We really like Publishing Layout View's elementary desktop publishing tools. Its changes should mostly please those creating documents they want to show off. These are all dandy for composing and editing text documents, juggling spreadsheets, and creating slide-show presentations.Īlthough the look and feel are refreshed, Word isn't drastically different from its predecessor. Mac users can choose from iWork '08, the free OpenOffice 2, or tools with free online components including ThinkFree, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and Zoho Office. Indeed, rivals to Office for Mac seem like a bargain, even though they offer fewer tools. Still, the fees feel hefty next to the $80 Apple iWork '08. Fortunately, those who have recently purchased Office for Mac 2004 can upgrade for free. The $500 Special Media Edition handles Exchange and adds Microsoft Expression media-management software. At $400 or $240 to upgrade, the full Office for Mac that we reviewed feels pricey, even though it includes Exchange support. The least expensive option is the $150 Home and Student edition (formerly Student and Teacher), which lacks support for Exchange and Automator. Installation took about 20 minutes on our MacBook running the Leopard operating system. You'll need a Mac with 1.5GB free on the hard drive, running at least OS 10.4.9, with 512MB of RAM and a 500MHz Intel or PowerPC processor. That said, the new document types are smaller and purportedly more secure than their predecessors. Although we're glad that Microsoft offers free converters, we find the forced extra steps annoying in Office 2007. That means for now, should you save work in a new OOXML format in a hurry, someone with the older software won't be able to open it. Free file conversion tools won't be available until as long as 10 weeks from now, or 8 weeks after the applications are available in stores.

We're not thrilled about this being the default option, even though you can save your work in the older DOC, XLS and PPT formats. Office for Mac saves work in the same, new Open XML formats used by Office 2007 for Windows. Being accustomed to Office for Windows, we'd rather find all these options at the top of the screen. For simple tweaks such as changing fonts, you'll need to consult floating formatting boxes. We found the shape-shifting neither terribly distracting nor useful. Office for Mac lacks the Ribbon, but some menu items appear only in step with the task at hand.

Office 2007 for Windows clusters functions within a contextual 'Ribbon' toolbar that displays different options. This is handy if you rely on Entourage but don't want to run it all the time. The new My Day widget for Entourage floats on the Mac desktop displaying calendar items and to-do lists. Now you can save to PDF, and Automator actions are supported. There are more welcome and substantial changes as well. These are premade templates with 3D and translucent designs. For instance, Office for Mac features the same templates and Smart Art graphics as the Windows counterparts. The 2007 applications for Windows arrange functions within tabs, while the 2008 Mac software largely clusters functions within the same drop-down menus including File, Edit, and View.īy and large, most of the changes focus on attempting to help users craft more attractive documents. That's good news for anyone who doesn't want to relearn the locations of common functions. Unlike Microsoft Office 2007, the interface changes don't look radically foreign next to the 2004 edition. There's no Microsoft Access database application for the Mac, although Filemaker's upcoming release of Bento offers Mac users a new choice. Office for Mac includes Word, Excel for spreadsheets, PowerPoint for presentations and Entourage for e-mail and time management. Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 may be the best pick for business users, with major updates to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage.Īfter a series of delays, Microsoft plans to release Office for Mac 2008 to brick-and-mortar and online stores on January 15, making this the first update in nearly four years.

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