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Microsoft Word for Macs?

Apple_Glen_UK

Apple_Glen_UK

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 26, 2015
1,196
15,619
West Sussex, England
I know that you can get Word, Excel etc on Macs now but I'm unsure of the best place to purchase them and how to go about it etc. I've had a MacBook Pro now for a few years but have never really got to grips with Pages, probably due to the fact I've used Word for so many years and am set in my ways.

Is there a way I can purchase just Word, or would I have to buy the whole Microsoft Office package? Apologies if this info is already out there somewhere but I wanted to ask people who I know know their stuff.

Thanks.
 
There might be a way to purchase just Word. That said, MS really puts focus on several many different variations of Office. Subscription/Perpetual...student, enterprise, professional, and so on. From I gather from your post, you're looking for the least expensive way to do Word. Look on the MS site to learn what's what. Then decide whether you want yearly subscription, or a perpetual license. The look on to online retailers to buy.

Also, Google has an set of office apps. While free, I've found them to be closer to Apple's way of doing things.
 
oldhifi said:
openoffice.org
is free, works the same..just save as .doc file..
Click to expand...
A collaborator using open office unwittingly destroyed the formatting on a complex Word document. Took us a week to rebuild it. Corporate IT did away with oo.
 
Apple_Glen_UK said:
I'd be looking for something perpetual. The work 'at home' program; is that something just in the US or does that apply to the UK as well do you know?
Click to expand...
Works on mine in the UK - I am eligible to buy. There’s a link (cant find it anymore) that you can check your status using your company’s email.
 
Just a note on the home user program; I bought with my last employer who has since gone out of business. I tried to re-install Office and my code was invalid. Researching I discovered it's only good as long as you work for that company.
 
The latest version of Pages has many improvements and should at least be tried before giving up on it. If you are in a postition where you must exchange documents with other users or in a business environment then your only real choice is to stick with MS Office. Other Office suites all fall short.
 
Apple_Glen_UK said:
That may well be the case, but having used Word for so many years I have found it difficult to get to grips with Pages. I'm not good with change at the best of times!
Click to expand...

I was the same way. When I was working (am retired now) my employer insisted on everything Microsoft. It took me a while to get used to Pages especially since Apple has been slow to improve the iWork apps. However, with the last several updates Pages has been improved and I now find it easier to use than Word. I no longer exchange documents with others so compatibility is not a problem.
 
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Apple_Glen_UK said:
That may well be the case, but having used Word for so many years I have found it difficult to get to grips with Pages. I'm not good with change at the best of times!
Click to expand...

If you interact and exchange files with Windows/PC users it is much more easy to use word - not even close.

Personally I thought the pages version in iWork '09 was a better version (4.3) than the current version - but it got scrapped and rewritten when iCloud became an issue.

Also if you purchase the student version of Office it does not include outlook and offeres a discounted price (i prefer to have outlook over mail) so that might be an option?

Having word and excel are great for interactiing / exchanging with "other platform users" and worth the price IMHO
 
I rarely find myself exchanging documents with MSOffice users. If I need to collaborate with them on a document, the go-to solution is (unfortunately) usually the abysmal Google Docs. If I simply need to send them a document, with no expectation that they're going to be editing the thing, then I always use PDF. Truth be told, I don't use Pages very much at all: if I want an outline or to take notes I use OmniOutliner and/or Mindnode, if I want to write a paper I use Authorea/LaTeX, and for most other things I just whip something up in Evernote. But for the rare times when I would have used Word in the past, Pages is a much nicer go-to.

Of course, veryone's mileage/use cases vary though.
 
Apple_Glen_UK said:
I know that you can get Word, Excel etc on Macs now but I'm unsure of the best place to purchase them and how to go about it etc. I've had a MacBook Pro now for a few years but have never really got to grips with Pages, probably due to the fact I've used Word for so many years and am set in my ways.

Is there a way I can purchase just Word, or would I have to buy the whole Microsoft Office package? Apologies if this info is already out there somewhere but I wanted to ask people who I know know their stuff.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

People. OP is not asking about alternatives for Office. He's asking about how to get Office.

Your options are basically identical to the Office for Windows world.
You cannot get Word on its own, sorry, you have to go for the whole package. You can however choose to only install Word.
You can either get a standalone perpetual licence (though I'd wait a couple of months, Office 2019 for both Windows and macOS is coming out in the second half of the year). Or you can get an Office 365 subscription that will always give you the latest features as long as you pay + additional perks (1TB OneDrive storage, etc.). You can pay monthly or annually, look at your options here:
https://products.office.com/en-us/compare-all-microsoft-office-products?tab=1
You can get the licence right from Microsoft or from a reseller such as Amazon.
You'll get installation instructions - you have to download the package, after which you will be guided through licencing (depending on whether you bought the perpetual licence or subscription).
 
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vladobizik said:
People. OP is not asking about alternatives for Office. He's asking about how to get Office.

