Remember the ClarisWorks days and the days when MS Office for Mac used a different file format than the Windows version?
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Microsoft Office vs Apple Office Apps
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Remember the ClarisWorks days and the days when MS Office for Mac used a different file format than the Windows version?
I go back to the days of AppleWorks on the Apple //e before it was spun off thru Claris. Actually, I go back before then, too, but I do remember ClarisWorks well. ClarisWorks got me through college.
I remember AppleWorks on the Apple IIgs. I also remember AppleWorks on the Mac after ClarisWorks.
Because I use Windows, macOS, and various flavors of Linux, I used LibreOffice for years. However, formatting is an issue with certain MS Office documents, especially PowerPoint. I gave SoftMaker FreeOffice a try, and it looked promising, but it lacked a few features I needed, so I tried and subscribed to SoftMaker Office. The "full" version seems to have all the features I need (I currently use it on Linux and macOS computers and send/receive documents from MS Office for Windows users).
Note that SoftMaker also has its own customized version of Thunderbird.
Note that SoftMaker also has its own customized version of Thunderbird.
The poll is difficult to answer. Prefer for what exactly?
If the document is school/work related where Office compatibility is key, definitely go with Office. This can’t be stressed enough.
If the document is personal and no Office compatibility is needed, I prefer iWork myself. I think it’s less cluttered and works more nicely with macOS. The only exception would be Numbers, which I love for simple spreadsheets, but would never use for complicated spreadsheets. This is due to some formulas being different than Excel, many formulas are missing, and some important features are missing (e.g. pivot tables). This makes it very hard to google for formula solutions since often the answers can’t be used in Numbers.
If the document is school/work related where Office compatibility is key, definitely go with Office. This can’t be stressed enough.
If the document is personal and no Office compatibility is needed, I prefer iWork myself. I think it’s less cluttered and works more nicely with macOS. The only exception would be Numbers, which I love for simple spreadsheets, but would never use for complicated spreadsheets. This is due to some formulas being different than Excel, many formulas are missing, and some important features are missing (e.g. pivot tables). This makes it very hard to google for formula solutions since often the answers can’t be used in Numbers.
I am a retired engineer. When I was working there was no way Numbers could come close to the useful features I required in a spreadsheet. I bought Office for Mac when I bought my (wife's) first Mac, but never needed the features at home that I did at work other than to send Word documents to others who could not open a Pages document on their Windows system. Since retirement I don't make or use complex spreadsheets like I used to and only rarely miss an Excel feature that Numbers doesn't have. I am also not creating Pages documents for others. I have kept a Windows machine for serious work, though, since the business world still runs on Windows.
Ah Memories!
We started with PFS:Write and MagiCalc on the //e, in the wonderful world of 80 column text. Then moved through AppleWorks and into Claris, also using ClarisCAD and FileMaker Pro.
Hypercard anyone?
Today I am doing a lot with LibreOffice. I use the drawing module as a replacement for Visio. I have noticed a performance drop on my MacBook Pro (2013, Sierra) especially when an external screen is attached. I find my LibreOffice Drawings to preform better without the external monitor, so I think that something in the video code is bunged up. On my iMac 27" (2010, High Sierra), video performance is much better.
OpenOffice Draw doesn't have this issue, but the colors on my drawings change, so I don't use it as much.
I have Mac Office 2011 that I won't upgrade. It is paid for, and still works, and is onboard only for PowerPoint. I do enough presentations at trade shows that I need it to be exact. I won't be moving to Catalina anytime soon.
Ah Memories!
We started with PFS:Write and MagiCalc on the //e, in the wonderful world of 80 column text. Then moved through AppleWorks and into Claris, also using ClarisCAD and FileMaker Pro.
Hypercard anyone?
Today I am doing a lot with LibreOffice. I use the drawing module as a replacement for Visio. I have noticed a performance drop on my MacBook Pro (2013, Sierra) especially when an external screen is attached. I find my LibreOffice Drawings to preform better without the external monitor, so I think that something in the video code is bunged up. On my iMac 27" (2010, High Sierra), video performance is much better.
OpenOffice Draw doesn't have this issue, but the colors on my drawings change, so I don't use it as much.
I have Mac Office 2011 that I won't upgrade. It is paid for, and still works, and is onboard only for PowerPoint. I do enough presentations at trade shows that I need it to be exact. I won't be moving to Catalina anytime soon.
