[relaxed4102]

Hi,

I currently have Office 2004 for Mac. I switched from Microsoft to MacIntosh last year and I love the MacIntosh World.

I see where MacIntosh has come out with iWork '08 and I did the Free 30 Day Trial but I did not use it as much as I should have to see how it works in relation to Office 2004 for Mac. I should have imported more Excel documents into Numbers to see if it transferred the document without any problems. As a result, the 30 day Free Trial ran out and I did not really check what I wanted to.

Does anyone have any suggestions on whether iWork'08 or Office 2008 for Mac is better when dealing with Excel, Word, & Powerpoint. I am not no fan of Microsoft because they always seem to have updates and problems with their software. Apple seems like they handled things in stride. If anyone has any suggestions as to whether iWork'08 is just as good as Office 2008 for Mac, please advise. Also, please advise whether Office 2008 for Mac is better than iWork'08 if that s the case.

I work with people that send me Microsoft Word, Excel, & Powerpoint documents and I would like to get whatever software package it is that truly works (iWork'08 or Office 2008 for Mac).

Thanks for any comments in advance.

relaxed4102

[SoaDMTGguy]

I use iWork '08 and love it. I have both iWork and Office 2004 (I get it free from my school), but I never use office. I think the biggest problem you will run into is going to be going between Excel/PowerPoint and Numbers/Keynote. Numbers does not have as many traditional spreadsheet functions as Excel does, and because of its format, it can import Excel documents in a slightly weird way some times. If you have to share documents back and forth with people using Office on a regular basis, get Office. However, if this is less of a concern, definitely get iWork.

[durandal343]

You should still be able to open word and excel docs in iWork even though your trial has expired. I believe the only limitation is that you can't print or save. This would allow you to still try the program out without buying it.

[albloom]

Much as we all like to trash MicroSoft, Excel is still the gold standard. If you
exchange files regularly with colleagues, you'll have better luck with Excel
than with Numbers. Excel is much more feature-rich.

I just imported "the same" Excel spreadsheet (2004 and 2008) into Numbers
with errors/omissions (a tad different for each version) that I simply can't abide.
And I don't do fancy. Someone who can make Excel sit up and beg would be
driven to drink.

The same is true of Word vs Pages. Pages is a simpler app.

It is fairly easy to bring a document from a simpler app to one more complex.
The other way around? Only works if a severely limited subset of the more
complex app's features are used.

I keep iWork around strictly to export iWork documents I receive into MS
Office formats.

[ArizonaJohn]

I use Boot Camp and run Leopard and Vista Utlimate. I have 2008 iWorks, Office 2008 for Mac and Office 2007 for Windows which I use in an executive business environment.

The ultimate tests in my view are:
# When you prepare documents, who do you send them to? What type of application do they have?
# When you receive documents, what format are they in and will you be editing them and sending them back and/or on to others?
# What functions do you need to do 1. and 2. with minimal hassle?
With regard to iWorks, I found the programs fine for my purposes as long as I didn't have to do 1, 2 or 3 above. I liked the ease of use and features, but going through the process of saving a document in an iWorks format and then having to export another copy for Office format to be more trouble than its worth. In addition, I would run into compatibility issues on several features, sometimes as approaching 10 issues in Keynote to PowerPoint. This is the result of some of the features exclusive to Keynote. Of course, it became even more problematic when I received an edited document back. I never receive documents in iWorks format from any executives. They are always in Office format. Bottom line, if you work in business and relate with other business executives, iWorks isn't going to get it done except on a limited basis.

Office 2008 for Mac works well in the business world. It has full file compatibility with Office 2003 and 2007. I like Office 2008 better than Office 2007. It has a blend of pull-down menues and templates i find easier to use than the "Ribbons" in Office 2007. After using Office 2007 ribbons for over 6 months, many features were harder to find unless you used them frequently. Entourage works reasonably well with Microsoft Exchange, but there are some limitations including:
# You cannot use the Global Address List as a pull-down choice. You must use an AppleScript, which is a decent work around. (It's on Apple website discussion group, here's the link http://entourage.mvp...gelookups.html)
# URLs are not active links.
# You have much more limited access to file types in Public Folders, e.g. you can't place or retrieve Office Documents.
# The editor for emails is more limited than Word, which is available on Office 2007.
# You cannot consolidate your Inbox in 2008 like you can with 2007. This is a pain
On the plus side on Office 2008:
# With Entourage you can create an email message and from the menu, indicate where you want to file the outgoing message. This is simplier than having to go to the Sent folder and then dragging and dropping it in the folder you wish to file it.
# Also in Entourage I find addressing emails to be easier.
# Customizing menus is much easier in all applications.
Other challenges, albeit not with Office but Mac in general, I have run into situations that require the use of Internet Explorer because of Active X controls. There are also some business applications that do not work with Office 2008 let alone iWorks.

[MacosNerd]

I've used both applications as many have who posted and so here's my $.02

I use office (for the pc) everyday. Mostly excel but some word. I've used office for the mac for quite some time as well. to that end, moving to iwork was a little frustrating because I'm used to working a certain way. Especially in excel, where I'd be hitting certain key combinations to do a certain action. Predictably those key combinations do not work in numbers. Additionally some basic features that I've gotten used to in excel are missing in numbers.

Using pages seems a little easier in that I can compose a document fairly easily and without too much frustration.

I find if you're working with complex spreadsheets, then excel is a better tool. If you're working on a document that you want to look visually pleasing that has spreadsheet features then numbers will be better. Overall I like numbers and if I spend more time with it I may get use to its peculiarities but I find that importing excel spreadsheets tend to strip out items that I actually need. To that end, I usually stick with excel.

My take on numbers is that it shines in the document creation side, with its abilities but if you need hard core spreadsheet processing with large and complex spreadsheets excel is a much better tool

[billingham2006]

I just got done using the 30-day trial for iWork 08 as I have been less than enthused about Microsoft's lame attempt at an "upgrade" with Office 2008. For me, the sticking point is that Numbers is so slow compared to Excel. That would be a big issue for me as I use Excel the most of any of the current Office 2004 programs.

Hopefully Apple will make a better Numbers in the next version of the iWork package. Until then, I will stick to Office 2004 Mac, which has performed very well for me over time.