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Best Office Suite for New iMac User

U

UnderTheRadars

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 23, 2011
4
0
I have purchased my first apple computer and am trying to get it set up as close as possible to my PC. I have been using MS Office 2007 Pro and would like to get as much integration as possible. My most frequently used applications are (and in this order) Outlook, Excel, Word.

One question on my mind, is there a software that will be compatible with my current files on the PC? I have read some about iWord and MS Office for Mac and am confused... nothing new :confused: Some do not include Outlook and some do or they come separate??? I am mainly concerned about the 3 above mentioned applications and would like to have them all in one package. Also, I would like it to be compatible with my current files. Am I only dreaming or is there a package out there for me???

Thanks in advance for your help!

Tina
 
Thank you GGJstudios! Glad to have some constructive advice. $199.. wow! But I am sure will be well worth it to keep things in order.

Again, thanks for the advice.

Tina
 
Hi, I just started a blog website, all about being more productive with your Mac. I have only written a couple of posts so far, but there is more on the way. The first one is a comparison between Microsoft Office for Mac and iWork (Apple's suite). I think in your case if you are collaborating with other Windows users then Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 is the one to get.

Article Link http://www.productivityorchard.com/iwork09-vs-office2011

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Mind you knowing my luck Apple will announce iWork 2012 today :)
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Office has several versions. A home version w/o Outlook and its Exchange connectivity, a business version with Outlook and Exchange, and an academic version that is cheap. I don't remember if the student version has Outlook/Exhange.

Thre are a few ways to save some coin:
If the academic version works for you and you can qualify it is the cheapest.
Some companies have a deal where you can buy a full version dirt cheap ($10 in my case) so check with your IT folks. I forgot what MS calls the program
Finally, a MS Technet subscription gives you Mac Office as well as Windows and Office plus Visio et al for about the price of Mac Office at retail. Although the sub is for 1 year the programs do not expire. If you plan to use Bootcamp or a VM this is a good option.
 
jlc1978 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Office has several versions. A home version w/o Outlook and its Exchange connectivity, a business version with Outlook and Exchange, and an academic version that is cheap. I don't remember if the student version has Outlook/Exhange.

Thre are a few ways to save some coin:
If the academic version works for you and you can qualify it is the cheapest.
Some companies have a deal where you can buy a full version dirt cheap ($10 in my case) so check with your IT folks. I forgot what MS calls the program
Finally, a MS Technet subscription gives you Mac Office as well as Windows and Office plus Visio et al for about the price of Mac Office at retail. Although the sub is for 1 year the programs do not expire. If you plan to use Bootcamp or a VM this is a good option.
Click to expand...

The Academic version does come with Outlook

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/office-academic
 
Thanks everybody for the great information. I have some researching to do I see. I will definitely check out your blog today James.

Colshine, I always like the word "free", so I will take a look at Libre Office. If nothing else, it could tie me over until I make a decision.

And, jlc1978, a $10 academic version would be nice, but would this old lady have to go back to school?? :rolleyes: And being I am the "IT", I happen to know for a fact I do not have any deals on it, darn it. BTW, what is Bootcamp and a VM? I must not use them... lol (Something else I need to read about)

Thanks again peoples.... This forum is awesome!
 
Having been a user of open office, i'd have to suggest neo office for the mac. You get the same tools for free with the option to save in whatever file format you wish to use. Of course you can always buy the office suite, but why not give the open sourced free alternatives a shot? You may be pleasantly surprised.
 
UnderTheRadars said:
BTW, what is Bootcamp and a VM?
Click to expand...

Bootcamp is Apple's boot manager that allows you to boot your computer into different OS's. For example you could use boot camp to choose to run either Windows or OS X when you turn on your computer.

A VM (Virtual machine) allows you to run multiple OSs at the same time. So while running OS X, you can also run Windows without the need to reboot.
 
UnderTheRadars said:
Colshine, I always like the word "free", so I will take a look at Libre Office. If nothing else, it could tie me over until I make a decision.
Click to expand...

Libre Office (and variants like NeoOffcie) are very good - I encourage people to look into them; especially for students. the down side is if you need reliable file compatibility with MS Offcie on the Mac or PC you can't always guarantee it - sometimes odd things will happen with the file when it's created in one product and opened in another. I can't afford to have that happen with my clients so I went with MS.

And, jlc1978, a $10 academic version would be nice, but would this old lady have to go back to school?? :rolleyes: And being I am the "IT", I happen to know for a fact I do not have any deals on it, darn it. BTW, what is Bootcamp and a VM? I must not use them... lol (Something else I need to read about)

Thanks again peoples.... This forum is awesome!
Click to expand...

Academic is $40 and all you need is a .edu address to qualify. Many schools tie alums email4life - that will wok just fine.

The $10 version was a special deal where employees had with MS to get MS products for home use; they sold a cut-rate licence to anyone who wanted one.


Bootcamp and VM (Virtual Machine), as some else mentioned, are ways to run another OS (usually Windows but you can run others, including OSX) on a Mac. A VM runs them concurrently so you can switch back and forth, cut and paste, access files in across the OS. Bootcamp boots the Mac hardware into Windows as if it were a Windows machine - no OSX. Bootcamp is best when absolute performance is needed (generally games) and a VM lets you use both OS at the same time and share data across them.
 
Thank you James. I read your blog and I am going to give the Microsoft Office for Mac 30-day trial a try. MS is probably going to be the best for me being I do work on a pc as well. I really need something that will be compatible and familiar so it will easily sink into this brain of mine!

I haven't downloaded it yet, (I'm on the PC :)), but I will go back to your blog when I am on the Mac. Thanks again...

Tina
 
UnderTheRadars said:
Thank you James. I read your blog and I am going to give the Microsoft Office for Mac 30-day trial a try. MS is probably going to be the best for me being I do work on a pc as well. I really need something that will be compatible and familiar so it will easily sink into this brain of mine!

I haven't downloaded it yet, (I'm on the PC :)), but I will go back to your blog when I am on the Mac. Thanks again...

Tina
Click to expand...

Great I am glad the article helped you, I did quite a bit of research before I wrote it and I use both Office for Mac and iWork for different situations. Hopefully this came out in the review, as while there is some crossover they are targeted at slightly different uses. While one may be right for one person the other may be appropriate for another. In your case because you need that compatibility then Office for Mac is the right choice.
 
Another vote here for the academic version of Office 2011. I picked mine up from the local college bookstore and it has been working great for me. Don't necessarily need Outlook, but it will be nice to have the option down the road.
 
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