Kevin Cullis: How to Start a Business Mac Version

For all intents and purposes, iWork Pages is the equivalent of MS Publisher on the Mac. But better yet, most print shops do not like working with Publisher files. As Mac runs UNIX “under the hood” (Postscript) there is generally better use of this technology for printing.

iWork Page will NOT read MS Publisher files directly, all files require a filter that can convert a file from one format to another, Apple has not decided to write this .pub filter.

Hint: Migrating all of your Windows files to your Mac may require extra steps than the perceived “one button push” to get them all over. In nearly ALL cases it is the FILE FORMAT that will determine the ease or difficulty to moving and transferring those files.

Entrepreneurs that move from Windows to Mac usually have MS Office files to deal with, and to a lesser degree, MS Publisher files. MS Office files cross over with little to no problems, but with MS Publisher, that’s a different thing altogether. There is no easy way, until now.

Well, my wife is in real estate and she has some old files that are in MS Publisher’s .pub file format. Of course, she turns to me to see what can be done.

After much research I found a cool web site, Zamzar.com, that helps out (it’s currently in beta) by converting files into various other formats, a LOT of file formats.

WARNING: Converting files into various formats loses, at the very least, some of the formatting of the file, at the worst, you’ve lost some of your data and may not recover much of it directly. But, there may be workarounds.

As with any file format issue, there are six processes that come into play, starting from the best to the worst:

1. Direct file conversion: For example, a file that was created in iWork Pages or MS Word uses the “Save As…” menu export function to convert the file into another format straight through with few, if any, problems. The more complex the document, the more chances there are of having translation issues. Simple letters or other documents should not create any troubles.
2. File translation: While most programs such as iWork Pages and MS Word have filters built in (under the “Save As… menu) that will translate file formats, Zamzar.com does a whole lot more translations.
3. Work arounds: Translating files through a program can do a good job, but somethings the translation just doesn’t quite make it. In the case of MS Publisher files converted to MS Word .doc file iWork Pages files do not come through well enough and there are some problems. That’s where NeoOffice (and it’s twin OpenOffice.org) a FREE office suite, will see the .doc files correctly allowing you to work with the elements of the file into your iWork Pages documents. Sometimes it’s a “Save As…” function, sometimes it’s a cut and paste of some of the elements.
4. Scan and recover: Sometimes scanners have Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software that can scan a page and convert it. Just run the text through a spell checker if the document is a long one.
5. Redo by hand: If you have a printed copy you can at least retype your document into your program, if you have one somewhere.
6. Start from scratch: Here you begin again with a blank screen.

In my case, getting a MS Publisher file into iWork Pages I:

1. Download NeoOffice (or Open Office ) for the Mac for free or have a copy of MS Office.
2. Translated the MS Publisher file into a .doc format using Zamzar.com (It’s in Beta, so I don’t know how long it will be free).
3. Open the translated file in MS Office or the free  NeoOffice or  Open Office Writer program in order to access the elements, such as graphics, that do not come through the conversion process well.
4. Cut and pasted the elements into Pages, both text and graphics. Text was easy as a menu choice Edit > Select  All… and copy and pasted the text into Pages as Edit > Paste and Match Style. Graphics were a little more manual.

With a little luck I was able to recreate my wife’s file so she can continue her business. It may have taken some effort, but from here we can make many changes in the iWork Pages page layout part. It’s not a “one step” solution, but it beats having to redo completely her file.

What are your thoughts?

When it comes to being an entrepreneur and using a Mac you come across a number of people that don’t like Mac users. But that is beside the point.

Recently a friend received a Microsoft Publisher document in Publisher’s native file format, not as a PDF. This customer called the business and said, “I can’t read the file you sent, what program did you use?” “I sent you a MS Publisher file, why can’t you read it?”

First, for a business to come across as “why YOU can’t read” what they sent you is the WRONG answer to the question.

The customer started with, “I use a Mac and…,” and before the customer could continue the their statement the business then began to denigrate their customer as being stupid and arrogant for not having Windows and MS Publisher. “Mac users *&@+!^)(~*”

As a customer, how would you respond to such actions?

There is a hugh difference between reducing various communications avenues or channels for customers to contact you to keep your time to respond to customer concerns to a minimum, versus shutting down completely customers contacting you completely. (Having 10 different channels to communicate means you learn 10 different systems and protocols). You don’t have to have 10 different ways of customers to contact you, it is best to have one or two, but to prevent them from contacting and even working with you is bad for business.

So, if you have want customers to work with you, you need to make sure that the one communication avenue our choose is the one most available to your customers. Sending a PDF not only can be read by everyone, but it saves on the environment.

Besides, real print publishers dislike MS Publisher files that are sent to them, so get with the program and use something that your vendors and customers will enjoy, it just might bring you more business.

Like, get a Mac? Hmm?

P.S. Mac has UNIX under the hood and Postscript as it’s native printing language. All printers understand and use it.