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Opening Documents from Email
Frequently I am asked about getting email documents as attachments. The question usually goes something like this:Can you help me? I just got an email message from (name) and I couldn't open the attachment. What program do I use to see what (name) sent me?The problem with viewing the document isn't really on either end of the send/receive process. It is on 'both' ends. The person sending the document (either unintentionally or arrogantly) has assumed that you have the same application on your computer that is loaded on his computer. If there was no problem, you would see the email document! The easiest way to explain the difficulty is to leave the computer world and move into the world of international travel.
Assume two vacationers meet in a foreign land and wish to have a conversation. There is no problem as long as the two speak the same language. If not, they either end the discussion, find a person to translate, or seek a common language either can understand.
In the example, the two vacationers prefer to speak in French and German, but both can speak English. If they are to communicate, they may think their thoughts in their native language, but must speak in English to each other. They find a common language each understands.
Computer applications are like these two travelers. Once an application has been installed that creates documents, that application would 'prefer' to save documents in the native language or the default filetype. However, if the application can save in alternate filetypes, it has a much better chance of communicating with someone else who doesn't have that application installed.
Word Processing
In word processing, every word processing program will save a file to its default format and to a second filetype called TEXT or ASC. The file extension for PC computers is .txt (MAC handles saving files without having to identify the filetype.) The good news is that that this process is a guaranteed way to communicate with someone else who has a word processor installed on his computer. The bad news is something is lost in the saving to a .txt filetype that may be important! You keep all of the keystrokes in your document, but you lose all of the formatting. This means fonts, styles (bold, underline, italics), centering, etc. Depending on the document, this could be very critical to the communication. Column alignment could be destroyed, images would be lost. What's a body to do?
The answer in word processing is to look for a higher common ground. A fairly common filetype found on most word processing programs is called: RICH TEXT FORMAT or .rtf
If both your word processing application and the other person's application can save to .rtf file format, then use this as the common translation. The good news is that the formatting features of the original document are preserved for the recipient of the email. You maintain your bolds, underlines, tabs, centers, and other formatting features!
Some subtle possibilities for conflicts between two users include different versions of the same application. It is not enough to have the same spreadsheet program, say Excel or Works. Either of these applications has been around long enough to warrant upgrades or new versions.
If you plan to send someone a document you created on your computer in Word 2000, you can expect the recipient of your document to have difficulty opening in Word-97 or Word-95! The polite thing to ask prior to sending the document is what 'version' of Word do you use? Properly identifying the name of the application and the version will allow you to make the necessary adjustment in your document so the receiving party can open your document.
Saving Down
If you are the one with the latest version of an application, you can be comfortable in having the newest features. You are also the one with all of the translation work! The authors of your application knew you might have had an earlier version of their application and have an extensive set of documents created in the older version. To keep you as a happy customer, they added a translator of documents created with older versions of that application. For example, Word 2000 will be able to read Word-95 and Word-97 documents with no trouble. You will have trouble translating documents created with Word 2002! You can't translate up, but you can save down. Here's how.
- Load the document you want to send to someone with an older application version than you.
- Choose Save As from the File menu.
- Navigate the Save In dialog box to identify the location you want to save the file.
- Enter the name of the file (use a slight variation from your original file name) and
- Select the filetype. This is where you make your document 'readable' to the other person. Use the down arrow to see the choices of filetypes. Select the earlier version of the application you are using. Take note of the other filetype options as you may need to explore using one of these if necessary.
- Send the file through your email program as an attachment and the communication is complete!