Word for mac

[chas_m]

Thanks for clarifying, Jake.

As for me, I stopped needing Word many years ago. To be fair, I work almost exclusively in plain text or RTF-level (italics, bold, font, color) word processing, so I have almost zero need ever for anything beyond that. When I need to go to layout type stuff, I use Pages or QuarkXpress or InDesign CS3, which I still have. Thanks to Pages, those other two programs get almost zero use.

 

[MacInWin]

I thought I had left Word years ago, but I volunteer for an organization that uses Office exclusively, so the subscription works perfectly for me. When I stop volunteering, the subscription ends.

 

[pm-r]

This was on the page. What's vague about that?

Note: an office365 subscription is required.


It's vague if one doesn't click the blue "More" to expand the extra text to be able to read that noted requirement.

 

[Demapples]

Office 2016 is working fine now in El Capitan after the EC .1 update.

 

[lori5060]

Found something that mayb of help to me instead of paying higher $$$ for office 2016.
Neo Office 2015 available on mac update site for $30

Seems that is will open MSOffice files and can set default open & saving extensions.
Just wonder about msoffice files opened in neo office.... Will formatting, txt, images and other settings still be intact?
I just need a basic way of accessing old word/excel docs and share with other non Apple users .... And the cost is more reasonable!!

Any comments from anyone?

 

[lori5060]

And is it compatible with Yosemite and the new El Capitan?

 

[MacInWin]

NeoOffice is a branch of Open Office, but if that is how you want to go, look at LibreOffice, which is reported to be a better version. There will be some file incompatibilities, as all of the "office" clones will lag behind what MS does with Office. You can search for LibreOffice pretty easily.

 

[chscag]

Found something that mayb of help to me instead of paying higher $$$ for office 2016.
Neo Office 2015 available on mac update site for $30

It's not worth it. NeoOffice is the Mac version of OpenOffice and has been outdated for some time although it was updated recently. If you do not need compatibility with other users, the free copies of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers are hard to beat. You stated you have Windows Office. Depending on the version of Windows Office, you may be able to run it using WINE or CrossOver. CrossOver will run Office 2010 and 2013 and probably also Office 2016 for Windows. The nice thing about WINE and CrossOver is that you do not need to install Windows.

 

[Rod]

I certainly would no pay for Neo Office. Apache Open Office 4.1.1 works perfectly on El Capitan and despite it's slightly ugly interface will open all MS Office docs as well as save in MS formats. And it's free.

 

[lori5060]

Am still in process of buying office 2016 standalone...
Chscag.. Why do you say that it is strongly encouraged to subscribe to 365

And why do you think that future standalone office (if offered again) will require subscription?

 

[chscag]

You're mistaking chas_m replies with mine lori. I personally do not recommend subscribing to Office 365 and right now until some things with the stand alone Office 2016 Mac version have been fixed, I recommend holding off. Continue to use Office 2011 if you have it, or the free Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps that come with a new Mac.

 

[MacInWin]

Lori5060, I think you misread what chas_m said. He's not recommending it, he's saying that it is recommended, mostly by M$. And that is the truth, MS does hammer away at the subscription model now. The primary reason is probably financial, in that if you look at what most folks do, they get Office either installed on a PC from the manufacturer, or they get a copy (legal or not) and never update/upgrade. So by changing from an up-front cost to a monthly fee, they feel they can attract people to sign up for that fee who would otherwise never buy another version of Word. Given that the license for software is NOT a purchase of the software, but merely a purchase of a license to use the software, the monthly fee model is like renting the license. I signed up for it because of a peculiar circumstance: I will either continue to use Word and will need the upgrades that the monthly subscription is supposed to include or I will NOT continue, in which case I can cancel the subscription and stop the expense. The decision point will be before I've paid enough in subscription to have purchased the license up front. By buying a license up front, I'm committed to that cost, plus any upgrade cost that might be associated with it in the case that I continue to need it. I did the math and it came out in favor of the subscription. You need to do the math and make your own decision. One upside is that the subscription version seemed to have been fixed for ElCap before the purchased version was, but that may be just my perception.

 

[pm-r]

One question if I may… if one goes the MS subscription route and then cancels, and I assume one can at any point, does the app then go kaput with the cancellation or can one keep what app version exists and has possibly been updated to that point and still work???

 

[MacInWin]

From what I can see, the app "phones home" each time it's launched, so I suspect that if you cancel the subscription, that phone home will result in it not working. At least that's how I would do it and can see from the small burst in network activity on launch.

 

[lori5060]

Thank you macinwin for your great explanation and advise.
I am in no particular hurry to get word... I can always still use my windows pc.
Just a hassle as I tend to forget how to work on Windows now.

I shall hold my horses and see what comes of this!

Pm-r.... Great question!

 

[lori5060]

i finally bit the bullet and bought office 2016 on black friday sale...was a good price. have downloaded, installed and tried it out. wonderful to use instead of pages.
thanks for all your help, guidance and suggestions.

 

[harryb2448]

Well done Lori. It has been a long, drawn out procedure hasn't it? Make sure you use the little Update feature or leave it to automatic.

 

[lori5060]

thanks harry. i will check out where update feature is so i don't run into any more problems.

 

[harryb2448]

With Word open it is under Help.