Microsoft Excel 2007 Windows VS. 2008 (Mac)

[Doju]

I'm taking a class with a professor who uses Windows. We're using Excel (2003) tomorrow in class, and I'd like to use my Excel Mac to do the class.

Is there a big difference with the Mac version versus the Windows counterpart? Enough to make a significant difference?

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Do you mean Excel 2007 or 2003?

And what level class is this?

The user interface is very different between all 3 versions.

 

[btownguy]

The user interface is VERY different, but the behavior is not. If you know Excel basics, you'll be fine. I just switched to a Mac and was able to get Office 2008 Mac for $10 through work. I haven't really had any problems switching. But I know Excel basics pretty well.

 

[Ledgem]

Excel 2007 puts the Mac's Excel 2008 to shame, if you ask me. For example, I was recently working with a huge, complicated data set. Sorting options on Excel 2008 are limited to three successive variables. Excel 2007? Seemingly unlimited - if you need more than the standard three, you just add more in.

I don't profess to be a heavy or overly advanced Excel user. Given that Excel 2008 is (presumably?) a newer product than Excel 2007, finding functionality differences like that seems a little strange. Thank goodness for virtualization, I suppose.

 

[arjen92]

there is no difference in reading the files. 2007 can read 2008 and 2008 can read 2007. But there is a special developers team that builds the 2007 version into 2008 (I guess that takes around a year ). But they also "improve" the layout, so it's more mac compatible. But honestly, I think they screwed up. The idea of ribbons in 2007 is entirely lost in 2008. It's a useless function there, you could also use the toolbox for that. So I think it's less intuitive, and that 2007 one of the good microsoft products is.

Also, macros (I believe it are those) are disabled in 2008. Some heavy users miss those functions (I don't, I didn't even know of the function untill I read it was missing).