Why do some continue using Microsoft Office on Mac?

[mikzn]

The fact is that almost everyone in my professional world uses Office, and what I write must be completely compatible with what they use in order to be able to read it.

I am in the same situation - most of my contacts, clients, and associates also use office and most are using windows so being able to "send and receive" documents and "edit and return them" with out complicating things for them is very important for me. Having Microsoft Office is a critical software and well worth the investment - probably the most important software that I have on my working Mac's

One area where Apple shines is Keynote vs PowerPoint - Keynote is far superior (IMHO) and can easily export to PowerPoint if need be, and much nicer to use in a live Presentation. I also use Keynote like a simple "desktop publisher" to create documents especially when graphics are needed - very easy to use and export to PDF or other formats.

One Area Lacking for us "Mac Office Users" is a Data Base software like Microsoft Access that comes with the windows version - of course there is "Filemaker" a very expensive option for most Mac users.

 

[KeithJenner]

My word/Pages usage is very basic, but I use spreadsheets a lot, both for work and personally.

When I had my own business, I used numbers exclusively, and I think it is a far nicer package to use. If I needed to send a document to anyone I would just save it as an xlsx file and that worked fine.

Now I work for another business I have an office 365 account (and unfortunately have to use a windows machine at work). However, I still use my Mac at home (quite a bit this year as I've been working from home) so have settled into using numbers for personal stuff and excel for work.

I still prefer using numbers, but excel is far more powerful. Luckily I seem to be able to move between the two without getting confused. Numbers is absolutely fine for what I do personally, but I think that even if I had the choice for work I would stick with excel in the future. Going back to excel after a break of over 10 years has shown that I was quite restricted with my spreadsheet usage.

The most noticeable thing about my work/home split of computing hasn't been due to the apps I'm using though, but the computer itself. It's so nice to use my iMac after a day battling with windows.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I am in the same situation - most of my contacts, clients, and associates also use office and most are using windows so being able to "send and receive" documents and "edit and return them" with out complicating things for them is very important for me. Having Microsoft Office is a critical software and well worth the investment - probably the most important software that I have on my working Mac's

One area where Apple shines is Keynote vs PowerPoint - Keynote is far superior (IMHO) and can easily export to PowerPoint if need be, and much nicer to use in a live Presentation. I also use Keynote like a simple "desktop publisher" to create documents especially when graphics are needed - very easy to use and export to PDF or other formats.

One Area Lacking for us "Mac Office Users" is a Data Base software like Microsoft Access that comes with the windows version - of course there is "Filemaker" a very expensive option for most Mac users.

I'll bear that in mind, for I must admit that I loathe PowerPoint.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I am in the same situation - most of my contacts, clients, and associates also use office and most are using windows so being able to "send and receive" documents and "edit and return them" with out complicating things for them is very important for me. Having Microsoft Office is a critical software and well worth the investment - probably the most important software that I have on my working Mac's

.....

This, exactly.

Not just "send and receive" and be able to read, but also "edit and return" them - papers, articles, reports, anything in writing - without complications, difficulties with editing or formatting issues, or other problems.

And I agree with you that Microsoft Office for Mac is probably the most imortant software that I have on my Mac - every single Mac I have had since 2008 - as well.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

If you're associated with a non-profit organization, you can get a license for 2019 Office for $39 through Tech Soup...makes it a no-brainer.

You don't even need to be associated with an NPO.

Any consumer can get cheap MS Office keys from various overseas retailers. Some of the PC sites have sponsored posts; these stores are legit and the keys they sell work. It's not as dodgy as some random eBay seller. These stores have both Windows and Mac versions.

The funny part is that an Office 2019 Professional key is actually cheaper than an Office 2019 Home & Student key. I wanted the latter for an ultrabook because it only includes Word/Excel/PowerPoint. Hell, I miss the old days when it was easy to just install one application (in my case Excel).

I think I paid $32 for Office 2019 Home & Student (Windows). These sites also have discounted Office 365 keys.

There are cheap keys for Windows 10. And again, the Pro version is often cheaper than the Home version. Go figure.

 

[MacBH928]

I remember the 1990s, when some of my avant garde friends had Macs, and nothing they wrote could be accessed (let alone read, or presented in an attractive or legible format) by anyone using a Windows machine or device, which was personally and professionally frustrating, both for those who wrote the material and those who were expected to read it (and comment on it).

I am more forgiving with the dawn of the personal computer age simply because computers at the time were not connected and software was meant to be used on this PC only so if you had Office it made sense that the format should be read by office only.

Jump to 2020 where everything is connected via multiple OSs and devices, and people work together by sharing, a common format is needed/wanted.

 

[MacBH928]

You don't even need to be associated with an NPO.

