NeoOffice vs Pages

[stockcerts]

I have been using NeoOffice for the past few years and I've been considering buying Pages. Just wonder if any of you have used both NeoOffice for word processing and Pages so that you can make a comparison. I have a few gripes about NeoOffice. It takes a long time to load and I have had some formatting issues when sharing docs with those using MS Word.

Thanks!

 

[india349]

As for loading time, yes, Pages will launch faster than NeoOffice. However...

...if your main goal is to have better compatibility with your Word-using friends, the solution is not to buy iWork. Pages has its own issues with Word documents (footnotes and tables come to mind), not to mention that you can't directly save as a Word file, you can only export to .doc. Furthermore, you can only read .docx files, not export. It's a solution that works but is quite cumbersome, at least compared to just setting NeoOffice to default save to .doc.

If you're concerned about speed, sure, go with Pages. Go with TextEdit, too; sometimes it loads .docx files better than Pages. If you're concerned about formatting, might I suggest just getting Word? Yes, it's slow, but I hear that Word 2011 is much faster than previous Mac versions.

india349

 

[TreoRenegade]

FWIW, I tried several, including NeoOffice, but it's snail-like pace drove me nuts (short drive, granted, but still...). Finally coughed up da dough for Nisus Writer Pro. Reasons: (1) very intuitive; (2) opens WordPerfect files without hassle; (3) if I can't figure out how to do something, a quick search of the included pdf file always sets me straight; (4) "export"ing to rtf (old style) can be read ANYwhere with dang near ANYthing.

Thus proving a personal theory: ya either pay on the front end (wallet) or pay on the back end (infinite aggravation).

 

[MisterMe]

Three points:

1. If you are using an Intel-based Mac, then there is no need for the Java-based NeoOffice. OpenOffice.org is native, free, and works fine.
2. Pages is neither designed nor marketed as a replacement for Microsoft Word. Pages opens Word files as a convenience to its users to allow them to easily incorporate content from those files into Pages documents. Pages also allows its users to export content as Word files to allow its users to share their work with Word users who do not have Pages.
3. If your primary word processing needs are creating, editing, and sharing Word documents, then you need Word. Statements to the contrary notwithstanding, there is no such thing as 100% Word compatibility. OpenOffice.org is a good backup when you can't open a Word document in Word. (It happens.) If you are reasonably competent, then you stand a better than average chance of creating Word documents in Word that can be opened without issue in Word by other users.

 

[baker12]

Neooffice can be seeded up by increasing memory in settings.

 

[bogdanw]

Neooffice can be seeded up by increasing memory in settings.

Seeded up? Where in settings? The App Store version or the Professional Edition?

 

[baker12]

I made a typo error, it should have read speeded up in the neoofficf settings.!

ps
the app store version.