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Getting the point across: File exchange between Macs & PCs

By Caroline Ferguson

Almost all the options discussed below place the onus of file transfer/translation on the Macintosh platform. Because Macintoshes have a smaller share of the market than do IBM-compatible computers, vendors have not considered DOS users who need to read and write Macintosh files a sufficiently large audience to warrant significant research and development expenditures. The few DOS-based products that have been developed have not been successful. The plethora of IBM- compatible machines has, however, had the opposite effect on Macintosh developers. To penetrate large corporate sites, they have had to make the Macintosh work with what was already on site-IBM-compatibles and their software. Despite the rise of "mixed" environments, it is unlikely that new DOS-based file-transfer products will appear in the near future.

Technical overview

Hardware, usually in the form of a special disk drive or cable, is needed to move files from one type of machine to another. Macintoshes and IBM-compatibles physically arrange the data they store in different formats, and the cables and drives allow each machine to "see" the data located on disks created on the other.

Software, often in the form of an application program such as MacLink Plus or Apple File Exchange (AFE), translates data files from one application format to another, for example, from Microsoft Word (Mac) format to WordPerfect (DOS) format. The translation software changes the codes that one application uses to indicate formatting features such as bolding or single spacing of text into codes that the receiving application can understand, so that document formatting is retained.

Thus, both hardware and software are needed to successfully transfer/translate data files. The hardware facilitates the physical movement of data, while the software enables one application to use the files created by another application.

File transfer hardware

The SuperDrive or FDHD (Floppy Drive High Density) built into every Macintosh now in production is the most misunderstood and underused piece of file-transfer hardware. (Older models such as the Macintosh SE and the II can be upgraded to the SuperDrive, but it is not available as an Apple-supplied option for the Macintosh Plus.) This floppy drive permits the Macintosh to use high-density 1.44 Mbyte disks and to recognize, in combination with translation software, DOS 3.5-inch double-sided double-density (720 Kbytes) disks or high-density (1.44 Mbytes) disks. The SuperDrive is a good solution if you only need to transfer files to or from 3.5-inch DOS disks.

If you do not have access to a SuperDrive-equipped Macintosh, or if you need to work with 5.25-inch DOS disks, the DaynaFile external drive is one alternative. The DaynaFile, which can be connected to any Macintosh that supports SCSI devices (the Macintosh Plus and higher), comes in several configurations that support DOS disks of various sizes and capacities: 3.5-inch disks in double-sided double-density (720 Kbytes) or high-density (1.44 Mbytes) format, and 5.25-inch disks in either double-sided double-density (360 Kbytes) or high-density (1.2 Mbytes) format. Accompanying software allows you to access DOS disks from the Macintosh desktop and to format them.

If the machines you wish to transfer files between are in close proximity (in the same room or on the same desk), you have another alternative. You can connect the two machines with the cable that is a part of the MacLink Plus translation software package.

Hardware recommendations

File translation software

The most economical software choice is Apple File Exchange (AFE), an application that has been included with Macintosh System software for several years. The interface is confusing initially, but a brief session with the documentation and a few file transfers should clear up any difficulties. The only transfer hardware that AFE supports is the SuperDrive.

Basic, out-of-the-System-software-box AFE is not very flexible; it includes translators for text (ASCII) and MacWrite files only. Hence, files created in other Mac or DOS applications must be saved as unformatted text (ASCII) files and then transferred via the SuperDrive.

AFE can be augmented by purchasing MacLink Plus/Translators, a set of translators from the manufacturers of MacLink Plus software. Using these translators, you can move files with their formatting, such as bolding and underlining, intact. The set includes translators for most popular Mac and DOS word processing and spreadsheet applications, such as WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, and Lotus 1-2-3, as well as for a host of other applications, including some Windows applications.

The grande dame of file translation software is MacLink Plus/PC. This stand-alone application can be used both with the DaynaFile and with the supplied cable. (The product supports other options as well, but they are beyond the scope of this article.) The package includes software that must be run on the IBM-compatible computer if you use the cable option. The number of translation options you can set with MacLink Plus/PC can be overwhelming initially, but you can save customized file transfer settings for future use. The set of translators included with the program (the same ones as in the MacLink Plus/Translators package) is comprehensive and updated frequently- existing translators are improved and new ones are added. MacLink Plus/PC is an excellent choice if you use the DaynaFile or if you must transfer files under varying circumstances.

Software recommendations

Alternative solutions

Many applications from Claris Corporation, a Macintosh software vendor, include their own translators, which work with all Claris applications and with other products that recognize Claris file translation protocols. The Claris translator set, while not as comprehensive as the MacLink Plus set, does include translators for major applications such as WordPerfect (DOS) and Microsoft Word (DOS). If you already use the CRC-supported word processor Claris MacWrite II, the Claris translators are a good deal.

Many popular applications with versions for both Macintoshes and IBM-compatibles let you save files in a format that can be read by the version on the other machine. For Macintosh and Microsoft Windows applications this capability is usually implemented as the "Save as..." option. Thus, for example, Microsoft Word (Mac) can save files in a format that can be read by Microsoft Word (DOS), and Microsoft Excel for Windows can save files in a format that can be read by the Macintosh version. The files can then be transferred via the DaynaFile or the SuperDrive with AFE . The "common file format" concept is becoming increasingly popular, so you can expect to see it implemented in additional applications.

Even if you have an application which does not include a "Save as ...." feature, all is not lost. Certain Macintosh applications can read the file formats of DOS applications, once the files have been transferred with the SuperDrive or the DaynaFile; DOS-based applications, however, rarely have the capability to read Macintosh formats. For example, Excel (Mac) can read .WK? worksheet files created by Lotus 1-2-3 (DOS), and FileMaker Pro (Mac) can read .DBF database files created by dBASE (DOS). Check the manuals of the two applications involved in a file transfer to find out if there is a common file format that both can use.

If all else fails, there is a "lowest common denominator" option available in almost any application. Most word processing and spreadsheet programs, whether Macintosh-, DOS-, or Windows-based, can save and read text (ASCII) files. Files saved in this way have no formatting and cannot include special features like tables, footnotes, or graphics. If a file is particularly complex, it may, however, be faster to re-create it on the new platform using a "native" application.

Sidebar: Determining your file exchange needs

To decide whether you need to purchase new hardware or software or can use what you already have, follow these guidelines and ask yourself a few simple questions.

• First consider your hardware. Do you have access to a Macintosh SuperDrive? Between what computers will you be transferring data, and what size disks do they use?
• Then consider your software. Do the applications that you are using have a "Save as ..." option or file formats that are flexible enough to eliminate the need for translation software?
• Do you need a stand-alone file-translation application, or would add-in or built-in translators suffice?