Excel can save tab- and commadelimited
files that are easily importable into a large number of applications.
If you make use of Access to save data, you may want to move data stored in Access??™s .mdb format
into a SQL database. SQL is more scalable, powerful, and virtually platform-independent. Migrating
to SQL will preserve your data, but if your .mdb file will not open in OpenOffice.org, you will
need to re-create any forms for accessing the data that you would like to continue using.
If you are likely to continue to receive Microsoft Office files and you are concerned about interoperability,
here are some options to consider:
Keep a copy of Microsoft Office installed using WINE and the CodeWeavers CrossOver
Office plug-in. For more information about CrossOver Office, visit CodeWeavers??™ Web
site at www.codeweavers.com.
NOTE
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Running Applications Part IV
Ask individuals sending you documentation to use a less vendor-specific format, such as
Adobe PDF. Document formatting can be exquisitely preserved and will be viewable by
anyone capable of installing a PDF viewer, which supports virtually every operating system
in widespread use today. Documents posted on Web sites, for example, should be in
PDF and not Microsoft Word format for security reasons.
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