Your options are basically identical to the Office for Windows world.
You cannot get Word on its own, sorry, you have to go for the whole package. You can however choose to only install Word.
You can either get a standalone perpetual licence (though I'd wait a couple of months, Office 2019 for both Windows and macOS is coming out in the second half of the year). Or you can get an Office 365 subscription that will always give you the latest features as long as you pay + additional perks (1TB OneDrive storage, etc.). You can pay monthly or annually, look at your options here:
https://products.office.com/en-us/compare-all-microsoft-office-products?tab=1
You can get the licence right from Microsoft or from a reseller such as Amazon.
You'll get installation instructions - you have to download the package, after which you will be guided through licencing (depending on whether you bought the perpetual licence or subscription).
Click to expand...

Many thanks for that. Very informative and useful. I will hold on for a little while for Office 2019.
 
I see via the link below that Office Home 2019 is now available. I am still considering purchasing this as I prefer a perpetual licence rather than monthly subscriptions. I do occasionally use Pages and Numbers on my Mac and I'm sure they are great apps but having spent so many years working with Word and Excel and because I use them daily for my job, they are what I know and feel most comfortable with.

I just wondered if anyone has tried Office 2019 on a Mac yet and - if so - how does it perform? I have a 13" MacBook Pro 2015 and am running Mojave 10.14.3.

https://products.office.com/en-us/c...952&WT.mc_id=AID728155_AFF_10078_3327__243952

MS Office 2019.JPG
 
Apple_Glen_UK said:
That may well be the case, but having used Word for so many years I have found it difficult to get to grips with Pages. I'm not good with change at the best of times!
Click to expand...
You can always use openOffice which is great in my opinion or google docs or word online which is almost identical to standard word.
 
Again - how hard is it to understand that OP is NOT asking for an alternative to Microsoft Office?

@Apple_Glen_UK It's exactly the same as Office 2016 on a Mac. It even looks 99% identical. I've been running it on a 2017 27" iMac and a 2017 12" MacBook for quite a while now and haven't experienced any issues. It will be running great on your current Mac, don't worry about it.

I would, however, shop around. You can find it at much less than Microsoft's MSRP at various retailers, at least here in the US.
 
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mj_ said:
Again - how hard is it to understand that OP is NOT asking for an alternative to Microsoft Office?

@Apple_Glen_UK It's exactly the same as Office 2016 on a Mac. It even looks 99% identical. I've been running it on a 2017 27" iMac and a 2017 12" MacBook for quite a while now and haven't experienced any issues. It will be running great on your current Mac, don't worry about it.

I would, however, shop around. You can find it at much less than Microsoft's MSRP at various retailers, at least here in the US.
Click to expand...
There are many websites which offer genuine office 2019 license for a very cheap price. Just google a bit and I'm sure you'll find lots.
 
Depends on your definition of genuine. The $5 activation codes you can get on eBay are just that: codes, not licenses. They even say that right their in the description - you won't find the world "license" anywhere in their because they are not licenses, they are just activation codes from split up volume licenses that are sold illegally and work most of the time until Microsoft notices the abuse and deactivates them. More often than not you even have to download and obtain Microsoft's volume license serializer from Mega or other dubious sources because it is only available for VLSC customers.

Microsoft's MSRP for Office 2019 Home & Student 2019 is $149.99. It should be instantly obvious to anyone with half a working brain cell that activation codes for $50 or less are not legitimate.
 
mj_ said:
Again - how hard is it to understand that OP is NOT asking for an alternative to Microsoft Office?

@Apple_Glen_UK It's exactly the same as Office 2016 on a Mac. It even looks 99% identical. I've been running it on a 2017 27" iMac and a 2017 12" MacBook for quite a while now and haven't experienced any issues. It will be running great on your current Mac, don't worry about it.

I would, however, shop around. You can find it at much less than Microsoft's MSRP at various retailers, at least here in the US.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info MJ. I will have a look online. I will avoid any licences/activation codes that look ridiculously cheap. If it looks too good to be, it probably will be!
 
mj_ said:
Depends on your definition of genuine. The $5 activation codes you can get on eBay are just that: codes, not licenses. They even say that right their in the description - you won't find the world "license" anywhere in their because they are not licenses, they are just activation codes from split up volume licenses that are sold illegally and work most of the time until Microsoft notices the abuse and deactivates them. More often than not you even have to download and obtain Microsoft's volume license serializer from Mega or other dubious sources because it is only available for VLSC customers.

Microsoft's MSRP for Office 2019 Home & Student 2019 is $149.99. It should be instantly obvious to anyone with half a working brain cell that activation codes for $50 or less are not legitimate.
Click to expand...
I disagree but it's up to you to decide. Same applies to sites that sell steam games keys like kinguin, Instant gaming etc, they are all valid keys. I have always used keys like this never had any problem.

By the way I never had to download any third party app or serializer which I have no idea what it is like u are suggesting.
 
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