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Nodnarb · Jan 27, 2009, 12:52 PM

Hey guys,

Pretty much what the topic asks. I have a mac and use Mac office 08 and haven't had many problems with compatibility with sending files to professors and stuff like that.

My dad is getting a new mac which I am helping him set up, however he has used windows all his life and his office uses exclusively windows. I'm setting him up with XP Pro running under Fusion, and I was wondering if it's better to buy MS Office '07 and run it through fusion (to ensure 100% compatibility) or if it'd just be better to use Mac office. He currently uses office 2003 for windows, so either upgrade will be a slight learning curve.

The mac is on the way, and I already have copies of XP Pro and Fusion to install. Just not quite sure which way to go on this last decision.

Any help, tips, or personal usage experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot,
Nodnarb

64stang06 · Jan 27, 2009, 01:06 PM

Since Excel '08 loses VBScript funcionality, and he works in an all Windows environment, I would just go the route of installing Office '07 under Fusion also.

Nodnarb · Jan 27, 2009, 01:19 PM

Ok thanks, that's kind of the route I'm leaning towards.

I forgot to mention, he uses Outlook for email/calendar functions, and it's connected to their Exchange server up at work (they can all see each other's calendars and stuff to see who's available for meetings when. I guess this would be another reason to go with Office '07, unless anyone knows of an alternate option to use iCal or something to connect to his server? Or is outlook the only way to go?

P · Jan 28, 2009, 05:52 AM

Exchange support is one of the things being touted for Snow Leopard. Some support exists (the Mac Outlook that came with some versions of Exchange, Entourage from Office 2008. The Excel VBA reason is enough to push me towards a 2007+Fusion solution however.

JKT · Jan 28, 2009, 06:11 AM

If your father is used to Office 2003 and not able to adapt easily, I would strongly recommend avoiding Office 2007.

However, definitely do not go with Office 2008 for the Mac. In spite of the lack of VBA support it is ****ing awful regardless.

Fwiw, Fusion is not the only option - VirtualBox is very promising (and free) but lacks some of the bells and whistles of Fusion (and Parallels). Personally, I would start with VirtualBox rather than dishing out cash for your VM.

Nodnarb · Jan 28, 2009, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by P

Exchange support is one of the things being touted for Snow Leopard. Some support exists (the Mac Outlook that came with some versions of Exchange, Entourage from Office 2008. The Excel VBA reason is enough to push me towards a 2007+Fusion solution however.

That's very interesting, didn't know that about Snow Leopard. That'll be cool to see how compatible it is once that comes out.

Originally Posted by JKT

If your father is used to Office 2003 and not able to adapt easily, I would strongly recommend avoiding Office 2007.

However, definitely do not go with Office 2008 for the Mac. In spite of the lack of VBA support it is ****ing awful regardless.

Fwiw, Fusion is not the only option - VirtualBox is very promising (and free) but lacks some of the bells and whistles of Fusion (and Parallels). Personally, I would start with VirtualBox rather than dishing out cash for your VM.

He uses Office '03 but is required to upgrade to '07 soon anyways (or I guess Mac '08, he just needs to use the .docx format).

Thanks for the tip about Fusion, however, I already have the fusion licencse and know (for the most part) how it works.

Thanks for the help guys, I think I've decided on Office '07 running through Fusion.

Now to find the cheapest place to buy Office '07, as Amazon wants over $400!

64stang06 · Jan 28, 2009, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by Nodnarb

That's very interesting, didn't know that about Snow Leopard. That'll be cool to see how compatible it is once that comes out.

He uses Office '03 but is required to upgrade to '07 soon anyways (or I guess Mac '08, he just needs to use the .docx format).

Thanks for the tip about Fusion, however, I already have the fusion licencse and know (for the most part) how it works.

Thanks for the help guys, I think I've decided on Office '07 running through Fusion.

Now to find the cheapest place to buy Office '07, as Amazon wants over $400!

Microsoft has free converter tools for Office 2003 users to read and write to the new .docx/.xlsx/.pptx format.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

This might help save some money.

