Need some clarity

[Cvadh387]

Can anyone tell me the differences between Pages, iWork, Office for Mac, etc?

I need a program on my mac that I can use to type documents, etc. I am planning on getting Pages but I'd like to know the differences between the rest of them. Also, I was wondering if Pages is part of iWork? In terms of purchasing, I am leaning more towards Pages since it is only 19.99. If anyone can help me it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Pages is part of iWork, which also includes Numbers and Keynote.
MS Office for Mac is from Microsoft and an office suite and more expensive, bit also more extensive than iWork.
For normal uses Pages should suffice, unless you need compatibility with MS Office.
There are also free alternatives to MS Office, NeoOffice and OpenOffice, bit they are not as nice and user friendly as Pages.

 

[snberk103]

simsaladimbamba is perfectly correct. I would just add that Pages is great for documents you need for yourself, or that are going primarily to print or PDF. I use Pages for virtually of my business needs since everything I do is either for me or printed. Pages is a really good basic page-layout program. Using Pages lets me create professional looking documents.

The downside to Pages is that it is a proprietary file format. You can 'export' the documents to an Office format, it's just another step.

MS Office is better if you need to share documents since MS Word is much more widespread. There are more features to MS Word... but often people will say that they can get in the way if you aren't creating complicated documents. My 'experience' with MS Office is through my wife, and not directly.

I use NeoOffice if I need to create MS word documents for sharing.

Hope this helps.

 

[Cvadh387]

Thanks guys! Both your guys feedback helped a lot. I had a few more questions.

So if I get pages, does that mean I just purchased iWork? Or is pages also sold separately from iWork?... or if I purchase Pages, do I also get Numbers and Keynote?

I think as long as I can save documents to a word format, then I won't need Office for Mac. Right now I need an app like Pages, Office for Mac, etc because I need to re-make my resume, or in case I need to write documents.

Another question: If someone emails me an attachment that is a Microsoft word document, would I be able to open it up and see it on my macbook pro? Would it open up on Pages?

Thanks for all the help

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Thanks guys! Both your guys feedback helped a lot. I had a few more questions.

So if I get pages, does that mean I just purchased iWork? Or is pages also sold separately from iWork?... or if I purchase Pages, do I also get Numbers and Keynote?

Before the Mac App Store (MAS), iWork was only available on CD for 49 USD, thus it included all three mentioned applications.
Now in the age of MAS, you can buy the apps separately, thus buying Pages does NOT get you Numbers and Keynote, as you buy them separately.

I think as long as I can save documents to a word format, then I won't need Office for Mac. Right now I need an app like Pages, Office for Mac, etc because I need to re-make my resume, or in case I need to write documents.

Pages can save documents as Word document, but depending on your level of formatting, some might get lost. If it does not need to be editable, you can always export as PDF.

Another question: If someone emails me an attachment that is a Microsoft word document, would I be able to open it up and see it on my macbook pro? Would it open up on Pages?

Pages is able to open Word documents, but depending on the level of formatting, some might get lost.
If you have Pages and Word documents don't open with it:

How to change the default application a certain file type opens with​

 

[snberk103]

...
I think as long as I can save documents to a word format, then I won't need Office for Mac. Right now I need an app like Pages, Office for Mac, etc because I need to re-make my resume, or in case I need to write documents.
...
Thanks for all the help

If people just need to read and/or print the documents you send them, then using Pages to create PDFs is the way to go. In fact, for just reading and/printing sending a PDF can be better than even using Word to send a Word document. (There are instances when the 2nd person's Word installation will use different fonts or printer margins than the sender's Word installation, which changes what the 2nd person sees. A PDF creates an exact duplicate of what your printer would have printed, and this what the receiver sees.)

If you need to share documents that are to be edited - then getting Word may be a better alternative. In some cases, a document you "save as" a Word document will experience some formatting changes. If the person you send the document edits that document, and sends it back to you - then you may lose some of their formatting as well.

Nothing says you can'f have both on your system, even if you have to start with Pages for budgetary reasons.