Imagine that you have just spent valuable time producing a document that needs to be shared with a colleague. You could mail a copy but what if that document has to arrive TODAY? Faxed copies can become blurry. Courier services require a generous budget. So why not attach it to e-mail?

In this column we try to avoid using computer jargon and technical terms. But there is only one word to describe what may happen when computers with different software programs try to open those attachments—gobbledygook.

The CEOs of the big computer companies haven't applied Isaiah 11: 6–7 to computer design. WordPerfect will not lie down with Word! Macs and PCs will not graze together! A document originally formatted (designed) on a computer that uses Word, attached to an email and opened on a computer using WordPerfect, may get garbled.

A perfectly typed title like "ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION QUESTIONNAIRE" becomes "{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang 1033\deflangfe1033{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fcharset0 Palatino-Bold;}{\f1\froman\fcharset0 Palatino-Roman;}{\f2\froman\fcharset0 Palatino-Italic;}{\f3\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}}{\colortbl ;\red255\green0\blue0;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard \nowidctlpar\lang2057\b\f0\fs32 ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION QUESTIONNAIRE\par\par".

And frustration is the result.

Until Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled, let's keep things simple. Save and send document attachments in more than one format whenever possible. If you see .doc after the title of your file, you've saved a Word document. WordPerfect users will see .wpd. Rich text format (.rtf) will often work for both programs. Some of you will be able to send attachments as .pdf (pretty darned friendly) that can be looked at and printed like a photo, but not easily edited. Most computers allow you to save as in several styles. A little experimenting will lead you to the right answer for your correspondence.

And be patient. A quick e-reply saying "I could not open your attachment. Please try another format" will accomplish so much more than hitting the DELETE button.

(Actually the acronym pdf stands for portable document format.)

You can contact Rasmouse:
communique@elcic.ca (subject line "Rasmouse")
204.984.9185 (fax attn: Rasmouse)
toll-free 1.888.786.6707 ext. 153, or 204.984.9153