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zero1207 · Jan 31, 2005, 02:36 PM

i was talking to an apple rep about iwork and microsoft office for mac (which was better etc.) and he said that mac os x panther actually comes with a program that you can create text documents and such like microsoft word. I was wondering if this was true, if the program can read microsoft word files from a pc, and if anyone has experience using microsoft word on a pc and then this packaged program that apple sends w/ os X panther, if so are they comparable or is one alot better than the other. I'm a student so i really just need something to type papers up, that is compatible w/ pc's.

Chuckit · Jan 31, 2005, 02:51 PM

Mac OS X comes with a text editor called TextEdit. It can do moderate-level text editing (set margins and tabs, text color, formats, etc.) and can read and write Word files, but it's not all that powerful.

Pages is a lot more powerful and closer to being a proper word processor like Word. I haven't tried it, but there are several threads about how suitable it is.

If your main goal is Word compatibility, Word for Mac is your best bet. If you just want to do some documents now and then, the free TextEdit should be fine. If you want to make cool, pretty documents, that seems to be Pages' main goal.

Millennium · Jan 31, 2005, 02:53 PM

The representative was probably talking about TextEdit. This app is actually more analogous to WordPad on Windows. Both programs do read and write Word-format documents, and actually get the job done for a surprising number of things. As long as the papers you're doing are simple (in particular, if they don't have any footnotes) then these will both get the job done.

MacGallant · Jan 31, 2005, 02:57 PM

There is a freeware/open source word processing program similar and compatible wtith MS Word called AbiWord. Currently it is at version 2.2.3. (It was updated a few weeks ago)
It is OSX Native with an Aqua gui and doesn't require x11 window system like Open Office.
Here's the link to download it:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14743

Randman · Jan 31, 2005, 03:04 PM

You can get Word at edu discount, count a good price. That's your best bet.

Textedit isn't bad for what it does. Often, when writing articles, I'll use TextEdit, then import the file into Word.
Trying it now with Pages but there's still some functionality Pages is missing.

zero1207 · Feb 1, 2005, 09:00 PM

thanks for the suggestions. i'll prob end up going w/ pages...its cheaper than office for mac...i don't have an apple yet...so i'm working out a final price for everything i'll have to get. thanks again for the help though.

LaGow · Feb 1, 2005, 09:21 PM

Be careful about Pages--it's an interesting app if your writing tasks are fairly light weight, but it's not a full-featured word processor. It's missing end notes and version tracking in particular. Also, while iWork is a bargain at $80, Office version X student/teacher edition is $130, which not a bad price at all (and you don't have tell them if you're not a student or teacher).

MacGallant · Feb 1, 2005, 11:15 PM

Or you could consider AbiWord, a MS Word clone. . . it's free by the way.

Randman · Feb 2, 2005, 12:44 AM

Originally posted by MacGallant:
Or you could consider AbiWord, a MS Word clone. . . it's free by the way.

Keep on pushing.

I'd recommend Office over Pages for a student. More robust as a word-processor at this point.

brettcamp · Feb 2, 2005, 12:48 AM

If you get a consumer Mac (iBook, iMac, Mac mini), it'll come with AppleWorks, which has a perfectly adequate word processor. Like TextEdit, AppleWorks can read and write MS Word files with a fair degree of accuracy.

Besides AbiWord, other free Word-compatible office programs include OpenOffice and NeoOffice. If I were buying a word processor (I'm not -- I have Word, TextEdit, and AppleWorks, and mostly get by with TextEdit these days), I'd probably buy Mellel, which is $29 for students and reads Word files. You can find reviews of all these program by searching other threads in this forum.

I'd try TextEdit or AppleWorks first, since they're free, and then if you find that you need better Word compatibility or Word's additional functions, the education (student & teacher) price for MS Office isn't as outrageous as the regular price.

MacGallant · Feb 2, 2005, 01:23 AM

Originally posted by Randman:
Keep on pushing.

I'd recommend Office over Pages for a student. More robust as a word-processor at this point.

I'm also a big fan and a user of Office 2004 Student Edition for the Mac, only paid ~$149 for it to address the needs of my siblings and I (we're all college students). For $149, it's a deal and you also get 3 licenses. At the time I bought Office 2004, AbiWord was in limbo and wasn't updated for a while (the developers had a fallout with Apple, but everything's fine now-- it is being continuously worked on, now currently on version 2.2.3) so I bought Office 2004 due to urgency-- AppleWorks didn't cut it and had problems handling Word files from my professor.

I agree, Office 2004 is the best choice if you don't mind shelling out a few bucks, but if you're a little frugal to spend any money and want something that is free, go for AbiWord.

sminch · Feb 2, 2005, 06:14 PM

I got my iBook about a month ago and was planning on using the Appleworks word processor that came installed, but it really didn't do it for me - my one major gripe was that the cursor was frequently a character or two away from where I was actively typing. For some reason this bugged the buggery out of me. I replaced it within a couple of days.

I've been using NeoOffice/J (http://www.neooffice.org/) since then and it's been running perfectly - it's free, it's compatible with MS Word (you can even read Track Changes, though I have yet to try producing one), and it seems to have good support. I'd definitely suggest you give this (and AbiWord, although I haven't tried it) a shot before shelling out for a new program. Appleworks might do the trick for you anyway.

Sminch