.XLS files

How can I import .xls files into my Appleworks spreadsheet?
Do I have to buy Microsoft Office for Macs or is there a cheaper way?
Roger

When you say 'Appleworks spreadsheet' do you mean iWork Numbers?

Numbers for me usually opens excel files without too much of a problem.

If you are having trouble then I'd recommend the FREE NeoOffice which is pretty powerfull and completely free Office suite.

Also checkout OpenOffice.org as I think the latest version of OpenOffice installs on your Mac natively with no additional software required - NeoOffice is just the Mac version of OpenOffice so this isn't really that much of a choice.

Your next option is the really quite good Google Docs - again, completely free, works with MS Office file types and perhaps the best thing is it's web-based so you can choose to 'publish' (share) the files with your friends and of course; being web-based you can get it from any computer (be it Linux, OS X or Windows) that has an internet connection.

Simple Excel spreadsheets should open in AppleWorks 6 without any problems. Make sure you have the latest updates for AppleWorks (6.2.9)

More complicated spreasheets might require Microsoft Office to open correctly. You can also try with NeoOffice; OpenOffice.org doesn't support a G5 machine.