The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    iWork 2009: The future, and why Pages's import of simple documents is off

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by exi, Apr 8, 2010.

  1. exi

    exi Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    46
    Messages:
    657
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I'm thinking about snagging a copy of iWork 2009 because, well, I don't like Office 2008 even though I paid a marginal price for the suite as available from my medical school. I realize that Office 2011 is coming within the next seven months or so, but until then...

    I haven't been able to find a thing out about iWork 2010, so I'm assuming I'd just spring for the '09 version. In experimenting with the trial, I've noticed that even a simple import of a text-only .docx is formatted differently; it seems like the line spacing is different, because in the imported .pages that Pages makes from the source .docx I made, there are two additional lines of text on the first page. Why is this?

    My big thing is that all created works must be easily taken to a different platform; I like OS X, but I have no allegiance to it or to Apple, and if a solid competitor to the 15" MBP comes along, I would seriously consider switching back to Windows 7. I rarely need to share .doc/.docx (or any other Office suite) files with others for their own editing, so PDF exports would suffice most of the time.

    I know that .pages files are essentially archives containing XML data and a .pdf of the document, but I'd hate to have to hand-convert a bunch of XMLs if I did switch back. And sadly, Pages doesn't natively save to a .doc/.docx -- it only exports (though I did read about a hack to change that some time ago). Formatting mismatches for something as minor as line spacing are just concerning.

    Your thoughts, folks?
     
    exi, Apr 8, 2010
    #1
  2. ajreynol

    ajreynol Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    941
    Messages:
    2,555
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...odexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/ENVY/ENVY15_series

    You just missed a really good coupon deal, but others will come.

    if you feel like you'll have a more consistent experience working with others in a Windows environment, you should probably make a move.
     
    ajreynol, Apr 8, 2010
    #2
  3. exi

    exi Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    46
    Messages:
    657
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Thought about that, but I've grown to have an unusual preference for edge-to-edge displays -- and the battery life concerns me. Otherwise, I likey. :)
     
    exi, Apr 8, 2010
    #3
  4. ajreynol

    ajreynol Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    941
    Messages:
    2,555
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    yea.

    iWork is not a replacement for MS Office in a professional environment, so if you're finding inconsistencies and compatibility issues and don't like Office 2008 (most people don't seem to), you'll need to wait for Office 2011 or get a WinBox.

    Alternately, you could consider installing Windows 7 on your Mac using Bootcamp (dual booting) or virtualizing it with VMWare Fusion.
     
    ajreynol, Apr 8, 2010
    #4
  5. booboo12

    booboo12 Notebook Prophet

    Reputations:
    4,062
    Messages:
    4,272
    Likes Received:
    96
    Trophy Points:
    116
    I'd strongly consider waiting for Office 2010 for Mac. Looks like a winner to me in terms of UI. :)
     
    booboo12, Apr 8, 2010
    #5
  6. uluvbs

    uluvbs Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    229
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Has Microsoft promised better compatibility between OSX/Windows with the Mac version of Office 2010?
     
    uluvbs, Apr 9, 2010
    #6
  7. Underpantman

    Underpantman Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    356
    Messages:
    2,073
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    As a user of both, I can say that for page layout and doing general word processsing, I prefer pages. But the compatibility is a pain. Exporting to a .doc, nearly always results in something being a bit out... and vice versa.
    Thus I'm stuck between using office 08 for collaborative projects, and pages for 'me' only stuff.
    Not perfect, and hopefully either iWork10 or Office10 will fix this by being a complete package.
    a
    :)
     
    Underpantman, Apr 9, 2010
    #7