Differences between the Windows and Mac versions of Prism 5 and 6

We work hard to keep the Windows and Mac versions of Prism very similar. You can switch back and forth between platforms easily, and files created on one platform can be opened on the other. But there are a few differences.

Features in Windows but not Mac:

• Object linking and embedding. This means you can paste a Prism graph into another program and double-click to edit in Prism.
• Excel linking and embedding. This means you can paste Excel data into Prism, and double click to edit within Excel.
• Audio notes can be embedded on graphs or layouts.
• Import and export EMF and WMF images.
• Send to Word with a single click.
• High contrast printing, with no grays and no colors.
• Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) commands to launch Prism and start a script.
• Export in the older PCX format.

Features in Mac but not Windows:

• Spell checking of text anywhere in the project
• Quick Look. Lets you preview graphs within Finder.
• Color eyedropper. While setting any color, click the magnifying glass tool, then click on any color on any window to select that color.
• Send to keynote with a single click.
• Ability to open one project on display and another project on a different display monitor.

File compatibility
Files saved on one platform can be opened on the other. In almost all respects, this just works and you don't have to think about it. But there are three exceptions:

• If you use Prism Mac and copy a graph from one project and paste it onto a layout on another project, Prism can handle this in two ways. By default it pastes in a form that is mac only. If you open the project in Windows, that graph will be missing from the layout. Use an option in the Files tab of Prism Preferences to save in a compatible format. On the Mac, you will notice that the files will be larger and pasting graphs from other projects noticeably slower (but still only a few seconds). Now the file will open fine in Windows.
• If you dictate audio notes to embed onto a graph or layout of Prism Windows, those audio notes will not be present when you open the file on the Mac.
• Tabs within titles or text objects are handled differently on Windows and Mac. If you include tabs within text objects, the spacing of that text may change a lot when you open it on the other platform.