs'--as such little faults and
difficulties are called--show themselves and months of anxious
watching, study and labor are requisite before commercial success--or
failure--is certainly reached" -- Thomas Edison in a letter to
Theodore Puskas on November 18, 1878
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