Office 2016 for Mac or Office for Windows/Bootcamp?

[Tdub4]

New to Mac so go easy on the new guy.

My son will be headed to college soon and trying to determine how to attack the Office dilemma. I had heard that Numbers, Pages, etc. were compatible with Office but we tried to open a Pages spreadsheet (saved with xls) with Windows Excel but it didn't translate over completely.

I looked at Office for Mac 2016 but the reviews don't seem very good at all. So that got me thinking if we should go with Bootcamp and load the Office for Windows.

Any thoughts or ideas on this?

 

[keysofanxiety]

New to Mac so go easy on the new guy.

My son will be headed to college soon and trying to determine how to attack the Office dilemma. I had heard that Numbers, Pages, etc. were compatible with Office but we tried to open a Pages spreadsheet (saved with xls) with Windows Excel but it didn't translate over completely.

I looked at Office for Mac 2016 but the reviews don't seem very good at all. So that got me thinking if we should go with Bootcamp and load the Office for Windows.

Any thoughts or ideas on this?

No point having a Windows partition just for the sake of Office.

Office 16 for Mac was quite buggy in the earliest iterations, but they're frequently patching it. It should be fine and it's perfectly usable now. Just ensure Office is up to date — check for updates as soon as you install it through Help>Check for updates.

 

[campyguy]

OS X and Windows 10 user here, subscribing to Office 365 Home - 5 installs plus iPad Pro access. IMHO, I stick with and don't mix ecosystem-specific tools. On my personal Mac, I have the 3 Apple apps installed and the only one I use is Keynote, the Mac Office 2016 suite and a Win 10 Pro VM with the Win Office 2016 suite installed. I try out the Mac Office suite when updates come out but keep finding that it's just not ready for primetime when compared to the Win Office suite. Word, Excel, and Outlook on the Win platform just work; the Mac Office suite reminds me of a less powerful version of the 2004 version - the last previous iteration that Outlook was included.

I do use Office in a production environment - college is a production environment, too. I have no problems with firing up my Parallels VM and launching an Office app as it takes seconds; I'd rather use Parallels instead of a Boot Camp partition if Office is the target. My small company has about 30 fast PCs in it, and there's no performance drop off in Parallels for Office 2016 use...

 

[Tdub4]

Thank you for the replies so far.

If I go the Windows route, I know Parallels was recommended above, but if we are talking about a kid that knows how to "use" the technology but not necessarily "work" on it (i.e. troubleshoot, reinstall, etc) is one better than the other? I do like the fact Bootcamp is a Mac feature built in vs a 3rd party tool.

 

[mk313]

I just wrapped up my MBA, so I'll share my experience. The Apple 'office' suite isn't worth the hassle when you will be working with files that are in native MS Office format. (It's a nice suite for home or individual users, but files don't always convert correctly and it's missing some features that just make life easier (like the Table of Contents feature in word). Definitely get a copy of MS office. Check with the school as many of them have free or greatly reduced prices on Office for students. My school offers a free downloadable copy of each to every student so I got both (Windows & Mac), as well as a discounted version of Parallels. I used MS office for Mac 2013 with zero problems throughout grad school. The only time I had to use the windows version was for a class where we used Access (which ins't in the Mac version). I just upgraded to Mac Office 2016 before I graduated, and it's also nice. Unless your son is doing specialized work, the Mac version should be fine for his needs.

 

[sracer]

Thank you for the replies so far.

If I go the Windows route, I know Parallels was recommended above, but if we are talking about a kid that knows how to "use" the technology but not necessarily "work" on it (i.e. troubleshoot, reinstall, etc) is one better than the other? I do like the fact Bootcamp is a Mac feature built in vs a 3rd party tool.

I would recommend VirtualBox instead of Parallels. VB is free and I've found it to be better overall than Parallels. In addition, Parallels charges for updates which are required whenever a new version of OSX is released. on the surface that doesn't sound like a big deal, just stay with the current version of OSX, but then some OTHER app requires the updated version of OSX. Update OSX, and then have to buy the upgrade for Parallels.

I would try to avoid running the Windows version of Office in the first place. The OS X version has improved greatly. it's still large and slow to load but after that it is good enough to justify NOT going through the hassles of setting up a VM.

 

[willmtaylor]

Office for Mac is fine. I use it daily.

What are your concerns? What did the reviews say?

 

[Easttime]

I went Office 365 subscription for Mac and have zero regrets. Very convenient, auotomatic updates, works very well in my home office work, seamless sync via OneDrive. I considered all the options but compatibility requirements with colleagues require me to use MS Office.

 

[H2SO4]

Thank you for the replies so far.

If I go the Windows route, I know Parallels was recommended above, but if we are talking about a kid that knows how to "use" the technology but not necessarily "work" on it (i.e. troubleshoot, reinstall, etc) is one better than the other? I do like the fact Bootcamp is a Mac feature built in vs a 3rd party tool.

If you absolutely need 100% compatibility go for Windows Office. The Mac version will get you 90% of the way though.

 

[willmtaylor]

If you absolutely need 100% compatibility go for Windows Office. The Mac version will get you 90% of the way though.

I would say more like 98-99% of the way for a college student using it for compositions and presentations.

 

[H2SO4]

I would say more like 98-99% of the way for a college student using it for compositions and presentations.

Ok, yes. Probably. But if your livelihood depends on it then go native.

 

[Tdub4]

First of all, I really appreciate all of the replies and feedback. Very helpful.

Looks like maybe we will give the Office for Mac a try. as far as the question above regarding concerns, I have just seen a lot of reviews talking about the app crashing (primary issue I have seen), poor performance, not installing correctly (stuck on an install screen with no change), etc.

Maybe mostly fixed now and the comments above stating that they have used without issue is encouraging.

 

[Easttime]

First of all, I really appreciate all of the replies and feedback. Very helpful. Looks like maybe we will give the Office for Mac a try. as far as the question above regarding concerns, I have just seen a lot of reviews talking about the app crashing (primary issue I have seen), poor performance, not installing correctly (stuck on an install screen with no change), etc. Maybe mostly fixed now and the comments above stating that they have used without issue is encouraging.

There were big problems with the first release of El Capitan but Apple and MS worked it out and those issues have resolved with updates. There is a great thread somewhere detailing the problem and fix.

 

[willmtaylor]

First of all, I really appreciate all of the replies and feedback. Very helpful.

Looks like maybe we will give the Office for Mac a try. as far as the question above regarding concerns, I have just seen a lot of reviews talking about the app crashing (primary issue I have seen), poor performance, not installing correctly (stuck on an install screen with no change), etc.

Maybe mostly fixed now and the comments above stating that they have used without issue is encouraging.

Before you purchase, check with his university. Mine offers FREE Office365 subscriptions for any student, faculty, staff member for the entirety of their tenure.