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Yankee doodle1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 11, 2006
6
0
just wondering if anyone can advise is apple has a program similar to microsoft word thanks for the reply
 

kretzy

macrumors 604
Sep 11, 2004
7,921
2
Canberra, Australia
Apple Pages is the closest thing they have to MS Word, which is a component of iWork. It's not as "feature packed" as Word, but for most things it gets the job done. I've also found it much better for laying things out than Word.
 

j26

macrumors 68000
Mar 30, 2005
1,754
726
Paddyland
There is .... Microsoft Word!

There is an Office:Mac made by Microsoft for macs.


But I use NeoOffice myself coz it's free.
 

polevault139

macrumors 6502
Sep 24, 2006
342
0
Illinois
I have both Microsoft Office and Pages on my computer and I have never used Microsoft Office except for Excel. The Inspector IMHO is a much easier way to alter your document. Although it may not be as full of features it has all you need. Hope this helps
 

dpaanlka

macrumors 601
Nov 16, 2004
4,869
34
Illinois
Apple Pages is the closest thing they have to MS Word, which is a component of iWork. It's not as "feature packed" as Word, but for most things it gets the job done. I've also found it much better for laying things out than Word.

Id take issue with that statement. It has lots of features that Word doesn't, because Pages is a Page-Layout app, whereas Word is just a very beefy word processor. They aren't really direct competitors.
 

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
just wondering if anyone can advise is apple has a program similar to microsoft word thanks for the reply

yeah, Apple has a product called "iWork", costs $79.00, which includes two components, keynotes is like office powerpoint, and pages is like word.
depends how you need to use them, if you don't worry about standard compatibility, then pages should be able to meet your need, but if your need to build document that is requirement to meet M$ office standard, then guess u will have to use M$ Office, they do have a mac version.
BTW, Openoffice/NeoOffice support OSX too, they are free.
 

MisterMe

macrumors G4
Jul 17, 2002
10,709
69
USA
just wondering if anyone can advise is apple has a program similar to microsoft word thanks for the reply
Define your terms.

TextEdit reads and writes Word .doc and .rtf files. It is bundled with every Mac and with every copy of MacOS X including yours.
Pages reads and writes Word .doc files. Certain embedded graphic elements may require tweaking. Pages is a paid application.
AbiWord reads and writes documents created using Word and [/b]WordPerfect[/b]. It is free.
NeoOffice is the Aqua-based version of OpenOffice.
Microsoft Word 2004 comes from the Redmond Monopoly. It reads and writes virtually every Word file ever created.

If you just need a wordprocessor but don't need Word-compatibility, there are numerous other options including Mariner Write, Mellel, NisusWriter Express, Papyrus, and Stone Create. You might even consider teTeX-based LyX, which can also open Word files.
 

Yankee doodle1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 11, 2006
6
0
all i need it for was just basic letter writing nothing special, but once again thanks to all
 

docss26

macrumors newbie
Nov 30, 2006
27
0
Chicago
writely is an awesome program. as long as you have internet you can access documents from anywhere and collaborate files with anyone that has a gmail account. its an awesome word processor by google.
 

dpaanlka

macrumors 601
Nov 16, 2004
4,869
34
Illinois
If that's all you need I would opt for neo office since it is the free version and works quite effectively.

If that's all he needs, TextEdit would be just fine. Why download the whole huge Neo Office suite then put up with the crappy UI and crazy slowness.
 

e12a

macrumors 68000
Oct 28, 2006
1,881
0
unfortunately Office 2004 is not available in Universal binary as of yet, so it will have to run through Rosetta...hence the performance may not be as good...but its only a word processor.

I have Office:Mac 04.
 

Bitgod

macrumors regular
Oct 25, 2003
190
1
For the love of Pete, do NOT get iWork if you're looking for a word processor. Despite what the Apple salespeople may tell you, Pages is NOT a word processor, it's a page layout program. Yes you can do word processing in it, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you just need basic word processing, text edit does a decent job. If you need fancier functions and most importantly Word compatibility, then just get Office. If you're not in a rush, wait for the next version if you have an intel Mac.
 

TonySwartz

macrumors member
Jan 11, 2004
93
0
For the love of Pete, do NOT get iWork if you're looking for a word processor. Despite what the Apple salespeople may tell you, Pages is NOT a word processor, it's a page layout program. Yes you can do word processing in it, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you just need basic word processing, text edit does a decent job. If you need fancier functions and most importantly Word compatibility, then just get Office. If you're not in a rush, wait for the next version if you have an intel Mac.

I do all my word processing in Pages. Haven't touched Microsoft Word in a year. What does Pages not do in terms of basic word processing?
 

YS2003

macrumors 68020
Dec 24, 2004
2,138
0
Finally I have arrived.....
I wonder why people don't want to use MS Word. Office is one of the few apps I like from MS. Good to know some people find Pages is function for them as a word processor. In my case, the program is too slow for typing fast (Pages cannot keep up with my typing). It's a decent layout program for a quick and easy document creation.
If you can afford it, I would recommend sticking with MS office 2004. The seamless compatibility with Windows' Office files is a big plus for my usage. When I write reports, I intend them to be read without having issues with mismatched formatting between Mac and Windows.
 

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
I wonder why people don't want to use MS Word. Office is one of the few apps I like from MS. Good to know some people find Pages is function for them as a word processor. In my case, the program is too slow for typing fast (Pages cannot keep up with my typing). It's a decent layout program for a quick and easy document creation.
If you can afford it, I would recommend sticking with MS office 2004. The seamless compatibility with Windows' Office files is a big plus for my usage. When I write reports, I intend them to be read without having issues with mismatched formatting between Mac and Windows.

the introduce of office for mac 98 several years ago did save apple's butt, lol

but back to topic, if OP only need those function as he described,
Abiword is more than good enough. Its more powerful than textedit or sticky note, but much smaller than office/pages.
 

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
http://www.abisource.com/
here is abiword
abimacosxky4.jpg
 

dpaanlka

macrumors 601
Nov 16, 2004
4,869
34
Illinois
Was the huge screenshot really necessary? Could you explain your statement about the Introduction of Office for Mac saving Apple's butt? I'm just curious to see why you think that...
 
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