CS5 Mac and Windows7 Compatibility?

Question

What is the compatibility of CS5.5 or earlier files created on a Mac to CS5.5 on Windows 7?  We are changing suppliers and need to move a large number of files from Mac to Windows 7.  Will we be able to read/edit them easility?  Anything we need to do to ensure this goes smoothly?
Thanks!

Answer 1

The issue, unfortunately, is not the compatibililty of the InDesign documents themselves cross-platform, but rather, the fonts!
If you used OpenType fonts (either OpenType CFF such as those licensed by Adobe and others or OpenType TrueType) or Windows-format TrueType fonts with your InDesign documents on the Mac, then you should have no real problems going from Macintosh to Windows. If, however, your documents used Macintosh format Type 1, TrueType, or .dfont fonts, you will have issues to deal with since Macintosh Type 1 and TrueType fonts are stored in a Mac file's resource fork (as opposed to the data fork which is visible under Windows) and .dfonts are simply not supported under Windows at all.
For any such Macintosh Type 1, TrueType, or .dfonts, you will need to substitute the equivalent Windows format Type 1 or TrueType font or reformat the document preferably using OpenType fonts for the fonts that don't “cross over” directly. If you have such Type 1 or TrueType fonts, check your font vendor to see whether they can provide the equivalent Windows versions (same font name, same font outlines, same metrics although obviously a different format and file name); often they do and if you can get them, you could save quite a bit of reformatting work, albeit at the possible cost of relicensing the font(s).
          - Dov