My office uses Microsoft office and I want to be able to use my office files on my mac and then be able to use the files again at work. Will iWork's allow you to do that? I read that you can not sort columns in iWork's, is that true?
I'd like to add student to that list as well especially if you're expected to hand in assignments digitally. It's part of the reason that I got Office over iWork.MS Office 2011 is the Mac version, but here's my recommendation. If you are a home user, just looking for software to create documents, manage spreadsheets and those sorts of things, get iWork. If you're a small business without a heavy investment into Microsoft products already, get iWork. If you're a corporate user with MS Office as the standard on all other systems, get Office. I like iWork because I can now pick and choose my apps. I NEVER do presentations. Why spend the $20 for Keynote if I'm not going to use it? If I need it, I'll get it later. With Office, you pay a substantial amount for all the apps, whether you're going to use them or not.
Couldn't agree more. When compatibility is a concern, go with the product that best supports it. In this case, get Office and take concerns over compatibility out of the equation (for the most part - there are slight incompatibilities between the Mac/Windows version).There are various incompatibilities between the iWork applications and Microsoft Office. You state above that your office uses Microsoft Office. That's reason enough to purchase Microsoft Office 2011 and not iWork.