This subject has come up many, many times. The OOo developers have done an outstanding job in trying to maintain compatibility between OOo and MS Office. However, it is inevitable that there will be some incompatibilities between the tools.
Might I suggest a workflow solution to the problem, using a "separation of concerns" approach borrowed from object oriented programming and modern web page development? When developing a document that has to be shared, use minimal (preferably no) formatting of the document during the development and initial review process. For example, simply insert graphics after the paragraph that will eventually contain them. Make tables simple unformatted tables of data. When everyone in the workgroup is satisfied with the content, use either OOo or MS Office to format the document. For final comments, circulate a PDF file which the reviewers can mark up and return to the person formatting the document. That person, using the tool of his or her choice will then incorporate comments as necessary. Such a process will avoid the contention over which tool is "better" and allow each person in the group to use the tool they prefer. John On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 9:20 AM, McLauchlan, Kevin < [email protected]> wrote: > > Aryeh Weiss [mailto:[email protected]] inquired: > > > > I find that MSWord docs which contains tables or figures > > usually do not > > display properly. Location of the images is wrong, and often text > > positioning is not correct. > > I do not know if list rules allow posting of attachments, but > > if anyone > > it interested, I can email offlist the MSWord file and two PDFs that > > show which show the MSWord display and the OO display. > > > > Thia issue is the major limiting factor in my needing to > > keeping using > > MSWord (in virtual box under OSX). Are there particular options which > > solve this problem? > > I would be interested in this, too. > > I'm trying to use OOo inside a Microsoft-centric company. > > If anything is going to screw up my attempts to turn around documents that > other people edit in MS Word, it's usually tables and graphics. > > Is there guidance, somewhere, on "best practices" for creation of documents > in Word, such that they'll stand the best chance of round-tripping between > Word and OpenOffice? > > Or a cheat-sheet on things to look for in Word documents - and correct - > before bringing them into OOo? > > I've found the odd old discussion via Google, but nothing definitive or > comprehensive. > > Most people with whom I deal are using MS Office 2003 or 2007. > > Similarly, it might be interesting to know some things-to-do and > things-to-avoid when creating documents in OOo that you know are going to be > edited by people using Word. Usually, nobody ADDS tables or graphics to my > docs, but they might edit the contents of tables, or do things that would > push a graphic around. Or, they might copy a table in my document (the Word > version that they're editing) and paste it as the basis of a new table, or > perhaps add a column or rows to an existing table. > > - Kevin > > > > > The information contained in this electronic mail transmission > may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected > from disclosure. If you have received this communication in > error, please notify us immediately by replying to this > message and deleting it from your computer without copying > or disclosing it. > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] > >
