The latest versions of Word have the ability to remove personal information (Document Inspector). if you are worried, you can save it as an RTF file which will contain the massive Word formatting (shown in TeX-like backslash commands) but will remove versions, hidden text, etc. RTFs can be read by Word and most word processors. Earlier versions of Word had a "quick save" option that kept all previous versions. The current version is supposed to strip that on save. I have not confirmed it personally. Or use a PDF, as has been suggested. I have several clients who do that when they send out files specifically for security purposes. Word now has Save As PDF readily available. When the Starr report was converted from WordPerfect to HTML to be placed on line, a number of deleted footnotes reappeared since WordPerfect also stored versions. Can't blame Bill Gates for that. Attaching a Word document to an inhouse email is a process issue, not a Word problem. People need to be taught to save the document on a common drive and access it there. I teach PowerPoint and the point is continually stress is that "PowerPoint is the organizer of your thoughts. You are the presenter and the reason people are there. You need to provide the "value added" information, analysis, comments, etc. that make the presentation worthwhile." In the "good old days" most computer users had a good idea of hardware and software. Should I blame the Mac for hiding the complexity of a computer operating system from the user? I mean, if users keep losing files, don't know what is happening when they use a piece of software, don't know what a file format is and why it is important, etc. isn't that an indictment of the computer? I mean, if a user figures out that with enough carriage returns and tabs, they can make an indented list instead of using a hanging indent, is that wrong? It isn't until someone tries to edit the document and the carefully placed tabs and spaces turn the formatting into a god-awful mess. I blame the user for that, not the software. How many of you use styles to format your text? How many simply go through a document to change the heading from 14pt to 16pt? When I teach styles, 90% of my students have never used them, yet when they learn how, many see the value. I would be the first to complain about much of what is wrong in Word. A full version and a simple version might very well be the best solution all around, if the file formats were transparent and the "full" features hidden and not stripped away. When you compare the Mac to the PC, remember that Apple controls the hardware and the system software while Microsoft has to virtualize the hardware interface to fit multiple unknown hardware components. A lot of Windows and Office bugs are from buggy drivers that are provided by a third party. In CP/M days, there was a contest to write a complete game in one 64 character line of BASIC. Hardware was expensive. Now that processors are fast and memory cheap, there is less incentive to tighten code like that. Especially when release dates are market driven and not technology driven. I have been a professional tech writer since 1981. I do not want to take the time to write my text, then go over it again just to add formatting. It is a waste of billable time for me. I format as I go, writing in bursts and then adding the images and styles. When I go over the document, I am editing content and formatting, not doing unpaid grunt work. I am very much in favor of education, both in the traditional liberal arts sense of teaching how to think, how to learn, how to analyze, how to research, how to present as well as technical education--how to use software and hardware. Nothing is perfect in this world. Almost by definition, the common standard sinks to a level below what is excellent. Marketing and commercial considerations overshadow innovation, the better marketed often beats out the technically superior, and power (economic and political) stifles the general good in favor of the privileges of the few. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.hidden-tech.net/pipermail/hidden-discuss/attachments/20091213/f83d72ff/attachment.html