Why not Catalina is great?
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My first Mac was a LC III. 68K
Would seriously consider something other than Pages because Pages screws up first paragraph indentation and cannot be corrected according to Apple. Other than that, all the Apple apps are great with me!
All the new features make it great. However there is one drawback and that is with the DVD player application auto playing from where the DVD last was played, instead of giving the user the option to start from the beginning. What problems are you having with Catalina? I am not having anything major. No crashes, no bombs, nothing. It just works...
Let me try to illustrate:
1. First I type in a paragraph with a number to begin it. Then I continue to type until I end up beginning a new line, like this. You notice that the second line aligns with the "1".
2. When I put in the second paragraph, I would expect that Pages would duplicate the convention. But nay! What it does the instant I start the second paragraph is to change the first paragraph to look like this:
1. First I type in a paragraph with a number to begin it. Then I continue to type until I end up beginning a
new line, like this.
After it messes with paragraph 1, all subsequent paragraphs stay like I want them. I do not understand this. The Apple help person told me that this was "just the way pages works". I don't particularly like the way that this paragraph convention works.
Interesting! I cannot show you because this forum format won't let what Pages does happen! Picture in the second paragraph 1 that the second line begins under the letter F in first instead of under the number 1.
1. First I type in a paragraph with a number to begin it. Then I continue to type until I end up beginning a new line, like this. You notice that the second line aligns with the "1".
2. When I put in the second paragraph, I would expect that Pages would duplicate the convention. But nay! What it does the instant I start the second paragraph is to change the first paragraph to look like this:
1. First I type in a paragraph with a number to begin it. Then I continue to type until I end up beginning a
new line, like this.
After it messes with paragraph 1, all subsequent paragraphs stay like I want them. I do not understand this. The Apple help person told me that this was "just the way pages works". I don't particularly like the way that this paragraph convention works.
Interesting! I cannot show you because this forum format won't let what Pages does happen! Picture in the second paragraph 1 that the second line begins under the letter F in first instead of under the number 1.
Just use VLC instead. In fact, that is the app I use for watching ANY type of video, DVD or not. It is a solid program, has been around for many, many years, and works like a charm.
It can play just about any format, which is a definite advantage over most other similar apps.
I use iCloud apps as they're encrypted correctly and won't be monetized like Google does. Office 365 costs money whereas iCloud apps are free.
Office 365 is the standard in government, education, and business. Why would you not want to use it? The latest version (2019) is excellent and does allot of things.
Libre Office.
Pages and the assoc. Spreadsheet have been gutted.
Spreadsheet chokes on over 32k per column.
Office is bloated, and they really want me to subscribe as well as store sensitive info in their cloud. That is NOT happening.
That leaves me Libre Office which is reasonably lean and reasonably zippy. I could use a bit more power, but There's really not much choice anymore, as compared to 25 years ago when I could choose seperate WP and Spreadsheet Apps.
Pages and the assoc. Spreadsheet have been gutted.
Spreadsheet chokes on over 32k per column.
Office is bloated, and they really want me to subscribe as well as store sensitive info in their cloud. That is NOT happening.
That leaves me Libre Office which is reasonably lean and reasonably zippy. I could use a bit more power, but There's really not much choice anymore, as compared to 25 years ago when I could choose seperate WP and Spreadsheet Apps.
I have LibreOffice, and although I am not a "heavy" user, it works well. Unfortunately, one has to install all the modules of LibreOffice.
If you want to try and install separate modules, you can try OpenOffice:
Unlike LibreOffice, you can install which modules you want. However, the one draw back is that OpenOffice modules do not support as many file types as LibreOffice does. You can look at this comparison:
Here's a comprehensive comparison of Microsoft Office 2016 versus OpenOffice versus LibreOffice:
www.idealware.org
Note, though, that it is comparison between Office 2016, V4.1 of OpenOffice, and V5.1 of LibreOffice. Each of them have newer versions: Office 2019, OpenOffice V4.1.7, and LibreOffice V6.3.4.2.
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Note, though, that it is comparison between Office 2016, V4.1 of OpenOffice, and V5.1 of LibreOffice. Each of them have newer versions: Office 2019, OpenOffice V4.1.7, and LibreOffice V6.3.4.2.