How Mac- only writer can use PC
October 16, 2010 8:39 PM Subscribe
I freelance in healthcare advertising copywriting. Never learned to use a PC.. All ad firms I've worked at-staff & freelance used Macs for all Creative Dept. Latest gig I was given an old PC to produce a lot of copy quickly. What to do?
I guess the most annoying difference is typing special characters... So on a PC, an em-dash is Alt-0151 and an en-dash is Alt-0150; you can get most of the weirdly accented characters by Googling words that include them, copying the results, and then using Paste Special to strip them of their HTML formatting. Or by finding them in the character palette using the Symbol... dialog (under Insert on a Mac; can't remember if it's the same drop-down menu on a PC).
posted by limeonaire at 9:18 PM on October 16, 2010
posted by limeonaire at 9:18 PM on October 16, 2010
... or open the "Character Map" app.
posted by misterbrandt at 9:19 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by misterbrandt at 9:19 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
I guess the most annoying difference is typing special characters... So on a PC, an em-dash is Alt-0151 and an en-dash is Alt-0150; you can get most of the weirdly accented characters by Googling words that include them, copying the results, and then using Paste Special to strip them of their HTML formatting. Or by finding them in the character palette using the Symbol... dialog (under Insert on a Mac; can't remember if it's the same drop-down menu on a PC).
It's way easier than that. If you think you're going to be using these a lot, add auto-corrects for them.
posted by toomuchpete at 9:39 PM on October 16, 2010
It's way easier than that. If you think you're going to be using these a lot, add auto-corrects for them.
posted by toomuchpete at 9:39 PM on October 16, 2010
Install Firefox and work on text files in Google Documents.
posted by zadcat at 9:42 PM on October 16, 2010
posted by zadcat at 9:42 PM on October 16, 2010
Best answer: I recently was provided an old PC to fix-up, re-write and redo the spacing on some recipe cards....
Long story short, I ended up taking the project home and finishing on my PowerBook in 2 hrs what took me ALL DAY on that damn dinosaur. And I know Windows.
If you start to experience considerable lag, even in MS Word, ABORT and use a different machine.
You're Welcome.
posted by jbenben at 9:46 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
Long story short, I ended up taking the project home and finishing on my PowerBook in 2 hrs what took me ALL DAY on that damn dinosaur. And I know Windows.
If you start to experience considerable lag, even in MS Word, ABORT and use a different machine.
You're Welcome.
posted by jbenben at 9:46 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
work on text files in Google Documents.
Why?
I would assume any office computer supplied to someone hired to write copy is going to come with the proper tools for writing copy. And the fact that said computer is a PC implies that the other employees also generally use PCs.
Microsoft Office Suite and the like are extremely standardized cross-platform, and the resulting files will be readable on either a mac or a PC.
posted by Sara C. at 1:20 AM on October 17, 2010
Why?
I would assume any office computer supplied to someone hired to write copy is going to come with the proper tools for writing copy. And the fact that said computer is a PC implies that the other employees also generally use PCs.
Microsoft Office Suite and the like are extremely standardized cross-platform, and the resulting files will be readable on either a mac or a PC.
posted by Sara C. at 1:20 AM on October 17, 2010
I don't see the problem here. You know enough to post to Ask Metafilter so you're not a tech dinosaur, what problem are you having?
posted by devnull at 2:21 AM on October 17, 2010
posted by devnull at 2:21 AM on October 17, 2010
The most annoying thing will be the muscle memory problem of needing to hit Control-C to copy instead of Command-C (or whatever Mac people call that button where the Alt key is supposed to be). And if you're using the browser, it's Alt-D instead of Command-L. Word processing is more or less word processing, but this is the most annoying.
posted by chengjih at 5:08 AM on October 17, 2010
posted by chengjih at 5:08 AM on October 17, 2010
Are you worried about where documents disappear to when you hit save? In other words, are you having a hard time navigating the operating system?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 7:43 AM on October 17, 2010
posted by TWinbrook8 at 7:43 AM on October 17, 2010
Second Sara C & Artw: Just turn it on, open Word, and type.
Every now and then press Ctrl+s -- that will save your work.(The first time you'll be prompted to store the file; either accept the machine's suggestion and remember it, or choose a better location.)
If you're really just writing copy, and it really is an old computer, all the formatting you need is probably under Format, at the top. (Example: select a word, click Format, click Italic.)
Let the designers do the rest. 2 hyphens are fine for an em dash, and an extra carriage return is fine between grafs. They're buying your ideas, not your PC skills.
If you really want to get deeper, I agree, the 2 platforms aren't that different. But they are different, especially on the surface -- and if you're under the gun those differences can loom large. It's quite maddening to have to stop and look up little things, but little things can get in the way of big things.
posted by LonnieK at 7:59 AM on October 17, 2010
Every now and then press Ctrl+s -- that will save your work.(The first time you'll be prompted to store the file; either accept the machine's suggestion and remember it, or choose a better location.)
If you're really just writing copy, and it really is an old computer, all the formatting you need is probably under Format, at the top. (Example: select a word, click Format, click Italic.)
Let the designers do the rest. 2 hyphens are fine for an em dash, and an extra carriage return is fine between grafs. They're buying your ideas, not your PC skills.
