Mac MS Office Questions

[QiSoftware]

I use MS Office Suite on my Windows platforms. I use AppleWorks on my Mac pcs and GraphicConverter.

I want to get MS Office for my Macs, however a little concerned I cannot do everything I can on the Windows systems.

Questions:
Can you edit vector graphics with the Mac version of PowerPoint? Is there something equivalent to MS Publisher for the Mac? I use ImageComposer to edit bitmap graphics. Is there something like this old MS program for the Mac.

Yes, I have been a Mac user for a long time-- but always had MS Windows platforms for productivity. I would like to be able to do more cross platform productivity [business related] work and looking for ways to use both system types more effectively with the purchase of more software.

 

[robgendreau]

Yikes, move that stuff off AppleWorks. It's toast, and eventually you won't be able to translate any of that stuff to a usable format.

The Office stuff is pretty similar to the PC version; Power Point on the Mac does similar graphics for example. I haven't done a side to side comparison, but I doubt there's much difference. Where there is a difference it's often because the latest version of PC Office is months or years ahead of the Mac Office version.

Generally what you have to do with Publisher is make the files into Word files, and then open those Word files in Office 2011 on the Mac. Stuff will get messed up, however, if your publication is at all complex.

There are tons of bitmap and bitmap/vector applications on the Mac. And publishing page layout programs from Quark and In Design, suitable for pro work, to stuff like Swift Publisher. Apple's Pages software is somewhat more than a word processor, and can do some page layout type stuff. Pixelmator or Acorn are popular Mac programs for image stuff. Or GraphicConverter for photos.

The way to successful cross platform use isn't so much in choosing an application that runs on both platforms, although sometimes that's possible...but limiting. The key is to avoid proprietary file formats (like Appleworks) and work in file formats that can be used anywhere as much as possible. That gets difficult with a page layout file, which might also include references to fonts, images and other resources, but isn't as much a problem with just Word, or graphics files.

 

[QiSoftware]

Thanks for the great reply. I have bookmarked this thread, so I make sure I do my homework and purchase the right software.

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[Consultant]

So your website description claims to run a consulting business:

"QiSoftware is an international consulting firm offering compact, scaleable software solutions suitable for business, websites or personal pages."

And you haven't tried Office for Mac or other options?

 

[QiSoftware]

No, not yet. I hope too.

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