Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What word processor do you use?
- Thread starter Fry42
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Pages, open office, libre office, text editor I only use the open source free ones but i do have pages its alright for certain ones i use manly to construct my documents as i found out sometimes it does not open word.docs all that well for me
Word 2011 on Mac, Word 2007 on Windows
We use Word 2011 for our Macs, the main reason being that Word 2008 is rubbish and 2011 improves on it dramatically. On PCs we still use Word 2007 because it works well enough and we've not got round to upgrading yet.
I've tried OpenOffice and LibreOffice (and StarOffice when it was still around) and while they're quite good in their own right (although the last version of OpenOffice I tried was unusably slow, not a problem I've seen with LibreOffice), they all suffer one huge problem - compatibility. If you have a legacy of documents created in Word, if you receive documents from outside created in Word (and who doesn't?). if you have templates that were created in Word, then in my experience you'll struggle with any of the alternatives. I've yet to come across a single document with anything more than basic text in it that opens properly in any of the alternatives, and conversely, if you create complex documents in the alternatives, then other people will not be able to open them correctly.
If you live in a world where you don't exchange documents with others and you don't have any legacy of documents that you need to revisit or re-use, then OpenOffice of LibreOffice should be fine for you. If not, I'd say that like the rest of us you'll be forced to accept that MS owns the word-processor (and presentation and spreadsheet) world and you just have to learn to live with it.
If you do live in that unusual world, you may want to look at something like Google Apps or Office 365, though if you need to create complex documents or work offline then these won't suit.
We use Word 2011 for our Macs, the main reason being that Word 2008 is rubbish and 2011 improves on it dramatically. On PCs we still use Word 2007 because it works well enough and we've not got round to upgrading yet.
I've tried OpenOffice and LibreOffice (and StarOffice when it was still around) and while they're quite good in their own right (although the last version of OpenOffice I tried was unusably slow, not a problem I've seen with LibreOffice), they all suffer one huge problem - compatibility. If you have a legacy of documents created in Word, if you receive documents from outside created in Word (and who doesn't?). if you have templates that were created in Word, then in my experience you'll struggle with any of the alternatives. I've yet to come across a single document with anything more than basic text in it that opens properly in any of the alternatives, and conversely, if you create complex documents in the alternatives, then other people will not be able to open them correctly.
If you live in a world where you don't exchange documents with others and you don't have any legacy of documents that you need to revisit or re-use, then OpenOffice of LibreOffice should be fine for you. If not, I'd say that like the rest of us you'll be forced to accept that MS owns the word-processor (and presentation and spreadsheet) world and you just have to learn to live with it.
If you do live in that unusual world, you may want to look at something like Google Apps or Office 365, though if you need to create complex documents or work offline then these won't suit.
Word when collaborating
Pages otherwise because it does all I need, efficiently, and produces nice looking output.
But I also use OpenOffice because it will open everything, particularly my old WordPerfect docs and student homework done in OpenOffice.
Not really "word processing", but also use CircusPonies notebook for notes (best alternative to Microsoft OneNote) and if I ever have to do long form writing again I'd buy Scrivener. For programing I use the multi-platform Lugaru Epsilon, and Dreamweaver for HTML.
Pages otherwise because it does all I need, efficiently, and produces nice looking output.
But I also use OpenOffice because it will open everything, particularly my old WordPerfect docs and student homework done in OpenOffice.
Not really "word processing", but also use CircusPonies notebook for notes (best alternative to Microsoft OneNote) and if I ever have to do long form writing again I'd buy Scrivener. For programing I use the multi-platform Lugaru Epsilon, and Dreamweaver for HTML.
A mixture of Word 2011 for Mac (best version of Word on the Mac since 5.1) and Mellel (specifically designed for academics.)
The Word ribbon seems to be something you either love or hate, there's no inbetween (if it was a UK only audience I'd say it's Marmite).
