In the most recent Mac Power Users podcast, ”Word Processing and Writing“, Katie (@maccore) and Dave (@macsparky) led a great discussion on Mac Word Processing Apps.  I know… it sounds a little dry, but trust me.  It was really good.  By the time the podcast had wrapped up I not only had three new apps to test drive, but I picked up some great info and tips along the way.

In particular, I appreciated three configuration changes Katie shared that she makes any time she does a fresh install of Microsoft Word 2008.  All were spot-on, so I’ve collated them below and added links that explain in detail how to configure each setting.

1.  Change the default document format from .docx to .doc. Why do it?  It’s simple – compatibility.  Many users have not yet updated to the newest versions of Word and may encounter trouble if documents are not saved in .doc format:

How to do it: Switching to Mac: How to Change the Default “Save As” File Format in MS Word 2008

2.  Disable WYSWYG font menus. Why do it?  By default Word displays fonts in the font menu in a “live preview” mode.  That looks nice, but it requires Word to load the fonts on startup.  This drastically slows down your load times.  By disabling this feature Word will launch much faster.

How to do it: Mac OS X Hints: Reduce Microsoft Word Launch Times

3.  Change the default font from Cambria to Times New Roman. Why do it?  Again for compatibility and ease of use.  The de facto standard for documents is Times New Roman.  If you exchange documents frequently within users of other apps or Windows users, or just want to stick to “the norm”, you want to use Times New Roman.

How to do it: OS X Hints: Set the Office 2008 default font to Times New Roman

There you go!  Thanks again to Katie and Dave.  If you want to listen their actual discussion, it starts at 17:25 and ends around 21:27.  Enjoy.

Click Here to Download Mac Power Users 5: Word Processing and Writing