How to access information sent out from FMA UK

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Category: Documentation

Published on Monday, 27 October 2008 09:26

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When information is displayed on our website or sent out to support groups or individuals it could be available in a number of formats. We are able to supply documents in alternative formats if required but it is quicker and easier for you if you have the correct tools from the outset.

This document is aimed as a starting point so that you can have the right tools. The charity's default document types are based on Microsoft Office formats and Adobe Acrobat PDF files.

All tools listed below are free unless stated and will allow you to read the charity's files.

Adobe Acrobat / Portable Document Format files (PDF)

• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Nitro PDF Reader (Smaller and quicker Reader than Acrobat Reader and more features)

Microsoft Office Files

The latest version of Microsoft Office is Office 2007. While a lot of our work may be created in Office 2007, the default file format in use would be Word 2003 format. However if you own an earlier version of Office, there is a free update from Microsoft that will enable earlier versions to open even the latest 2007 versions of documents.

Alternatively you can obtain one of the free viewers below or the open source and free OpenOffice suite.

• Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats (docx,xlsx etc...) (Windows)
• Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 1.1.5 - For Mac Office users
• Microsoft office viewers homepage
  • Word Viewer
  • Excel Viewer
  • Powerpoint Viewer
    
    
• Open Office 3 - This is a suite of applications like MS Office that can open and save files in MS office format and will allow you to contribute files in a way that the charity can accept. Available for Mac, Windows and Linux. A tutorial on how to save in MS formats can be found here: http://bit.ly/dtqNvQ.
  
  If you download openoffice (or Libreoffice) then you will want to change the default filetype to Microsoft Office document type in all probability. This is very easy to do and has been outlined in this document here: http://sh.fmauk.org/jzztwP

Useful Tools / Applications

• Compression and Archive Tools
  Windows and Linux - 7zip - This is a program that can open compressed files as well as create compressed archives. This is often carried out to compress a large document or collection of documents to allow it to be sent by email.
  MaxOS - Two options for the Mac platform are http://www.zipeg.com/ or http://www.kekaosx.com/en/

• Skype - The charity uses Skype as its Instant Message client to allow both text and voice calls between trustees and volunteers. It can also allow individuals to have a separate dedicated number for FMA UK duties.
   
• Inkscape - An Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.
  
  
• Kompozer - A KompoZer is a complete web authoring system that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG web page editing. KompoZer is designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding.
   
• Scribus - Scribus is an Open Source program that brings professional page layout to the Windows desktop and other platforms with a combination of press-ready output and new approaches to page design. Can do the same tasks as Microsoft Publisher.

Some Helpful Tutorials or documents

• Track Changes in Word documents with this document on how to use Word manage changes in a document among a group of people.

We will update this page when we have other tools or tips that may help people working with the charity. We cannot support your installation choices but where possible we will seek to give some guidance on what applications you can use as in this document.