[Aw16]

Hey there,

I apologise if this question appears ignorant. However, I am considering the purchase of a new Macbook and was wondering if there is any problem in the compatibility of Office for Mac with Office for Windows?

If there a need for a specific converter?

Uni computer use Office 2007 for Windows?

Essentially - Would creating documents in Office 2011 for Mac create any problems in editing/printing/using Office 2007 on Windows?

Anyone experienced any difficulties with compatibility of any version of Office for Macs and Office for Windows?

Particularly in terms of Word!

Thanks for any comments - (Also I know they are developed both my Windows - and it appears ignorant for me to ask - but I really want to have a simplistic way to print etc... Otherwise I'll be getting another Windows laptop - as Windows Office is the only software I use.)

Thanks a lot.

[Gofre]

I've not had any problems in the months I've owned a Mac, and my old flatmates who had both owned their Macs for several years never reported any issues either. Office for Mac has been developed alongside the Microsoft version for years now, I don't think there's any reason there should be any compatibility issues.

[senator88]

Nope. no issues with mine. I got a Macbook for Christmas and constantly send word documents back and forth from my mac to the windows computers in school Also when i plug my macbook into a printer, any printer there is no need for installation...whereas with my old laptop there was!

[und]

I think there are some compatibility issues if you use Macros. Other than that, there really shouldn't be; even so, be aware that although Mac Office and Windows Office are both Microsoft products, they're made by completely different teams.

[FXX]

Office 2011 works perfectly with 2007/2008. It's pretty cool actually, there are a couple of great PowerPoint themes in 2011 that you can't get in the Windows versions, but they work fine on both platforms. Means you can actually make some unique presentations for uni and don't have to worry about everything looking right.

Just out of interest though (and speaking as a Mac fan here), if Office is the only software you're going to use, why go for a Mac?

[Aw16]

(Original post by FXX)
Office 2011 works perfectly with 2007/2008. It's pretty cool actually, there are a couple of great PowerPoint themes in 2011 that you can't get in the Windows versions, but they work fine on both platforms. Means you can actually make some unique presentations for uni and don't have to worry about everything looking right.

Just out of interest though (and speaking as a Mac fan here), if Office is the only software you're going to use, why go for a Mac?

I was thinking this to myself today actually - I spend about 8 hours a day on a computer with writing essays/research etc. I know a windows laptop would sufficiently do the job - but I was considering a change?

Do you yourself think it is worthwhile?

Also in terms of Office - would it simply be a case of saving a document to a usb and then popping it into a Windows PC and it works instantly in Office for Windows - or does one have to go through a whole conversion process?

[FXX]

(Original post by Aw16)
I was thinking this to myself today actually - I spend about 8 hours a day on a computer with writing essays/research etc. I know a windows laptop would sufficiently do the job - but I was considering a change?

Do you yourself think it is worthwhile?

Also in terms of Office - would it simply be a case of saving a document to a usb and then popping it into a Windows PC and it works instantly in Office for Windows - or does one have to go through a whole conversion process?

'Worthwhile' in terms of getting your work done, no, not really. It gives you something new to play around with though, and there are fewer general annoyances in OS X so you're less distracted from your work. I think Spaces helps a great deal when you have a limited screen size too.

You just save as .docx as you would on Windows and it'll work on both platforms. You don't need to convert anything, it's the same format.

[IWannaBeAdored]

(Original post by Aw16)
Hey there,

I apologise if this question appears ignorant. However, I am considering the purchase of a new Macbook and was wondering if there is any problem in the compatibility of Office for Mac with Office for Windows?

If there a need for a specific converter?

Uni computer use Office 2007 for Windows?

Essentially - Would creating documents in Office 2011 for Mac create any problems in editing/printing/using Office 2007 on Windows?

Anyone experienced any difficulties with compatibility of any version of Office for Macs and Office for Windows?

Particularly in terms of Word!

Thanks for any comments - (Also I know they are developed both my Windows - and it appears ignorant for me to ask - but I really want to have a simplistic way to print etc... Otherwise I'll be getting another Windows laptop - as Windows Office is the only software I use.)

Thanks a lot.

I recommend getting both Microsoft Office and iWork, or just Pages from the Mac App Store.

I use Microsoft Word to open documents that the lecturers send out to students etc. but when I write essays and reports I always use Pages. It has much cleaner interface, looks and feels much nicer. Microsoft need some lessons from Apple on how to build UI's for their programs!

[FXX]

(Original post by IWannaBeAdored)
I recommend getting both Microsoft Office and iWork, or just Pages from the Mac App Store.

I use Microsoft Word to open documents that the lectures send out to students etc. but when I write essays and reports I always use Pages. It has much cleaner interface, looks and feels much nicer. Microsoft need some lessons from Apple on how to build UI's for their programs!

To be fair, the ribbon is an extremely efficient way of bundling many buttons into a single toolbar. If Microsoft had used an Apple-style interface, the toolbar would be about 5 rows tall. Pages is a very simple word processor really, so Apple can afford to keep it basic. Word is much more complex, and using the ribbon in both versions of Office makes more sense than using two different interfaces.