Re: [Groff] conversion to DOC format

[Jeff Conrad]

Ted Harding wrote:

> ...  So sending someone an HTML file named as a ".doc" file to be
> double-clicked on would have left them staring at HTML, at any rate if they
> were using Weird-97, and this would have defeated Dean's purpose and quite
> possibly have spoilt his chances of the job.  Nor, I doubt, would it have
> been particularly well viewed if, when sending the file, he accompanied it
> with instructions "This is an HTML file 'resume.html'.  First start up
> Word, then, in the 'File' menu, open 'resume.html'."  This would have been
> seen as altogether too much trouble ...

I completely agree--this would be far too complex for most folks who insist
on .doc files, especially those who refuse to accept PDF as an alternative.
It's also a bit convoluted even for someone who knows what's going on.  The
recipients asked for a file in Word format, so that's probably what they
ought to get.

The safest approach probably is to open the HTML file (using whatever means
is appropriate to a particular version of Word or its clone) and save the
file as a .doc.  The newer versions of Word usually offer the option to
save in an earlier Word format; I suppose the safest choice would be Word
95, although this will lose any embedded hyperlinks.

In any event, for a resume or CV (or an invoice), I'd be inclined to set a
password on the .doc file so that it can't be altered.  At lease in the
U.S., many companies who receive these documents take steps to see that
this doesn't happen, primarily to protect themselves from legal liability.

Security, of course, is another advantage of PDF: in addition to preventing
alteration, the author can set other restrictions.  On one consulting
assignment, all of my reports disallowed content extraction via cut and
paste (it's a long story ...).  I couldn't have done this with a .doc file.

I don't understand why people refuse to accept PDF as an alternative, given
the free availability of the latest version of Acrobat Reader, vs. the
difficulties in reading some of the different Word formats.  Perhaps they
don't know what PDF is ... these seem to be the same folks who pronounce
ASCII as "asky 2" ...

Jeff Conrad