Any consumer can get cheap MS Office keys from various overseas retailers. Some of the PC sites have sponsored posts; these stores are legit and the keys they sell work. It's not as dodgy as some random eBay seller. These stores have both Windows and Mac versions.

The funny part is that an Office 2019 Professional key is actually cheaper than an Office 2019 Home & Student key. I wanted the latter for an ultrabook because it only includes Word/Excel/PowerPoint. Hell, I miss the old days when it was easy to just install one application (in my case Excel).

I think I paid $32 for Office 2019 Home & Student (Windows). These sites also have discounted Office 365 keys.

There are cheap keys for Windows 10. And again, the Pro version is often cheaper than the Home version. Go figure.

Is it legal? I didn't believe the prices but what I understood is that those licenses are OEM, meaning that they are bought in bulk to be installed on 1 device(produced my manufacturer ex. Dell) but somehow these guys get their hands on them and sell them online before being installed on a computer.

 

[GGJstudios]

Are the apple equivelant apps such as numbers, keynote and pages not good or the same as Microsoft office?

Compatibility, more universally accepted, more well-developed. Remember, Microsoft Office, Word, Excel and Powerpoint were all introduced on Macs before they were available for Windows. The Apple apps aren't as robust in functionality.

 

[throAU]

I just have Word, Excel, Powerpoint and the updater. I have have used Onedrive and Outlook in the past, but don't currently use them. Never used OneNote as I use Apple Notes instead.

If you've never used OneNote and have a copy/subscription for it, definitely give it a shot.

I use it in preference to Apple notes normally because

• pencil scribbles are in-line with typed text (or even overlaid) not in a seperate image
  • i.e., I can for example copy/paste text into it, and then scribble over it, highlight things to be changed, etc. I use this for router configuration files for example. Its far better for mixing multiple content types in the same document
• it work on Windows and via a browser, Linux as well
• the UI is much better than Notes, with its multiple tabs, and even multiple workbooks that I can move individually, share with others, etc.

I'm not the worlds biggest microsoft fan by any stretch, but two products they make stand out IMHO:

• Excel
• OneNote

What Apple has in those areas is nowhere near even close.

 

[throAU]

If Apple themselves are using Office, who are they maintaining the Apple office apps for?

Customers who don't need to do big business work with them.

 

[Digital Dude]

I've used Apple apps since the very beginning. I tried many times to make use of these apps, but it's always been a hassle. While there may be a bit more of a learning curve with Office, it's well worth it if you ever plan to share files. I can recall the days of Apple Works, and they were quite suitable for K1-K6 but not much else. In my opinion, apple apps today haven't changed that much in decades. I look at Apple as a device company with an easy to use OS.

 

[MacBH928]

If you've never used OneNote and have a copy/subscription for it, definitely give it a shot.

I use it in preference to Apple notes normally because

• pencil scribbles are in-line with typed text (or even overlaid) not in a seperate image
  • i.e., I can for example copy/paste text into it, and then scribble over it, highlight things to be changed, etc. I use this for router configuration files for example. Its far better for mixing multiple content types in the same document
• it work on Windows and via a browser, Linux as well
• the UI is much better than Notes, with its multiple tabs, and even multiple workbooks that I can move individually, share with others, etc.

I'm not the worlds biggest microsoft fan by any stretch, but two products they make stand out IMHO:

• Excel
• OneNote

What Apple has in those areas is nowhere near even close.

I have some files in OneNote and when I load the native app it takes a really long time to load/sync the data. I probably can download an HD movie faster than it sync. Any idea why is this?

 

[throAU]

I have some files in OneNote and when I load the native app it takes a really long time to load/sync the data. I probably can download an HD movie faster than it sync. Any idea why is this?

Nope, haven't noticed. If you use it regularly, presumably it won't need to sync a massive amount whenever you open it.

 

[coops]

Understandable, and this is exactly the problem for me. I don't like that a proprietary format is the standard. Someone should do an open standard for this stuff like JPEG and PDF, then you can use Microsoft Office or whatever app you like.

There already is one - ODF

OpenDocument - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Microsoft Office even supports it... along with any OpenOffice, LibreOffice etc.

I've ditched Microsoft Office on my own laptop for LibreOffice, and that's perfectly fine for my needs. Can open any doc or xls file that i'm likely to come across then modify and send back as needed.

 

[MacBH928]

There already is one - ODF

OpenDocument - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Microsoft Office even supports it... along with any OpenOffice, LibreOffice etc.

I've ditched Microsoft Office on my own laptop for LibreOffice, and that's perfectly fine for my needs. Can open any doc or xls file that i'm likely to come across then modify and send back as needed.

If this was the case everyone would use it like PDF, but as you have noticed from this thread everyone wants to the compatibility of the .doc format and no one cares about ODF. If this was the case why not everyone saves in .odf and the office suite does not matter since it will all be read, formatted, and edited the same.

