Moving data from one computer to another...

  Let's imagine that you have a Mac and want to share a file with someone. If the other person has a Mac, there probably won't be any problem at all. You must know what kind of file that you are sharing. For instance, if you are sending someone an image, there should be absolutely no problems. But know that you are expecting them to have an "image viewer" installed on their machine. This is a safe assumption to make if your are sending an image to someone. But if you are sending someone a Word document, should you make that same assumption? Should you assume that everyone has Microsoft Word? Or worse yet, imagine that you are working on a Photoshop document. Photoshop is a $600 program and you cannot assume that everyone has it, much less the same version as you! In these cases, you'd want to save it AS a more generic file type. Save it as Text Only or RTF (Rich Text Format) so that some of the formatting will be retained. For images, save it as a JPG or a TIFF. Both of these formats are rather generic and any computer in the world today ought to be able to open these kinds of files. Keep in mind that the same editing capabilities will not be retained as with the proprietary format. For instance, all layers in a Photoshop file will be flattened if you send it out as a TIFF or JPG. Usually, two copies of the same file are created to accomodate sharing and editing.

  If the person you are sending a file to has a PC, then this presents one more hurdle. For the most part, sending them the file through the network, or internet or email is relatively problem free. Assuming that they have the program on their end required to open it, there shouldn't be any problems. But because you are dealing with different file system types, here are some suggestions to minimize potential problems.

  Keep your filenames simple. Do not use odd characters or spaces. And do not use the "." because that can force the end computer into thinking that the file is of a differnet type. Using the "/" can also be problematic because the end computer may think that you are trying to change directories. The same holds true for the ":". So to play it safe, just use the simple "alpha-numeric" characters and all should be good.

  If a network is not available to share files across and you must use either an external hard drive or jump drive, this adds another hurdle to this quest. Please refer to my article on "Jump Drives" because there is a significant difference in the file systems of a Mac and of a Windows machine. Basically, Windows will not recognize a Mac formatted volume. Although, a Mac WILL recognize a Windows formatted volume so depending on which direction you're going, you might be able to get away with it. Usually, copying files over a network is the best solution to these problems.