Software question for 2017 1Mac

[Alabastron]

I am planning to replace my 2010 iMac with a 2017 27" iMac.

I use my Mac a great deal for writing. Currently my software is Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac. I will obviously need new word processing software to work, but will also want to easily be able to access all my old files.

I hope someone will be able to tell me what software I should be buying.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Fishrrman]

I believe the 2017 iMacs must run High Sierra or later.
A new one will come with the drive formatted in APFS.

Not sure if MS Word 2008 can run in such an environment.
(I generally don't use MS products)

BUT... be aware that the FREE "LibreOffice" can open MS Word documents from way WAY back -- perhaps even old Word docs that newer copies of Word itself can't open.
(You might even download a copy of LibreOffice just to do some "file opening tests" before you upgrade)

So...
Even if you get a new iMac,
And even if it won't run Word '08 any more,
You'll still be able to "get at" the old files.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Update Word or use Pages etc. supplied f.o.c. The 2008 version will not run on your iMac as it is the old PowerPC format.

Personally finding Office 365 quite good.

 

[mikehalloran]

Actually, I do run 2008 over High Sierra and like it. You need to know a few things.

You cannot install Office 2008 after Mavericks or Yosemite (I forget) but it won't install over El Cap and later.

It will run only if you use Migration Assistant from your old iMac or a Time Machine backup. You can't clone it in or copy it over from a 2008.

If you were planning a clean install, forget it.

You must disable App Nap or it will freeze on you now and then. A lot of your old apps will run better if you do this. Since the purpose of App Nap is to conserve battery life on portables, there is no down side to this on an iMac.
http://osxdaily.com/2014/05/13/disable-app-nap-mac-os-x/

Being a 32 bit app, expect it to no longer run in OS 10.15 whatever they wind up calling it. BTW, I have Office 2008 running over Mojave on my test drive, too.

Will your old files open in 365/Office 2019? Yes if you bring them over via Migration Assistant.

If you do a straight copy of your work files from the 2008, they will not open on the new Mac unless you do the following:

Zip your old files on the 2008 first. You can compress the entire Documents folder if you like and have the drive space. Now you can move them over, unzip and they will open on the new machine. You do not have to do this if you brought everything over via Migration Assistant.

 

[mreg376]

I am planning to replace my 2010 iMac with a 2017 27" iMac.

I use my Mac a great deal for writing. Currently my software is Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac. I will obviously need new word processing software to work, but will also want to easily be able to access all my old files.

I hope someone will be able to tell me what software I should be buying.

Thanks in advance for your help.

An easy answer is get Microsoft Office 2016 for the Mac. You're buying a brand new iMac, so why don't you get software, which is your main use apparently, that is also current? I use it on a 2017 iMac, works great.

 

[wardie]

An easy answer is get Microsoft Office 2016 for the Mac. You're buying a brand new iMac, so why don't you get software, which is your main use apparently, that is also current? I use it on a 2017 iMac, works great.

Or you can get an Office 365 subscription often at a slight reduced price on amazon versus MS directly

 

[carbontune]

An easy answer is get Microsoft Office 2016 for the Mac

Office 2019 is out for the Mac now and it works great on a 2017 iMac running Mojave.

 

[mikehalloran]

I am not arguing for Word 2008 nor against Office 2019/365.

I have—and hate—Office 2011 (which will install over OS 10.13–14 after you click on the message saying it won't). It was the basis of 365/2016 until Office 2019 was released last month. I used it over Snow Lion — El Cap when 2008 was so slow as to be useless. Then 2008 came back to over Sierra(!?!?!). Don't know what happened but I switched back to 2008 in a heartbeat as did my wife, a writing teacher and book editor.

We will be dragged kicking and screaming into Office 2019 when OS 10.15 renders 2008 unusable and not a minute before.

 

[chrfr]

I have—and hate—Office 2011 (which will install over OS 10.13–14 after you click on the message saying it won't). It was the basis of 365/2016 until Office 2019 was released last month.

Office 2011 is not the basis of 2016, 2016 was entirely new. 2019 is basically the same thing as 2016 with some new features added.
[doublepost=1541205487][/doublepost]

I am planning to replace my 2010 iMac with a 2017 27" iMac.

I use my Mac a great deal for writing. Currently my software is Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac. I will obviously need new word processing software to work, but will also want to easily be able to access all my old files.

I hope someone will be able to tell me what software I should be buying.

Thanks in advance for your help.

You might give Pages a try before buying anything. It can open Word documents and export out Word format as well.
If you're really used to Word, you can either subscribe to Office 365 or buy a standalone copy of Office 2019.

 

[mikehalloran]

[doublepost=1541205487][/doublepost]
You might give Pages a try before buying anything. It can open Word documents and export out Word format as well.
If you're really used to Word, you can either subscribe to Office 365 or buy a standalone copy of Office 2019.[/QUOTE]

Here we go. Every time Word gets mentioned, someone points out that there are free alternatives. Yea...

No there aren't. If you need Word, nothing else does the job. There is no freeware that lets my wife or I do our work. I wish there was.

Pages, before it was dumbed down in 2012, had many features that made it a contender but it's not even close anymore. If all you need is basic word processing, it's pretty good and documents are easy to work on in iOS. One of my books is being written in Pages as I can open the file on any device I own. When it's time to edit, I'll convert to Word but that's a way off.

One of my wife's students submits work in Pages. She converts it to Word and hopes that it retains most of her markups when she converts back—a bit of a crap shoot but that kind of markup can no longer be done in Pages. That's her personal hell and not mine.

I like LibreOffice but it lacks the professional editing features that we require and isn't as good in the cloud as Pages.

I miss ClarisWorks and Word 5.1a but not enough to fire up my G4 to work in either.