 

[calliex]

I used office from the first time it appeared on Mac. It was the first wsywig app. Sure we had MacWrtie but word was at its simplest then. As a mac guy never used Wordperfect. Over the years I became versed in Excel. Every job I have had MS Office was the standard and I had access to it at no cost through my employer. Since I have retired I do not have as much of need for Office any more. My personnel need for those products has diminished and am turning to Apples apps when that need arises.

 

[mikeka]

We've been using using Open Office here for years. Totally compatible with MS Office and it's free with frequent updates.

 

[coops]

If this was the case everyone would use it like PDF, but as you have noticed from this thread everyone wants to the compatibility of the .doc format and no one cares about ODF. If this was the case why not everyone saves in .odf and the office suite does not matter since it will all be read, formatted, and edited the same.

The point is I was replying to a post asking why there wasn't an open standard - there is an open standard already - the fact that it's pretty much ignored is another matter and shows the problem with 'someone' developing an open standard... even when it is supported by the Microsoft elephant in the room.

You already have the compatibility with .doc in any of the open source office replacements like OpenOffice or Libre offfice, Apple Pages or even Google.

It's more an interesting matter (fear?) that so many continue to pay up for Microsoft Office for their own use - when there already are multiple compatible options.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

It's more an interesting matter (fear?) that so many continue to pay up for Microsoft Office for their own use - when there already are multiple compatible options.

Cross-platform file importation is not true compatibility.

I have Excel spreadsheets that I created in the Windows version of MS Office maybe seven years ago with substantial use of conditional formatting that is poorly supported in other office suites.

So all of those fancy graphs, color-based formatting, etc. vanish into thin air when I open the spreadsheet file in Numbers, LibreOffice, whatever.

Opening a file isn't full compatibility.

How about an Excel file with pivot tables? How well does Numbers handle that?

All that said, it's probably good for the Mac environment that there are people who willingly buy MS Office for Mac regardless of whether or not it's the best solution for their specific usage case.

Something like >90% of households with a Mac also have a Windows PC under the same roof (whether it be personal property or a corporate issued device).

If you spend most of your time in the Windows version of MS Office for work, it isn't so far fetched to choose the Mac version for your personal usage. After all, their interfaces have far more in common than MS Office and Apple's iWork suite, LibreOffice, Google's web-based suite, whatever.

 

[MacBH928]

To add to the conversation, I have recently used Numbers and Keynote and I find them amazing simple to use for someone who hardly knows his way around office suites. I don't see need for MS Office, Apple Suite should be more popular. One thing that bothers me is that MS files opened must be converted to native iSuite, you can't edit and save as MS Office document.

Yes, there probably is that advanced features used in some corporate environment but I am 100% sure none of it used personally or even for many small businesses.

We've been using using Open Office here for years. Totally compatible with MS Office and it's free with frequent updates.

Here...where? My problem with Open Office is that the GUI looks seriously ugly like something from early 90s and the app feels heavy or bloated.

The point is I was replying to a post asking why there wasn't an open standard - there is an open standard already - the fact that it's pretty much ignored is another matter and shows the problem with 'someone' developing an open standard... even when it is supported by the Microsoft elephant in the room.

You already have the compatibility with .doc in any of the open source office replacements like OpenOffice or Libre offfice, Apple Pages or even Google.

It's more an interesting matter (fear?) that so many continue to pay up for Microsoft Office for their own use - when there already are multiple compatible options.

Open source and free is no use if its not a standard that everyone uses it. To be an alternative it should be just as capable or better than the competition. Again, this is why Firefox is a good example against Google Chrome. Anything Chrome does FireFox can do as well.

There is a lot of free and open source software on the Linux platform but you are really on your own and good luck getting things working in addition to the ugly interface. Just compare GIMP to Photoshop.

 

[George Dawes]

I just wish apple did a database, I miss FileMaker Pro

 

[MacBH928]

I just wish apple did a database, I miss FileMaker Pro

that still exists...There seems to be other options for this from 3rd party developers.

 

[George Dawes]

I recall in the old days that amazing all in one Claris then apple works . That was one incredible piece of software .

The tiling function alone was worth the asking price , they should put a similar feature into the Mac os

 

[ssmed]

I just wish apple did a database, I miss FileMaker Pro

Do have a look at 4D if you want a powerful MAC database. Long history on the Mac and more potential than Filemaker
However Apple do still make a database called FileMaker Pro its just sold by a subsidiary company

https://www.claris.com/filemaker/. They rebranded as Claris a couple of years ago

 

[calliex]

I just wish apple did a database, I miss FileMaker Pro

I still use filemakerPro 11on Sierra. Its one of the last versions before it went subscription. It is not worth a monthly fee to use it personally. I keep one machine running Sierra for this reason. I recently downloaded LibreOffice database to see if it can work for me.