If you really want to get deeper, I agree, the 2 platforms aren't that different. But they are different, especially on the surface -- and if you're under the gun those differences can loom large. It's quite maddening to have to stop and look up little things, but little things can get in the way of big things.
posted by LonnieK at 7:59 AM on October 17, 2010
Response by poster: Thank you for your empathy as well as suggestions. I am under the gun--all my deadlines are very tight, the material is new, long and much be legal and factual. And they do depend on my word processing skills. Manuscripts go from internal review and editing, back to me for creation of a perfect annotated document that goes directly from my computer to the Client. It tough to have a computer interfere.
posted by Summer05 at 12:01 PM on October 17, 2010
posted by Summer05 at 12:01 PM on October 17, 2010
Response by poster: "Obviously not a tech dinosaur". TO devnul: Why are you even responding to this post? If you can't be helpful, dump on someone else.
posted by Summer05 at 12:05 PM on October 17, 2010
posted by Summer05 at 12:05 PM on October 17, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks jbenben--
You get it.
That is what I was thinking I would have to do.
posted by Summer05 at 12:09 PM on October 17, 2010
You get it.
That is what I was thinking I would have to do.
posted by Summer05 at 12:09 PM on October 17, 2010
"Obviously not a tech dinosaur". TO devnul: Why are you even responding to this post? If you can't be helpful, dump on someone else.
I was trying to find out what problem you have - your question doesn't say what the problem is (other people have asked you too).
If you need to produce copy, just open Word, or OpenOffice Writer, type and save. Worst case is that somebody else does the formatting for you.
posted by devnull at 1:06 PM on October 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
I was trying to find out what problem you have - your question doesn't say what the problem is (other people have asked you too).
If you need to produce copy, just open Word, or OpenOffice Writer, type and save. Worst case is that somebody else does the formatting for you.
posted by devnull at 1:06 PM on October 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: To devnul: It's heavy scientific writing, incorporating charts, marginal annotation, etc. And I need a perfect manuscript. And given the skeletal staffs left in companies today, there is nobody to help.
But it's fine. Got some help here. Will handle it. Oh and be decent and hold the sarcasm.
posted by Summer05 at 3:44 PM on October 17, 2010
But it's fine. Got some help here. Will handle it. Oh and be decent and hold the sarcasm.
posted by Summer05 at 3:44 PM on October 17, 2010
It's heavy scientific writing, incorporating charts, marginal annotation, etc. And I need a perfect manuscript.
Again, Word for Mac and Word for Windows are virtually identical. Your biggest hurdle is going to be hitting Cntrl+whatever vs. Cmd+whatever for keyboard shortcuts. Anything Word can do in Mac it can also do in PC, and is probably set up exactly the same.
posted by Sara C. at 5:13 PM on October 17, 2010
Again, Word for Mac and Word for Windows are virtually identical. Your biggest hurdle is going to be hitting Cntrl+whatever vs. Cmd+whatever for keyboard shortcuts. Anything Word can do in Mac it can also do in PC, and is probably set up exactly the same.
posted by Sara C. at 5:13 PM on October 17, 2010
I've prepared scientific papers and engaged in collaborative editing of papers where people had a mac and others had a PC. The main issue we had is that their mac wouldn't edit chemdraw inserts (because the mac didn't have chemdraw installed not because it was a mac). All of the other editing functions were intact and transferred seamlessly between mac and PC. The only issue was varying versions of word and someone not having the xml friendly word and us needing to save everything in legacy mode to avoid issues. If you are working in word there is no difference.
If you need some software to make the charts and whatnot then there are usually open source alternatives out there that will work both on a mac and on a pc.
posted by koolkat at 5:04 AM on October 18, 2010
If you need some software to make the charts and whatnot then there are usually open source alternatives out there that will work both on a mac and on a pc.
posted by koolkat at 5:04 AM on October 18, 2010
Wowser, Devnull. OP hasn't stated what the problem is?
Whew. She has to me. She has to switch from PC to Mac fast and under pressure. Any posts that don't address that problem are just wandering after geese in the field.
Yes, it is hard. Yes, they are different. Yes, having to stop and look up 50 routine tasks or key combos or macros or special characters is totally disruptive -- when you're engaged in serious production.
I don't badmouth Mac. It has its strengths, as does MS. Big deal. But turning out copy/text/content in real quantities isn't possible if you have to stop and figure out conventions and equivalents.
Some people might argue that's the best way to learn, and there's some cred there. But I don't recommend it.
posted by LonnieK at 4:42 PM on November 11, 2010
Whew. She has to me. She has to switch from PC to Mac fast and under pressure. Any posts that don't address that problem are just wandering after geese in the field.
Yes, it is hard. Yes, they are different. Yes, having to stop and look up 50 routine tasks or key combos or macros or special characters is totally disruptive -- when you're engaged in serious production.
I don't badmouth Mac. It has its strengths, as does MS. Big deal. But turning out copy/text/content in real quantities isn't possible if you have to stop and figure out conventions and equivalents.
Some people might argue that's the best way to learn, and there's some cred there. But I don't recommend it.
posted by LonnieK at 4:42 PM on November 11, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
If that's the case, ummmm, turn on the computer, open microsoft word and get to work. PC's don't work much differently than Macs. The operating system might take a few minutes to figure out (most programs live in the "start menu" - which is what pops up if you click the word START at the bottom of the screen). But otherwise? Pretty much identical.
Most word processing files will be compatible across platforms.
The only thing that might be a headache is setting it up to print - but I'm assuming if you were issued a PC, you're working out of an office and the machine is most likely already set up for that. That being the only real benefit to issuing a computer to a freelance worker doing word processing type tasks rather than expecting them to provide their own.
posted by Sara C. at 8:52 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]