Can I use Microsoft Office install discs (purchased with a Windows setup) on a Mac?

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I'm looking into buying a MBP, which will be my first Mac! I'm wondering if I could use the MS Office install discs that came with my Windows based computer on my new Mac or if I will have to suck it up and buy the special MS Office for Mac software? If it matters, it MS 2003 version for XP.

Alternately, are there any free or low-cost document converters out there?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Welcome to Mac-Forums
No windows based software will run on Apple OS unless stated otherwise as being Windows and Mac compatible or just mac compatible, just like Mac only software won't run on Windows.
As for a cheap alternative, OpenOffice is a free choice and recommended by many.

Second alternative would be to install Windows onto your Mac through Bootcamp or virtualisation software like VMWare or Parallels, although I always suggest going for the Mac-ways first. :)

Hope this helps

- Simon
 
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I'm wondering if I could use the MS Office install discs that came with my Windows based computer on my new Mac...it MS 2003 version for XP.
Well, as had been said, no - but aside from that, if you're splashing all that cash on an ultra-slick new computer it'd be a waste to continue to use Office 2003 anyway! There're much better productivity suites out now to get the most out of the capabilities of your MBP:

For convenience, you can get your Mac pre-installed with Microsoft Office:mac 2011 (more familiar for switchers, but fairly expensive at GB£89.95 / US$119.95) and/or Apple's iWork 2009 (more Mac-native, office compatible, and quite a bit cheaper at GB£57.00 / US$49.00).

You will notice that iWork, though still the cheaper option, costs way more in Britain than in America - closing the gap between it & Office:mac - so your choice of which suite to go with may depend on where you are in the world.

are there any free or low-cost document converters out there?
As said by Buzzard2010, if you want value, go with OpenOffice or LibreOffice; both free, both Office (& by extension iWork) compatible, & both comparable to iWork and Office:mac in general usability, just less fancy looking!

Whichever way you decide to go, good luck & happy computing :)
 
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+1 for the Office 2011 for Mac. I git it when I got my computer and use it all the time. Since I deal with so many people with Office 2003 and greater on the Windows side, I had little choice in the matter. Besides, I use Outlook with an Exchange server (and have been for going on 6 years now) for all my email. While I realize the built-in Mail, iCal and AddressBook will do the same, I didn't want 3 apps to keep my PIM data. 1 of those is enough and I have no complaints with Outlook.

Besides, the price of the Mac version compared to the PC version is a no-brainer.
 

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