[outthere]

hi all,
excuse my stupidity,
can a word or power point file be opened on a Mac using iwork?
im new to mac, just making sure before buying iwork.
thanks

[iamdravenman]

ctrl + click > open with...

If you have Pages installed, a .doc will show Pages in the options.
If you have Keynote installed, a .ppt will show Keynote in the options.

You can set the iWork apps to be default by doing get info > open with... select the appropriate app, and then click change all.

[Jonesy]

Keynote makes a pretty good job if PowerPoint files but there are features of Word documents that Pages cannot cope with yet. If you want to open documents with form fields in then it really seems to struggle. Overall it manages well enough for me though.

When I have a real problem with a Word doc then I have to turn to NeoOffice. As this is free you shouldn't be put off buying iWork if you think it will do what you need.

[slugslugslug]

Also, using iWork apps to read Office docs isn't really the same as opening them. When you drag an Office doc onto Pages or Keynote, it gets imported into a new untitled/unsaved document.

If you just want to be able to open files other people are sending you, it's no big deal, but you should keep it in mind if you plan on sharing and co-editing files with people. Because to edit a Word doc in Pages, you open it and make your changes, then use File->Export (instead of Save that you're used to), then either choose a new name and location for your file, or save it over the old one and deal with the confirmation dialog...

[outthere]

many thanks to you guys, that really helps
im buying it now.
peace