Wife having problems with boss over Macs

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
I hope someone here can help us soon. My wife has bought a 12" Powerbook for her mobile computer which she uses alot. Her boss wanted her to buy a PC but relented after her assurances over compatabilty issues etc. All has been good except one thing. One thing that I just can't figure out and which is making my wife's boss extremely p*ssed off.



My wife and her boss send word documents back and forth to each other many times a day. Whenever my wife sends a doc to her boss she gets a verbal lashing because certain mistakes that HIS PC version of word has picked up slipped by her computer.



For example, a simple example. In a Word document opened on a PC "the their" is underlined as it should be for being incorrect grammer, but on her 12"Powerbook as well as her eMac "the their" is not underlined or otherwise pointed out by Word as being incorrect.



I've done just about all that I can think of to fix this issue. I've checkmarked all settings that should affect grammer so basically if one were to cough a grammer error window would pop up but I CANNOT get WORD X or WORD 04 for her macs to underline a simple error such as "the their".



I've messed with it for hours and cannot make it happen. Any help WILL be appreciated.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    Solutions:



    1) Have someone give you a fix



    2) Learn to proof read



    3) Try it if ya like it, buy it



    4) Change all the grammar and spelling rules on her bosses computer
  • Reply 2 of 15
    doyaldoyal Posts: 72member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ast3r3x

    Solutions:



    1) Have someone give you a fix



    2) Learn to proof read



    3) Try it if ya like it, buy it



    4) Change all the grammar and spelling rules on her bosses computer




    I'm sure your post was in jest but right now I don't find it funny. Anyone able to offer any constructive assistance?
  • Reply 3 of 15
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by doyal

    I'm sure your post was in jest but right now I don't find it funny. Anyone able to offer any constructive assistance?



    unfortunately i think he about summed up your options
  • Reply 4 of 15
    doyaldoyal Posts: 72member
    Ok so let me understand this. My wife has to tell her boss who never wanted he to get a Mac that her 12" Powerbooks versions of Word (X & 04) can't natively point out a mistake like "Hello he said to the their." and he will have to shell out $40 dollars for a 3rd party program after just having complained about the price of Office 04 which he purchased for his only Mac employee. Christ it's worse then I thought. I'm staying away from her tonight.
  • Reply 5 of 15
    jwri004jwri004 Posts: 626member
    You could set a rules to change the their to their in autocorrect. Not pretty but it does work.
  • Reply 6 of 15
    boemaneboemane Posts: 311member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by doyal

    Ok so let me understand this. My wife has to tell her boss who never wanted he to get a Mac that her 12" Powerbooks versions of Word (X & 04) can't natively point out a mistake like "Hello he said to the their." and he will have to shell out $40 dollars for a 3rd party program after just having complained about the price of Office 04 which he purchased for his only Mac employee. Christ it's worse then I thought. I'm staying away from her tonight.



    If its THAT bad, she could always shed out 40 bucks for it herself. I mean 40 bucks isnt a lot to avoid a lashing at work...



    .:BoeManE:.
  • Reply 7 of 15
    bungebunge Posts: 7,329member
    Have you checked the "Auto correct as you type" options? If it's not that, it's something similar. You should be able to add words and phrases the application highlights.
  • Reply 8 of 15
    ijerryijerry Posts: 615member
    My MS Word picks it up with the sentence "Hello he said to the their." It underlines it in green as a grammatical error...It took a second to come up, but it did work. So, there is definitely something wrong with one of your settings!
  • Reply 9 of 15
    endymionendymion Posts: 375member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ijerry

    My MS Word picks it up with the sentence "Hello he said to the their." It underlines it in green as a grammatical error...It took a second to come up, but it did work. So, there is definitely something wrong with one of your settings!



    I second that. My Word04 is picking up the errors also.
  • Reply 10 of 15
    progmacprogmac Posts: 1,850member
    so the boss is getting mad because she makes grammar mistakes? she could proofread? besides, its just a green line, and if she is worried about sending a final document that she knows is correct, she could just send a PDF file. i guess i'm a little unclear on the problem.
  • Reply 11 of 15
    shetlineshetline Posts: 4,695member
    Does anyone here actually get any real use out of automated grammar checking?



    Maybe such software has improved over the past couple of years, but every time in the past that I've tried grammar checking, the results have been awful. It seems as if nothing more complex than elementary school declarative sentences are acceptable.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by doyal

    Ok so let me understand this. My wife has to tell her boss who never wanted he to get a Mac that her 12" Powerbooks versions of Word (X & 04) can't natively point out a mistake like "Hello he said to the their." and he will have to shell out $40 dollars for a 3rd party program after just having complained about the price of Office 04 which he purchased for his only Mac employee. Christ it's worse then I thought. I'm staying away from her tonight.



    Somehow, the entirety of the above makes it sound like it is somehow Apple's fault or a technical limitation inherent to the Macintosh platform.



    Microsoft makes Word. Microsoft makes Windows.



    Any deficiencies in its features on the Mac OS (a competing operating system ? if only in theory now) can hardly be the fault or responsibility of Apple or its users.



    Blame. Microsoft. <- That's for her boss and Microsoft, not so much you.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    curiousuburbcuriousuburb Posts: 3,325member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by shetline

    Does anyone here actually get any real use out of automated grammar checking?



    Maybe such software has improved over the past couple of years, but every time in the past that I've tried grammar checking, the results have been awful. It seems as if nothing more complex than elementary school declarative sentences are acceptable.




    The very first Grammar Checker I remember (as a standalone program for Apple II or PC AT on 5.25in floppies, IIRC), came with documentation on the history of its rules system.



    All based on US DoD testing (plenty of trainees... some of questionable reading level, covering lots of technical material as a sample set). Any sentence of more than 12 words gets flagged as potentially too complex. Hated passive voice (as have my editors at times). Offered a calculation of equivalent grade level, and the 12 word sentence ballparked around the Grade 8 or 9 level. Numerous other stats which it would track over time to help profile the author.



    That must have been more than 20 years ago, and though specialty word processors will likely service niche style guides, I'm almost certain those DoD derived rules are the foundation of most grammar checkers.

    (Ideal word processing tools would have the ability to switch between various style guides and grammatical formats dynamically.)



    Write like your audience is a recruit and you'll be spared the green squiggle.
  • Reply 14 of 15
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Quote:

    For example, a simple example. In a Word document opened on a PC "the their" is underlined as it should be for being incorrect grammer,



    You should look in to seeing if you can proofread. You misspelled the word "grammar" in your first post. Not being sarcastic, just saying it's worth it to not let a computer do all your thinking for you. Proofreading is a valuable writing step that should never be solely handled by a machine.
  • Reply 15 of 15
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    I can't get Office X to find a mistake with "the their". But hopefully with office '04 you can.



    What is your wife writing that they are using the very professional word documents to transfer it?



    I just mean...it's probably not a hundred page magazine layout since it's in word form. Unless it's some crazy report on something.
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