Migrating Files

I have used Windows on laptops for many, many years and have accumulated a lot of Word and Excel documents that I have saved on disc. My question is this:

I am preparing to purchase a new iMac at the end of the month. I have read everything I could find on migrating the files but am still confused about how the Mac can read my old Windows files. The Apple help website says: "Macs can open lots of different kinds of files from your PC, as long as you have software installed that can interpret them." Do I need to buy the software "Microsoft Office for Mac OS X" in order to be able to view the files I already have. What if I just want to view them but not modify them in any way in the future, that is a view only provision?

I think I recall seeing something indicating that the software that comes with the Mac can read the Windows files, my interpretation at the time of reading this was it required no additional software. Am I dreaming? Is this possible?

This is my first Mac and I am very excited. I won't have it until early September and maybe once I start using it all things will be a lot clearer. It's just if I need the software I should probably order it when I order the computer.

This is my first post here, so please excuse my ignorance and confusion. :Blushing:

Sorry, here's some more information. I will get iWork with my Mac. In the description of the software this appears on the Apple site:
"And iWork is compatible with Microsoft Office, so sharing your work is even easier."
Also:
"Open, save, and email Microsoft Word files from within Pages."

It would seem to indicate that Word files can be seen without purchasing Office for Mac. I don't want to use Office any more, I want to get away from all that so I don't want to buy Office if I don't have to.

Many thanks for your patience and any replies.

iWork can read all the common Microsoft Office File Types i.e. Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
Most of the time it does a very good job, but if you have "highly formatted/complex" documents or spreadsheets sometimes they do not get interpreted entirely correct by iWork.
Also one more warning, iWork does not recognize Macros or Visual Basic scripts.

So the bottom line is how "complex" are the documents you need to work with?
I hope I have helped some.

DavidH

Many, many thanks. As far as file complexity, my simple mind has produced very simple documents so I don't anticipate problems. Nothing is highly formatted.

Thanks so much for your reply.

And to add to what David stated about iWork.... It does not by default save to the Office document format. You must choose to do so each time. In my opinion, a better choice would be to use the free Open Office from Sun which does have the ability to save by default plus be able to open all MS Office documents.

Regards.

Thanks for the reply, I"ll try it. Love the B-26 avatar as well.