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Office application beside Office X

SLJ

SLJ

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 23, 2003
230
2
Australia
okay, I want to know which office application can open Microsoft Office without converting it and and I can edit it and save it and allow my work computers able to see it? Apple Work or some other programs?

I am really sick of Microsoft software... very annoying...
 
I think OpenOffice is the only competing office app that actually works. Unfortunately it can be a bit of a pain to set up, and it's slow :(

It's not currently available as an Aqua/Quartz app, you need to have X11. This is probably the source of some of the speed problems. Fortunately they are planning a native version.
 
AppleWorks is the way to go...

AppleWorks is great at translating simple Word and Excel documents. However, Excel formatting is a bit spotty, and while Word fonts and most formatting are not a problem, any fancy Word features (like tracking changes) won't translate.

And of course, Macros won't work... but that may not be a bad thing! :)

I personally love AppleWorks... it's fast, stable, and very capable. The drawing and painting features blow Word away for making good looking documents, and the program in general just stays out of your way. That is, like OS X vs. Windows in general, the program backs off and doesn't try to "fix" formatting or something as annoying as "Clippy" on the screen. However, I still prefer Excel over the AppleWorks spreadsheet, but that's probably because I actually make use of some of the fancy features of that program.

If you do go the AppleWorks route, remember to get the most recent updates from the Apple website... they improve Word and Excel compatability with every release.

By the way, I also use OpenOffice on occassion, mostly just for the geeky fun of it. It is very slow, however, and it really is just a clone of MS Office. Unfortunately, it reminds me of Office 97 (for PC), so I'd rather use MS Office than OpenOffice until the pretty Aqua version comes out.
 
OpenOffice or StarOffice are the same, they come from the same source at the beginning.

You can buy StarOffice from SUN Microsystems, it comes with support and license.

However i would recommend OpenOffice because it's free and it's also better than StarOffice in many ways.

OpenOffice is not slow, if you got X11 setup alright with the right display drivers it's not slower than MS Office.

There was a recent test in a major PC magazine in U.K that tested several Office suits, OpenOffice came out at top.

Reason was that OpenOffice was better doing things than Ms Office.

Ms Office is buggy like all Microsoft software, so avoid to all means.

What you pay for is Microsoft's mistakes of generating bad code.

Try OpenOffice, i've used for a long time and it really kicks-ass.

I am totally Microsoft free since several years.....

It does feel good.:)
 
Go with Open Office

You should try Open Office. Apple Works sucks. If you are used to M$ Office you will be much happier with OO.

Cheers
CmdrLaForge
 
If you dont want office i recommend ThinkFree. It is dirt cheap, even cheaper at education prices and has around 60% compatability with MS Office. It is designed to be office without office so much that its default file save format is indeed the MS formats (doc, xls, ppt)
 
ThinkFree is good. It's like Office Light. Nice interface and good compatibility with simple MS Office files. Of course it lacks the advance features MS Office, but it also lacks the high price.
 
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