Word compatibility has definitely improved with the new Pages, but there are still some quirks with really complicated documents. At least now all the Track Changes features are supported, which is huge.
I tend to leave the Inspector open on the right side of my screen at all times. It has pretty much all the functionality of the formatting palette in Word. Also, don't forget to use the Styles Drawer—very useful for easy formatting and reformatting blocks of text, and to help with consistency.
I've always felt that styles are underutilized in Word, too.
All in all, I think the new features in Pages make it well worth the upgrade price, even without Keynote (my favorite application on Earth) and Numbers. There's certainly no NEED for Microsoft Word anymore, unless 100% compatibility is needed. Or if you're writing a book, in which case your publisher will probably require Word.
Sujan Patel
· 2 years ago
iwork 08 is a great set up for apple but its not as good as microsoft office or neo office. But it is a decent and lighter alternative.
webomatica
· 2 years ago
Definitely - the application will be great for Apple users who want to share the media in iLife with others in the form of PDFs or documents. Since Word and Office are so entrenched in the business / PC world I don't think Apple is targeting them. But even for someone who uses MSFT at work I can think of plenty of home uses for iWork that have no overlap with the PC work world.
David Post
· 2 years ago
I use Word for some pretty big files (over 300Mb). I found that the biggest disadvantage with Pages was the time it took to save a large document - well over a minute compared to saving the same document in Word, which only takes about 10 seconds. As I like to regularly save my work, I find that having to have a cup of coffee every time I want to save a document is unacceptable.
Chad
· 1 year ago
For me, Pages is InDesign Express and an eventual Word beater. Of course, Word has a litany of word processing features that Pages lacks, but they come with an often irritating user interface. (And while I don't want to bash the Mac BU at Microsoft, it doesn't look like that pain will disappear in Office 2008.) Pages is more streamlined with an intuitive user interface, particularly how it handles styles (though we could use more than 8 style hot keys!). For some word-processing jobs, Word is still the only option, but the gap narrows with each Pages iteration. At the other end of the spectrum, InDesign is the page layout king, but I sometimes feel like I'm bringing a 17-piece orchestra to a kid's birthday party. As much as I love InDesign, I can pull together a significant number of layouts faster in Pages. While Pages won't do for most pro jobs, it will do for most jobs (if that makes sense)? And it's on Adobe's radar screen. I recently participated in a Creative Suite survey and was surprised to see iWork among its self-selected gaggle of competitive products. They didn't ask the right questions, though. They didn't ask whether I use it, only whether I decided to buy the Creative Suite over it.
webomatica
· 1 year ago
Heh I like the term "InDesign Express". And yeah, word is definitely at times overkill - I understand your 17=piece orchestra analogy perfectly.
Dan O
· 1 year ago
I'm curious if anyone has heard of a freeware/share application or utility app or plug-in that will open a InDesign file? In an upcoming project I may need something to do just this or I'll have to ask my client to purchase InDesign for me... I really don't want to lose part of a project if the cost for the client seems to much, so I'm really hoping for something that will let me get at the Indesign file. I'm downloading a trial copy of ID CS3, so I'm hoping that this will take care of my short-term needs for this project but I'm still hoping to find an app/utility/plug-in to avoid ID altogether.
Please let me know if you have any ideas for me. Thanks, Dan O.
MOin
· 1 year ago
the application is looking promising as from the screenshos i'll surely gona put it under trial, i have a mac mini and two weeks from now i'll be putting my hands on MBP :D
Josh | More Information On
· 10 months ago
I like iWork along with most other apple apps. I am a recent convert to the OSX platform and will never go back. I like the way that most of their applications work flawlessly and are clean and simple. Josh
All Comments
I tend to leave the Inspector open on the right side of my screen at all times. It has pretty much all the functionality of the formatting palette in Word. Also, don't forget to use the Styles Drawer—very useful for easy formatting and reformatting blocks of text, and to help with consistency.
I've always felt that styles are underutilized in Word, too.
All in all, I think the new features in Pages make it well worth the upgrade price, even without Keynote (my favorite application on Earth) and Numbers. There's certainly no NEED for Microsoft Word anymore, unless 100% compatibility is needed. Or if you're writing a book, in which case your publisher will probably require Word.
Please let me know if you have any ideas for me.
Thanks,
Dan O.
Josh