Office Version comparison

[Norm]

Is there any article or chart that compares the different versions of
Word as to features and requirements?

My wife and I use Word v. X and I use Excel v. X. We would probably
still be using Word 5.1a if easy to do so. Our requirements are quite
vanilla except we do get enough MS Word and Excel documents that reading
and editing same is a must.

My wife is running OS X 10.5.6 (Leopard) and I'm running OS X 10.4.11
(Tiger) but will be upgrading shortly.

A while back, I used one of the newer versions of Office and it seemed
to have difficulty in terms of easy use or documents save in v. X and
its default format was not .doc.

Appreciate any suggested resources. Thank you.

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Norm:

There is only ONE version of Mac Word currently on-sale. There! That makes
the choice a lot simpler, doesn't it Whichever package you buy it in,
Word is Word is Word...

You're right: the current Microsoft Word file format is not .doc. You
should never save the original of a new document back to the old .doc format
because you will potentially delete some of the things you may have
included. The old format can't store some of the modern graphics.

You may want to save a version of a file in the old format to send to
someone. In which case, be careful not to accept any files from them,
because the file converters are free and have been out for two years -- if
they are that far behind on their updates that they cannot open the new
format, imagine what their antivirus maintenance is like! You do not want
to find out the hard way that everything they send is infected

However, you would be better off (more cost-effective!) to buy the whole
Office for Mac suite.

This web page shows the editions available:
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/Office2008/shop-now.mspx

The Home and Student edition contains three licences for three concurrent
users, but will not connect to an Exchange Server, which would be of
interest only if you want to get your work email from a big company.

The middle one contains only one licence, but will connect to an Exchange
server: needed by some people for business.

The one on the right is one licence with Exchange and includes a photo
manager that's good for graphics designers etc.

For you and your wife, Home and Student would be perfect: for the same price
you can both use it at the same time on two different machines.

Hope this helps

Is there any article or chart that compares the different versions of
Word as to features and requirements?

My wife and I use Word v. X and I use Excel v. X. We would probably
still be using Word 5.1a if easy to do so. Our requirements are quite
vanilla except we do get enough MS Word and Excel documents that reading
and editing same is a must.

My wife is running OS X 10.5.6 (Leopard) and I'm running OS X 10.4.11
(Tiger) but will be upgrading shortly.

A while back, I used one of the newer versions of Office and it seemed
to have difficulty in terms of easy use or documents save in v. X and
its default format was not .doc.

Appreciate any suggested resources. Thank you.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Sydney, Australia. mailto:[email protected]

 

[Norm]

Hi Norm:

There is only ONE version of Mac Word currently on-sale. There! That makes
the choice a lot simpler, doesn't it Whichever package you buy it in,
Word is Word is Word...

Yes it does. What was the name of that book...... oh, yes.... The
Paradox of Choice.

And while I haven't tried the Apple Word Processors recently, I
understand they can't open MS Word docs nor save to a format usable to
MS Word users.

Both of us correspond frequently with MS Office users and I assume we
should just stay with MS Office for that reason alone. Any assessment
appreciated.

snip

For you and your wife, Home and Student would be perfect: for the same price
you can both use it at the same time on two different machines.

Got it.

Hope this helps

Yes it does. Thank you.

And your reply was either so good and complete (probably) or my question
was so dull and basic (probably) that I didn't need to filter posts to
find your lone reply.

I appreciate your help.

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Norm:

Thanks for your kind words

Apple doesn't MAKE a Word Processor currently. Apple makes "Pages", which
is actually a mini-desktop-publisher program. The difference is fairly
academic.

Pages is part of an Apple suite named "iWork". You should certainly ask for
a demonstration of both before making your final decision.

People who do not know how to use Word find Pages easier to use. People who
do know how to use Word find Pages somewhat difficult. Take your pick

The latest version of Pages can read and write current Microsoft Word
formats very well, both the new and the old.

Some users are reporting that there is a problem going between Keynote and
PowerPoint. There is not supposed to be: but PowerPoint is currently having
problems opening files produced in PowerPoint format in Keynote.

Sorry: I can't be more clear. This choice has a heavy element of personal
preference and personal usage patterns to it. Just like Satellite
Navigators and Cameras! I am a Word/Tom Tom/Canon man. Others are entitled
to their opinion, even when it is wrong

Cheers

Yes it does. What was the name of that book...... oh, yes.... The
Paradox of Choice.

And while I haven't tried the Apple Word Processors recently, I
understand they can't open MS Word docs nor save to a format usable to
MS Word users.

Both of us correspond frequently with MS Office users and I assume we
should just stay with MS Office for that reason alone. Any assessment
appreciated.

snip


Got it.

Yes it does. Thank you.

And your reply was either so good and complete (probably) or my question
was so dull and basic (probably) that I didn't need to filter posts to
find your lone reply.

I appreciate your help.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Sydney, Australia. mailto:[email protected]

 

[Elliott Roper]

Yes it does. What was the name of that book...... oh, yes.... The
Paradox of Choice.

And while I haven't tried the Apple Word Processors recently, I
understand they can't open MS Word docs nor save to a format usable to
MS Word users.

You should test that belief with the free trial available from Apple.

Both of us correspond frequently with MS Office users and I assume we
should just stay with MS Office for that reason alone. Any assessment
appreciated.

Try 'em and see how you get on. Unless you are heavily into macros or
lots of the ransom note features of Office you will be most pleasantly
surprised.

Oh, and speaking of macros and the current version of Word for Mac...

....oh never mind.

 

[Norm]

The latest version of Pages can read and write current Microsoft Word
formats very well, both the new and the old.

I didn't realize that was the case. Maybe I'm thinking of....is it
Numbers in iWork.....and Excel.

Some users are reporting that there is a problem going between Keynote and
PowerPoint. There is not supposed to be: but PowerPoint is currently having
problems opening files produced in PowerPoint format in Keynote.

Sorry: I can't be more clear. This choice has a heavy element of personal
preference and personal usage patterns to it. Just like Satellite
Navigators and Cameras! I am a Word/Tom Tom/Canon man. Others are entitled
to their opinion, even when it is wrong

Got it. Actually very helpful.

My wife and I have both been using Word for a long time. Starting with
Word 5.1a. And I get many attachments in Word and Excel so I'm leaning
in the direction of staying with Word even though there are so many
features I never have or will use.

So given that I guess I'll go with my personal preference:
Word/Garmin/Fuji (recent switch from Canon)

Thanks.