I do a lot of writing. Is there a good Word Processing program I need to get for my Macbook or is there something that comes with it natively?
Thanks!
CK
Thanks!
CK
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Best Word Processing Program?
- Thread starter Coolerking
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free:
neooffice
openoffice
textedit-comes native
pay:
microsoftoffice-has trial version preinstalled on your computer
pages-also has trial version on your computer
All are good options and there are more i am sure i am forgetting
neooffice
openoffice
textedit-comes native
pay:
microsoftoffice-has trial version preinstalled on your computer
pages-also has trial version on your computer
All are good options and there are more i am sure i am forgetting
As much as it hurts, Microsoft Office is the best program in my opinion, and I think many others will agree with me.
textedit isn't very good for much word processing. it works for like a notebook type quick jot-down, but for long papers and stuff that you'll want to be able to really format and what have you.. nuh uh.
i USED to be a bigger fan of microsoft office, but because of the whole non-UB thing, i started using pages more and have really grown to like it. that's what i would recommend, personally.
neooffice is your best bet for the MB if you're looking for free, though.. it's UB so it'll run natively.
I didn't care for neooffice, though, but that's just personal preference and what i'm already used to.
i USED to be a bigger fan of microsoft office, but because of the whole non-UB thing, i started using pages more and have really grown to like it. that's what i would recommend, personally.
neooffice is your best bet for the MB if you're looking for free, though.. it's UB so it'll run natively.
I didn't care for neooffice, though, but that's just personal preference and what i'm already used to.
*raises hand*CoMpX said:
Though I've been trying to use Pages a little more lately, it still just doesn't quite hit the mark, but that just be because I've always used Word and it's very familiar to me.
Awesome. I should be able to figure out which one I like better and buy the program 30 days later.
I kinda hope pages is the way to go. The less I have to bow down to the Microsoft monkey, the better.
I kinda hope pages is the way to go. The less I have to bow down to the Microsoft monkey, the better.
Coolerking said:
If I were you I would use neooffice . Find it via google.
Once Microdoft office becomes ub, there is no question which is the best but neooffice is pretty good with being compatible to office since thats the point of that project.
However, if you have enough ram, office via rosetta is not bad at all. I have 768megs and even with 512 it will run fine if you dont have too many other apps open
Pages is well ok, just not what I need in a word processing program. Don't like the layout and knowing all the tricks of word and such really makes me hard to switch lol
Use a LaTeX editor. TeXShop is OK, eMacs even better. Outputs directly to pdf, easy and intuitive to learn, professional looking documents as fast as you can write them.
Pages looks more like a basic magazine/newspaper tool rather than a pure word processor, I like Microsoft Word a lot more, however as far as Presentation programs go... Keynote 3 is unmatched, I only got iWork because of Keynote, I could care less about Pages, seriously PowerPoint doesn't hold a candle at Keynote, its just more polished, easier to use and more powerful, it still lacks a few features (like better slide audio editing/managing tools).
I got carried away, for a paying option I recommend Microsoft Word, for free I recommend OpenOffice, though buying iWork 06 for 79$ might not be a bad idea, Keynote alone is worth 79$ (if you do a lot of presentations that is) and you'll get Pages which is a good word processing program and has nifty magazine/newspaper creation tools.
I got carried away, for a paying option I recommend Microsoft Word, for free I recommend OpenOffice, though buying iWork 06 for 79$ might not be a bad idea, Keynote alone is worth 79$ (if you do a lot of presentations that is) and you'll get Pages which is a good word processing program and has nifty magazine/newspaper creation tools.
Wow...I had no idea there were so many options. I may just stick with Iwork and keep the native software. Once I get to mess with Office and Pages I'll figure it out.
Thanks again everyone.
CK
Thanks again everyone.
CK
Ms office is best in my opinion, but then i am used to the layout form pc's, open office is a not to distant second though
Word is probably the best word processor just because it's the standard. If you type something in it, it'll be supported by almost everyone.
Pages is okay, but it needs work. I like it, but for school papers I still use Word.
Pages is okay, but it needs work. I like it, but for school papers I still use Word.
Of course, there's also Mellel, Mariner Write, Nisus Writer, Nisus Express, and others. The choice is extensive.
xfiftyfour said:
I also switched from Office because it I wanted to get away from Rosetta-based apps and because Pages is written in Cocoa. Since switching, I too have come to love Pages, especially since simplifying and personalising it's interface even more. Word is just too visually noisy an environment for me to think and reflect thoughtfully in. I have found Pages to be really lovely.
I tried all of the Open Source WPs, and found them to exhibit the same visual clutter that I found so objectionable in Word.
Wasn't there some clutter with iWork '06, or is that just me. I got Office because my brother had it, but because iWork is half the price, I think I'll go for that next.
Can you just as with Office, not register, and use the three licenses on many computers. That way, I won't be urged to buy a Family Pack (don't kill me if this is illegal?)
BTW, can you save .doc in pages?
Can you just as with Office, not register, and use the three licenses on many computers. That way, I won't be urged to buy a Family Pack (don't kill me if this is illegal?)
BTW, can you save .doc in pages?
Josias said:
Export, yes. All imports/exports of Word documents by non-Microsoft products are going to be imperfect, but the one in Pages works for most situations I've found. You really should use .doc for file exchange only on demand. For most occasions, pdf is the way to go. If someone needs your text for inclusion in another document, plain text or rtf is the way to go. Any formatting you've created will only have to be changed anyway.
I use openoffice almost daily. I used to use office.
it compares favourably to MS Office, which it is seems to be targeting.
No major problems yet after 9 months of heavy use.
it compares favourably to MS Office, which it is seems to be targeting.
No major problems yet after 9 months of heavy use.
Josias said:
It's really fine. The inspector takes a little adjustment if you are used to the more common toolbar interfaces, but it's low-level pain and not permanent.
It's against MacRumors rules to discuss that stuff. I will note that the iWork family pack costs about the same as, maybe a little less than, the Student and Teacher edition of Office. Plus, you get five seats from Apple instead of three.Can you just as with Office, not register, and use the three licenses on many computers. That way, I won't be urged to buy a Family Pack (don't kill me if this is illegal?)
Yeah, and it seems to do a pretty good job with exporting. Import is usually fine, not always perfect but good.
Real Word only really starts to matter if you receive lots of Word documents from other people, and even then you may get along fine with alternatives if they don't use lots of embedded images and cutesy formatting. It becomes important if you need to share redlined stuff too. Not everyone needs to worry about those details, and if those don't apply you have many more options.