Is AppleWorks any good for Word Processing? i am a 10th grader and dont do much word processing but should i get MS Office instead?
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appleworks
- Thread starter rye9
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It is not an either/or question. AppleWorks can do basic wordprocessing, but its drawing and painting functions allow it to do passable desktop publishing. Of course, the app can also do database and presentations. Word's wordprocessing functions far surpass those of AppleWorks. Word also includes functions that a wordprocessor should not have. Even its true wordprocessing features may exceed your needs. If AppleWorks ships with your Mac, you outght to give it a try. Try out Pages, as well.rye9 said:
Appleworks is perfect for basic word processing, letters, books, notes, essays etc, and since it is free on some machines, definitely worth trying out - I find Word to be over complicated, especially the auto formatting that drives me crazy.
Our office still uses Appleworks for invoicing; we have a standard letter template with a table inserted which calculates the vat and adds up the totals, so it can be used quite creatively.
Andy G
Our office still uses Appleworks for invoicing; we have a standard letter template with a table inserted which calculates the vat and adds up the totals, so it can be used quite creatively.
Andy G
When was the last time Appleworks was upgraded? Also, the only reason I ask is because if you buy a new Mac AND MS Office at the SAME TIME, you get a rebate. So, this is why I ws wondering whether or not to get it. I love Word, but I didnt know if Appleworks would be sufficient fo rmy high school needs.
Appleworks is frustrating sometimes - like the painting/drawing functions don't have multiple undo (I believe). But it depends on what you want it for. If you just need to write papers and print them out, it is certainly fine and will start up much more quickly than word. If you need to share documents with others who are using Word, either get Word, or use NeoOfficeJ (free- google it) or AibWord (same).
rye9 said:
I'd say about three or possibly more years ago. AppleWorks is dated, but it sufficed for me for a long time, so you could certainly make good use of it.
i'd recommend heading over to your local apple store, and, if possible, going to one of the computers (hopefully the kind that you're going to get) and try out pages (of iWork), appleworks, and word (from MS Office). i have all three, and quite honestly, i use pages the most. i had used apple/clarisworks my whole life up until i bought pages, and since it converts .pdf, .cwk(appleworks), .doc, and more file formats, i've been happily using it ever since. here's what programs i use for each thing i find myself doing:
essays, letters, etc. = pages
spreadsheets = excel
presentations = usually keynote2, but sometimes appleworks or powerpoint
drawing/paint/almost-photoshopping = appleworks
go with whatever you think you'll use most. if your friends use windows (ergo MS word), and you trade files often, you might want pages or office. its really all about what you think you'll need more.
i also advise checking with the apple store people to see if the mac you'll be getting comes with appleworks...
good luck!
essays, letters, etc. = pages
spreadsheets = excel
presentations = usually keynote2, but sometimes appleworks or powerpoint
drawing/paint/almost-photoshopping = appleworks
go with whatever you think you'll use most. if your friends use windows (ergo MS word), and you trade files often, you might want pages or office. its really all about what you think you'll need more.
i also advise checking with the apple store people to see if the mac you'll be getting comes with appleworks...
good luck!
asherman13 said:
Thanks for the informative post
Well, I have read reviews on Pages and they have mostly been negative. I personally hate the idea of picking out a template before typing so iWork is not an option for me. Also, the closest Apple Store to me is out of my state so I doubt Ill be going there anytime soon. How does Appleworks have so many uses? Is it separate apps like Office? Lastly, why do you use Pages over Appleworks for essays?
Appleworks is no match for MS Office, I'm afraid. If you want a free office suite, check out NeoOffice/J. Not too bad.
If you just want a word processor, and not a full blown office pack, then try AbiWord, the best free word processor for Mac I've seen, so far...
It's one of many nice Mac apps I recommend in the "What cool Mac OS X apps do you use?"-thread. You can aslo check out Diatribe's Mac Beginner's Guide for more tips and apps.
If you just want a word processor, and not a full blown office pack, then try AbiWord, the best free word processor for Mac I've seen, so far...
It's one of many nice Mac apps I recommend in the "What cool Mac OS X apps do you use?"-thread. You can aslo check out Diatribe's Mac Beginner's Guide for more tips and apps.
rye9 said:Thanks for the informative post
appleworks is somewhat like iwork in that when you open it, you choose whether you want document, spreadsheet, draw, paint, or presentation (see attached pictures for appleworks opening screen, pages opening screen, and word opening screen). i use pages more because i can save to so many different formats (pdf, doc, etc) and it preserves almost all of my formatting, so if my printer isn't working or w.e i can use email/flash drive to access it at school and print it out there, in a doc or pdf format.
Attachments
It's all about the Preferences
For those of us who have used ClarisWorks/AppleWorks for many years, Pages has a bit of a learning curve. That said, many (not all, but many) who complain about Pages are complaining about things they just haven't taken the time to figure out how to do differently.
This particular complaint - about having to choose a template - is one of those examples. All you have to do is set your Preferences to always default a "new document" to a "blank document", and you never, ever have to see the template selection screen again.
AppleWorks was/is great for many, many things. It should do fine for most of your needs, and is actually still my tool of choice for certain types of things. But, Pages is inexpensive and VERY powerful. When you hear complaints about what it can't do, it's usually either something that it can do (but the person hasn't taken the time to figure it out) or is something that shouldn't really be a part of a "word processor" in the first place that people are just used to seeing there because Word bloats it in.
Give Pages a try. It's worth the cost just to get Keynote!
rye9 said:Thanks for the informative post
For those of us who have used ClarisWorks/AppleWorks for many years, Pages has a bit of a learning curve. That said, many (not all, but many) who complain about Pages are complaining about things they just haven't taken the time to figure out how to do differently.
This particular complaint - about having to choose a template - is one of those examples. All you have to do is set your Preferences to always default a "new document" to a "blank document", and you never, ever have to see the template selection screen again.
AppleWorks was/is great for many, many things. It should do fine for most of your needs, and is actually still my tool of choice for certain types of things. But, Pages is inexpensive and VERY powerful. When you hear complaints about what it can't do, it's usually either something that it can do (but the person hasn't taken the time to figure it out) or is something that shouldn't really be a part of a "word processor" in the first place that people are just used to seeing there because Word bloats it in.
Give Pages a try. It's worth the cost just to get Keynote!