Decision on Microsoft for Mac

[billinden]

I recently acquired a new job. The company uses PCs. Very often, I need to bring work home and work on either a Word document or Excel. So far, I've been handling it okay by saving these documents in OpenOffice, then saving them in Word and Xcel at work. But, it's becoming a pain. They never come across exactly the same and need tweaking. I'm considering installing Word and Excel on my iMac, but wonder if my problems will just get worse. Any opinions/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[harryb2448]

You mean install Office 2016 which contains Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc?

Ask the boss and see if he will spring for it as you are doing work at home for the company. About $150 US. Despite criticisms, Office is the best suite and 2016 I am told is much closer to the PC version than ever before. Make sure you keep it up to date.

 

[billinden]

Yes, I think you're right. But, I left out an important fact. The company is way behind the times. The Word and Excel versions are 2007! I doubt they will upgrade, much less buy it for my home use. Thanks for your help.

 

[chscag]

You can run Office 2007 Windows from your Mac by installing "CrossOver" from Codeweaver's. CrossOver does not need Windows nor a Windows license. Read up on it at their site. CrossOver is currently on sale:

"CrossOver Mac is a good alternative to purchasing a windows license" CrossOver Mac is a good alternative to having to purchase a full windows license to play games or run productivity apps. You can save 25% off the normal retail price with promo code ( WEAVEME ) in CodeWeavers online store.

 

[chas_m]

Of course you will still need to find a legal copy of Office 2007, so that seems like kind of a dumb idea to me. Once they switched over to .docx et al I don't think it makes a difference what version you use.

 

[chscag]

Assuming his company has a business license for Office 2007, he would use a copy at home under that license. He's not just concerned with Word, he also needs Excel and there have been changes to both Word and Excel since Office 2007. In any event, we'll let the OP figure all that out.

 

[Voinian]

I had a problem with formulae not showing properly when I opened them in Word on a Mac. In the past I've also had problems with spreadsheets that depend upon macros that don't survive the translation process to the OS X version of the software. If harryb2448 is right that the 2016 version is much closer to what the Windows users get, maybe these problems are all in the past, though. (I get a full copy of MS Office for £9, under my employer's 'Home Computer User Scheme' - and I'd say that this is a fair price, given some of the iffy Microsoft products I've had over the years.)

Workarounds I've used in the past include sending the documents I needed to view to a hotmail account, and then opening them in the online version of word (which meant I got to see the complex formulae properly) and my old favourite, Libre Office. (That's also useful when I'm trying to open my old, old Claris Works documents, and things like that... and it has the advantage of being free, so it's worth a try, right?)