Stop distributing .doc files

In Italy the .doc/.docx format (and all othe Office formats) is widely used. At my IT company the file format used in the CV is the starting point for the selection of a candidate. .doc/.docx is the worst choice. We prefer a .pdf file and as an addition we look at the "producer" metadata (just in case).

A-men.

There are good reasons to be concerned about this from a business perspective as well. MS Word files can contain a tremendous amount of non-visible information, including reverts to recently-made changes, values coded into the template, meta-data, etc. By exporting to PDF, you strip a good portion of that information away.

I regularly get "screen shots" and "mock-ups" as doc files that contain a single image. It drives me nuts, but I can't find a way to change people's behaviour. Any suggestions?

Normally I'd prefer to be shared a Google Docs document by a coworker, but if they'd rather write it in Word and email me a .doc or .docx file, I have no problem with that.

Gmail makes it extremely easy to view those files online, and it's equally easy to convert them to Google Docs format for further editing (all taking place within the browser, no need for Office.)

Anyways, it's extremely futile to stop this phenomenon from happening by means of a blog post.

Ah a blog post, written by a tech person, posted to a tech-heavy website.

This will surely reach the target audience.

flatform-specific is a typo right? Right?