Help with transferring apps from mac to pc & Vice Versa

[Marlene4]

Greetings Fellow Travelers,
I am basically a computer illiterate. Please bear with me and I will not be offended if you speak to me like I'm a four year old
I have downloaded a set of instructions (in powerpoint) that gives me the ability to present my classes with a jeopardy game. The problem is, I have a Mac, while schools use a PC.
Short of purchasing (please no a pc. Is there anyway that I can successfully use the Jeopardy game with both. Typically, I will set the questions on my Mac, then when using the file via thumb drive, the game does not work properly.
I've considered using a web based game, however, two of the classes that I teach have no internet access.

I apologize if I have sent this message to the wrong forum. Please feel free to direct me to the correct forum.

Thanks Very Much!

 

[iMav]

Is the "game" a PowerPoint presentation? If so, as long as you have compatible versions of MS Office on both your Mac and the Windows PC, all should be happy.

 

[Marlene4]

Thank You iMav.
Can you tell me how to go about find which version both machines are running?
Also, it just dawned on me. I don't have administrator access to change versions at different schools

 

[honestone]

For the Mac, you would (most likely) be running either Office 2011 or Office 2016. For PowerPoint on the Mac, after you launch it, move you cursor to where it says PowerPoint (near the top left hand corner), click on it, and you should see the first menu item stated as "About PowerPoint". Select it, and the next screen will show the version of PowerPoint on your Mac. If it is part of Office 2016, it will say "Version 15.whatever". For example, I have Office 2016, and when I launch Word and follow that scheme, it shows Version 15.30 (the latest version, which came out a couple of weeks ago). Can't remember what it will say for PowerPoint 2011, ie, PowerPoint as part of Office 2011.

Let us know what it says, and we can point you where to get the latest version (in case you don't have it). I suspect there are similar steps for PowerPoint on the Windows machine, but I don't know what those would be. Also, one would think that as long as you have the latest version of POwerPoint on your Mac as part of Office 2016, it should be able to process just about any PowerPoint file created on the Windows machine. But, I'm not 100% sure about that. I just know such a statement is valid for the versions of Word and Excel (part of Office 2016) that I have.

 

[Marlene4]

Honestone,
You give excellent jargon free directions!! (And you are very kind
Thank you for the tip on ridding myself of the Sierra download. (Another thread) I deselected everything but security updates.
OK, on to the current powerpoint challenge
I did as you instructed: I have powerpoint 15.30 Does that make any sense?
I purchased the mac with the software already installed.
Thank you again!
Cheers!
Marlene

 

[honestone]

Honestone,
You give excellent jargon free directions!! (And you are very kind
Thank you for the tip on ridding myself of the Sierra download. (Another thread) I deselected everything but security updates.
OK, on to the current powerpoint challenge
I did as you instructed: I have powerpoint 15.30 Does that make any sense?
I purchased the mac with the software already installed.
Thank you again!
Cheers!
Marlene

Glad I could help. Also, it sounds like you have the latest version of Powerpoint 2016, V15.30. (By the way, when did you purchase the Mac)? Do you also have Word 2016 and Excel 2016? If you do, what versions are those?

Also, this link explains how to determine the version number of Powerpoint on a Windows machine:

https://support.office.com/en-us/ar...-I-using-932788b8-a3ce-44bf-bb09-e334518b8b19

Not sure why it says you need to create a new document, then check.

IN any event, it looks like the version number for the newest version of Powerpoint on a Windows machine would start with 16. But, as I stated earlier, if it is the prior version (starting with 15, meaning Office 2016 for Windows), the version of Powerpoint you have for the Mac should be able to process Powerpoint documents created with Office 2013 for Windows.

 

[honestone]

"IN any event, it looks like the version number for the newest version of Powerpoint on a Windows machine would start with 16. But, as I stated earlier, if it is the prior version (starting with 15, meaning Office 2016 for Windows), the version of Powerpoint you have for the Mac should be able to process Powerpoint documents created with Office 2013 for Windows."

Oops! Made a typo there. Here is what I wanted to say:

"IN any event, it looks like the version number for the newest version of Powerpoint on a Windows machine would start with 16. But even if it is the prior version (starting with 15, meaning Office 2013 for Windows), the version of Powerpoint you have for the Mac should be able to process Powerpoint documents created with either version of Office for Windows."

 

[Marlene4]

Good afternoon Honstone,
At this moment I'm not with my mac (I'm actually contemplating getting rid of it)
It is an older model (refurbished). As I mentioned earlier the mac came with software installed.
To be honest, I'm really very bad at reading directions, so I know that I'm not using the mac to its full capacity. I've got a really annoying learning style. Hit all the buttons until something works I believe would be the kindest way of defining my learning style.
Ok. I'm headed in the direction of the mac now. Will write with the info you asked for.
Cheers!
Marlene

 

[honestone]

Hi Marlene,

I can understand your difficulty in adapting to a Mac. The husband of one of the 8 couples we get together with once a month is Windows through and through. A couple of years ago, he tried using a Mac Mini, but did not like the experience. I feel it is more to do with the OS, and the Windows Versus Mac environment, than the machine itself. I truly love my late 2012 Mac Mini. as it easily satisfies my needs.

I used to use Windows machines when I was working, and for one of my positions (due to off hours support), I actually needed a Windows partition on my Mac. I actually did not like the Windows environment much at all, always preferring my Mac. One good thing, though, is that I was able to get a good grasp on Outlook, Word, and Excel on those computers, and thus I basically had no learning curve to use such products on my Macs (as part of Office 2008, Office 2011, and most recently, Office 2016).

 

[Marlene4]

Honeste,
I'm here with my mac now. It is a model from mid 2010.
I guess you could call me an "itinerant teacher". I have no permanent place, I move from class to church building to anywhere the county I live in can secure space. (Sounds Crazy right It is. I don't have access to the sites where I teach until classes begin. Hence, I'm unable to check each computer until class actually begins. I was trying to get this jeopardy program up and running by Feb 6th. Thats when it will be needed.

I bought the mac last year. I only got a mac because of its reputation for being relatively difficult to catch viruses.

Cheers!
Marlene