I use Word for probably 4 hours out of every day and I hated the ribbon when I first switched, I wanted to bo back to the previous version, but it grew on me and now I like it. It can be a problem if you've got a small screen though as it uses up a lot of your space, you can partially overcome that by minimizing though so that it only pops out when you click on a menu item.
Mainly pages. Then export to pdf for distribution. I have Office in a parallels virtual machine for any time I have to edit word docs.
Pages reads all the content in word but does not preserve the formatting that well...
Pages reads all the content in word but does not preserve the formatting that well...
I use Word 2011 for editing whatever I write before distributing, but depending on what I write, I use a bunch of different word processors, notably Scrivener (for larger projects), Write Room (for writing short essays and memos), and even Text Edit for when I take notes from PDFs. Scrivener is really great if you're working with larger projects such as novels, dissertations, etc.
I love Microsoft Word and I also love Pages. Each for different reasons. However, since Lion came out I have seen issues with Word, and Microsoft isn't planning on fixing Lion related issues anytime soon. With that in mind I am only using Word for work related documents since at work we use MS Office in a Windows environment.
Since getting the Mac back in March, I have been playing around with Pages and the more I play with it and become more familiar with what it can do I am really beginning to like it more and more. It seems more flexible and is a LOT easier to use than Word. I am very familiar with Word having used Windows versions for 15 plus years, and I like Word. Now with the "Apple Ecosystem" with the Mac, iPhone, iPad and Microsoft dragging their heels on an Office:Mac update Pages is looking better and better.
Since getting the Mac back in March, I have been playing around with Pages and the more I play with it and become more familiar with what it can do I am really beginning to like it more and more. It seems more flexible and is a LOT easier to use than Word. I am very familiar with Word having used Windows versions for 15 plus years, and I like Word. Now with the "Apple Ecosystem" with the Mac, iPhone, iPad and Microsoft dragging their heels on an Office:Mac update Pages is looking better and better.
For heavy duty stuff, I use Mellel; never crashed in 7+ years of use, especially good at long documents, and handles Hebrew properly within an English context. Very powerful auto-titles, multiple independent notestreams, superb styles sheets.
I also use Nisus Writer Pro, very capable program, but more for short, quick projects.
Both work well with Bookends and Sente.
If writing is your thing and you only need to export to .rtf, then consider Scrivener. Superb planning, research, integration tool, best all in one writing tool.
And if you want real power, consider Tinderbox for research, Scrivener for writing tool (buy as a bundle and save). Tinderbox will expand to meet your level no matter how advanced you go.
I also use Nisus Writer Pro, very capable program, but more for short, quick projects.
Both work well with Bookends and Sente.
If writing is your thing and you only need to export to .rtf, then consider Scrivener. Superb planning, research, integration tool, best all in one writing tool.
And if you want real power, consider Tinderbox for research, Scrivener for writing tool (buy as a bundle and save). Tinderbox will expand to meet your level no matter how advanced you go.
Pages for documents I don't need to share as an editable document. Which is most of what I need to do. Pages works very well as a simple Page Layout program, and most of what I do is either internal documents or being distributed as a PDF or as hard-copy.
When I am collaborating on a document, if it's simple I use Pages and then try to remember to "Share". Though for most instances I use NeoOffice for collaboration. I like NeoOffice enough I donated to the cause. It's saved me lots of $$ by allowing me to not have to buy MS Word.
When I am collaborating on a document, if it's simple I use Pages and then try to remember to "Share". Though for most instances I use NeoOffice for collaboration. I like NeoOffice enough I donated to the cause. It's saved me lots of $$ by allowing me to not have to buy MS Word.
Agreed. You'll get 9/10ths of what the big, bloated programs (aforementioned) offer, yet it's lightweight and free.
I've used Word for fifteen years, often out of necessity, now more out of habit. I did try Pages, and I just wasn't crazy about it. Open Office seemed like a bloatware version of AppleWorks. 
I am currently on Word 2008, although the Mrs. is still using 2004 -- she's always been a little retro.
I am currently on Word 2008, although the Mrs. is still using 2004 -- she's always been a little retro.