JKT · Jan 28, 2009, 03:51 PM

Who does he work for? They might have a Microsoft Home Use Programme (HUP) in place that lets you buy their software at significant discount. Office 2008 only cost me £12 through my work place's HUP (though even that was still a complete waste of money and I ended up getting Office 2007 as well, for the same price).

besson3c · Jan 28, 2009, 03:57 PM

If the OS X version of WINE is at parity with the Linux version as somebody here has said, and if these known bugs are not deal breakers for you, I'd go with WINE:

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManage...sion&iId=12811

CharlesS · Jan 28, 2009, 04:00 PM

I know he's in an all-Windows environment, but I'd find out if he actually uses the VBA support there before going through the hassle of running Office in a virtual machine. If he doesn't use the VBA support, then the only thing it'll get him is the ability to get infected by macro viruses.

Laminar · Jan 28, 2009, 04:18 PM

http://forums.macnn.com/89/macnn-lou...2008-terrible/

Nodnarb · Jan 28, 2009, 04:38 PM

Originally Posted by CharlesS

I know he's in an all-Windows environment, but I'd find out if he actually uses the VBA support there before going through the hassle of running Office in a virtual machine. If he doesn't use the VBA support, then the only thing it'll get him is the ability to get infected by macro viruses.

The main thing is that he needs to run Outlook. Mail/iCal/Address Book won't work (even though I wish it would) because he needs to connect to their server, and all his contacts are synced through the server, and his calendar is visible to other people in his office to schedule meetings. To my knowledge, there are no Mac apps that will seamlessly fit into this situation - Outlook is the only way to go.

And then considering outlook is $150 by itself, or under $400 for all of office (which he'll need either the Mac or Windows version) I guess it's a better deal to do the Fusion route. And that way, if he ever needs help or support in his office, he's got the same versions of Office they're all using.

Thanks for everyone's help - I've decided I'm doing the Windows '07 under Fusion. Now, if anyone wants to help on a related topic, check out my other thread (please!) - trying to decide whether to install windows as a boot camp partition, then get Fusion to use that drive as it's VM, or to install windows as a purely virtual machine through Fusion, not using boot camp.

Thanks again for all the help everyone, you guys are making this a lot easier!

CharlesS · Jan 28, 2009, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by Nodnarb

The main thing is that he needs to run Outlook. Mail/iCal/Address Book won't work (even though I wish it would) because he needs to connect to their server, and all his contacts are synced through the server, and his calendar is visible to other people in his office to schedule meetings. To my knowledge, there are no Mac apps that will seamlessly fit into this situation - Outlook is the only way to go.

Hmm, that's a pity. I suppose that waiting for Snow Leopard, which apparently includes Exchange support, is out of the question?

Nodnarb · Jan 28, 2009, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by CharlesS

Hmm, that's a pity. I suppose that waiting for Snow Leopard, which apparently includes Exchange support, is out of the question?

I wish it were, but his laptop is on the fringe of dying, and he is stuck using pretty much only his work desktop, so the Macbook Pro is already on the way.

It took a lot to get him to switch to Mac in the first place! Pretty much the main selling point was how well mine always works, how crappy his was, and the fact that he can run Windows.

This way may actually be better though; once he first switches, he'll still be able to use all the programs he already knows and is fluent in. Then, whenever snow leopard comes out (anyone know?), he can slowly move over to doing more and more on the Mac, and then hopefully not even need Windows anymore eventually!

CatOne · Jan 30, 2009, 11:08 PM

Originally Posted by CharlesS

Hmm, that's a pity. I suppose that waiting for Snow Leopard, which apparently includes Exchange support, is out of the question?

There's also the new Entourage public beta which uses Exchange Web Services, and is MUCH closer in functionality to Outlook.

NOTE, anything that uses EWS _requires_ Exchange 2007 SP1 with update rollup 4 (is that a mouthful?). So if you're using Exchange 2003 on the server side, SOL are 3 letters that will apply to you