"Office 2011 for Mac" vs. "Parallels 8 w/Windows 7"

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Would really like to know the advantages and disadvantages of each. Your personal experiences.

My most important criterion is that I be able to send files to PCs and have the original formatting be kept 100% in tact! And vice versa.

I will be buying an iMac and cannot decide on which option to select. Thank you!
 

chscag

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Office 2011 is an application while Parallels is virtual machine software. No comparison. What exactly are you asking? Are you asking about running Windows 7 using Parallels and then MS Office the Windows version within Windows 7? If that's what you're asking, go with Office 2011 for the Mac as it's fully compatible with the Windows version.
 
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My desire is to run Office as efficiently as possible and have it be totally compatible with PCs. In other words, if I create a file (Powerpoint, etc.) on the Mac, I want it to be able to be sent to a PC and retain its full formatting in tact - 100% if possible. Which would be better for such use?

Thanks!
 
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Office for Mac definitely. You can "Save As" Word.doc, Presentation.ppt, etc ... When you hit "Save As" in these programs you can choose what compatibility you want to save it in. I do media presentations for my church, make them on my Mac and use the church's PC to run them - never had an issue.
 

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I agree. I've run "Office for Mac" since the 2008 version and now use the 2011 version. No compatibility issues. I do a lot of PowerPoint work and some Word and Excell stuff. Never had a problem at either my end or the recipients'.

Like JonMark, my PowerPoint presentations are invariably presented via somebody else's PC.

Ian
 
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Thank you for your responses. So, are you saying I can use my 200 page PowerPoint presentations created on a PC, with impeded photos, and display them perfectly (no formatting glitches) on the Mac? And further, and most importantly, I can similarly create just as complex PowerPoint presentations on my Mac with Office for Mac and then have that run on PCs with NO formatting glitches? Again, thanks.
 

chscag

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Nothing is for sure in the world of computing and compatibility. You're just going to have to test your 200 page PP presentation to see if everything works OK. I will tell you this much.... I have transposed large PP presentations made in Office 2010 to Office 2011 without a single glitch. (And vice versa.)
 
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The only thing that you can't always count on is fonts. For example, my Office for Mac has fonts that is offered in the 2010 Microsoft Office for PC, whereas for example the Microsoft Office for PC 2007 version (you can tell the difference in the file extension: 2010 - .docx, 2007 - .doc) does not have all of the fonts offered in the 2010 version.

So, let's say you're creating a PowerPoint presentation on your Mac and using a font that's offered in the 2010 Office, then if the PC recipient has the 2010 version they will view it without a single glitch. But if the PC recipient has the 2007 version, it may redo all the fonts to something common like Arial.

Knowing this, I've always created my presentations in most common fonts possible - Arial, Times New Roman, etc. Otherwise, no glitches.
 
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Thank you all for the inputs! Have any of you used the Parallels 7 or 8, and if so how did you find it compared to Office for Mac?
 

chscag

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Your question makes no sense. Parallels is virtual machine software which can be used to run Windows or Linux in a VM. Office 2011 is the latest Mac Office suite.

You can run Office 2010 (Windows version) from a Windows virtual machine in Parallels. Office 2011 can not be run in Parallels.
 
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I see you misinterpreted my question. I asked if anyone has run Windows using Parallel 7 or 8 and how they compared that experience with their experience of using Office 2011 for Mac. Of course, one is in a VM mode and the other isn't.
 

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Your question was poorly worded and did not make sense. There was no misinterpretation. Now that you have restated it so that it does make some sense, we can attempt an answer....

Using Parallels, Fusion, or VirtualBox to run Windows applications works well enough for running most of them. Graphic intensive applications that require 3D acceleration (games) do not always work well and sometimes will even fail.

Now what has running Parallels have to do with comparing an experience running Office 2011? Office 2011 for the Mac can not be run in Parallels. If you're asking about running Office 2010 (the Windows version) in Parallels, it works very well.
 

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Good morning jtdavis

I think what it comes down to is this: if your requirements are limited to Office apps such as PP, Word, Excell etc, then Office 2011 for Mac does it all and is great because the Mac treats it like any other app.

If, on the other hand, you want the full Windows experience with, for example, access to Windows-only apps or games and you like the way Windows handles things, then you require either a VM environment or Bootcamp - but then, if you like Windows so much, why buy a Mac?

I confess to never having used any VM software or Bootcamp, but I hope my reply goes some way to answering your question. I think Office 2011 for Mac is great.

Ian
 

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Your question was poorly worded and did not make sense. There was no misinterpretation. Now that you have restated it so that it does make some sense, we can attempt an answer....

I was confused as well by what exactly was being asked in the initial question/post!

