Office:Mac 2008 compatibility problems

[LowLevelWhingeing]

Just started uni and had to fill in a form and return it by e-mail.

So, I downloaded the word document, filled it in using Office:Mac 2008, saved it as a "Word 97 - 2004 (.doc)" and e-mailed it back.
Tutor has e-mailed me back saying she can't open it. AAAGH! Pretty mortified.

Now, I realise I need to check with her to see what version of word she is using, but I thought buying Microsoft Office for Mac would ensure it was compatible!

If I send it as a rtf file, will that work and open the same etc? Including fancy tables and logos etc?
Or are there problems with rtf files?

Thanks y'all

[Snorbs]

rtf is usually the safest bet and should work with all but the most complex documents.

[LowLevelWhingeing]

Thanks Snorbs. Unable to contact the tutor at the moment so I've sent three versions: .doc .rtf and .docx

I really hope one works!

[BadgersPaws]

Another option would be to send it as a PDF which is a very portable, if usually read only, format.

On a Mac pretty much anything can easily be printed as a PDF. I'm not on my Mac right now but IIRC bring up the Print dialog and there should be a "Save as PDF" option on there somewhere....

[LowLevelWhingeing]

Yes, you're right BP. Thanks. That may come in handy.

If I have to send documents that are not just read only, are there any down sides to using rtf?

[BadgersPaws]

I've had troubles with RTF documents, in particular when it comes to complicated tables and layout. However my dabblings were brief and I was using MS Word, which is never that good when it comes to trying to be compatible with anything other than itself.

The best I can suggest is to try playing about with it. Your Mac should be able to open up RTF's in both Word and Text Edit (or whatever the default editor is called) if not more. Then try bouncing the document to a PC and seeing how Word Pad and Word deals with it...

[LowLevelWhingeing]

That's great thanks. I'll try that as some of the documents are full of text boxes and stuff.