Converting Word tables from Mac to Windows

October 21, 2007 8:00 AM

How do I get tables from a Microsoft Word document on a Mac to transfer properly to Word on a Windows computer?

I'm on a Mac OS X version 10.4.10 and I'm trying to make a thesis compatible with Windows XP. Specifically, the vertical tables I creating in Mac Word are not showing any outlines, while the ones I originally created in Windows Word are fine.

I got a warning on Mac Word that said my compatibility options are set to Word 6.0/95. When I go into the preferences box, into the compatibility options, it is currently set to "custom" and none of the accompanying boxes are checked. I changed it to "2000-2004 and X", but when I press okay and go back in, it's back to "custom."

I also tried just checking all of the boxes and pressing okay, but the problems remain.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

posted by Idiot Mittens to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

An old trick for table conversion problems is to save into an RTF (Rich Text format) as an intermediate step. The one caveat is that you may also lose some of the your elaborate formating...
posted by OlderThanTOS at 11:42 AM on October 21, 2007

Response by poster: Hmmm, I tried saving in RTF but I'm still having the problem of the table lines disappearing.
posted by Idiot Mittens at 2:59 PM on October 21, 2007

Best answer: Ohhh--are the lines really disappearing or have they just changed color to "invisible"? Try selecting the table and then format borders.
posted by OlderThanTOS at 12:05 PM on October 22, 2007

Response by poster: Yes! Thank you!
posted by Idiot Mittens at 8:04 PM on October 22, 2007