- Nick
 
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OAre you asking about running Windows 7 using Parallels and then MS Office the Windows version within Windows 7? If that's what you're asking, go with Office 2011 for the Mac as it's fully compatible with the Windows version.

I think that filled in the blanks nicely.

Is there a question of cost here? That is, do you already own Parallels and Windows 7 and MS Office? If not, it's probably going to cost less to go with Office for Mac 2011 as well.
 
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Your question was poorly worded and did not make sense. There was no misinterpretation. Now that you have restated it so that it does make some sense, we can attempt an answer....

Using Parallels, Fusion, or VirtualBox to run Windows applications works well enough for running most of them. Graphic intensive applications that require 3D acceleration (games) do not always work well and sometimes will even fail.

Now what has running Parallels have to do with comparing an experience running Office 2011? Office 2011 for the Mac can not be run in Parallels. If you're asking about running Office 2010 (the Windows version) in Parallels, it works very well.

Rough answer. While I found the question poorly worded, I was easily able to interpret it. I guess I share the poster's lack of intellect. ;) This answer was, nonetheless, helpful.

I would be curious to know if Parallels is as resource intensive as some say. I've read reviews saying it's not bad, which makes me wonder why I would by Office for Mac and not just buy the much more complete Office 2013 and use Parallels (or another VM type program). Thoughts appreciated.
 

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I would be curious to know if Parallels is as resource intensive as some say. I've read reviews saying it's not bad, which makes me wonder why I would by Office for Mac and not just buy the much more complete Office 2013 and use Parallels (or another VM type program). Thoughts appreciated.

I have Parallels and Fusion and find neither one that resource intensive. However, both programs do require a bit of close management as to memory and graphics allocation. I usually recommend members try out the free VirtualBox from Oracle first as that may be all they need.

Office 2013: I don't have a copy but the reviews I have read state that it's a fancied up version of Office 2010 (which I do have) and not to bother with the update. You use the word "complete" when referring to Office 2013; complete in what way? Mac Office 2011 includes Word, PP, Excel, and Outlook. I guess you can buy the version of Office 2013 that also includes Access and Publisher (Business edition) but will be almost double the price.

Anyway, it's up to you. I will agree that the Windows version of Office is more elegantly done than the Mac Office version.
 
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Thank you for your responses. So, are you saying I can use my 200 page PowerPoint presentations created on a PC, with impeded photos, and display them perfectly (no formatting glitches) on the Mac? And further, and most importantly, I can similarly create just as complex PowerPoint presentations on my Mac with Office for Mac and then have that run on PCs with NO formatting glitches? Again, thanks.

I would say so. Download the trial version of Office for Mac 2011 to confirm. Running an OS within an OS carries a fair amount of overhead and cost: VM + Windows. I think it would be crazy to run Windows, just to run Office, when a Mac version is available. The aim should be to have a smoother, cleaner working experience than when working on a Windows system - with a VM you're complicating it significantly.

The cons:
  1. The fees (as above).
  2. Booting two OSs. This one has legs: you're in a rush and want to do a quick mod? Boot OSX, open Fusion or Parallels, boot Windows, open Office and finally work. This vs. Boot OSX, open Office and work.
  3. Then, when you eventually buy a notebook PC, your battery life is going to be quite a bit shorter when running two OSs. Now I haven't done all the research, but Apple's hardware (yeah, yeah Intel) running OSX gives probably the best battery life out there. 12-hour MBA? Not when running Windows in a VM.

Alternatively, run Bootcamp, or worse still, just buy a Windows PC.

Just a couple of comments on the 200-page PPT files. I'd split them into a few smaller files since:
  1. 200 pages is a lot to scroll through when working on the files. Maybe split them at logical points such as a break in the presentation session.
  2. If the file becomes corrupt, all is lost and Office does throw it's toys from time-to-time, causing corruption.
 

chscag

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200 pages is a lot to scroll through when working on the files. Maybe split them at logical points such as a break in the presentation session.

Depends on how much memory you have and the speed of your machine. I just recently ran a Powerpoint of over 200 slides and while it did take a bit to open it, after that it ran smoothly. Also, I tested the new Keynote application to see if it could convert that same PP file and open it. I was surprised that it did it without a glitch. While I don't like the new Keynote very much at least I know it can do the conversion. :)
 
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Depends on how much memory you have and the speed of your machine. I just recently ran a Powerpoint of over 200 slides and while it did take a bit to open it, after that it ran smoothly. Also, I tested the new Keynote application to see if it could convert that same PP file and open it. I was surprised that it did it without a glitch. While I don't like the new Keynote very much at least I know it can do the conversion. :)

The speed of the operator is the problem here. "Now where was that particular slide?". Then, work on slides 2 and 151 simultaneously...
 

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