Dumb Mac question

[tripperfunster]

So … is there a basic writing program that comes with a Mac? It seems to come with a whole wack of stuff, like iPhoto, and contacts and some sort of AppleScript Editor … but is there like a Microsoft Word Document type thing? ( obs not Microsoft …)

And/or, what is a program that is free/cheap that is easily shared between Mac and HP users? I want to be able to send stuff for beta without having to import/export it as something else.

If it exists here, I'm not seeing it.

Thanks in advance.

Comments

[mab.livejournal.com]

The program is called pages, and I think you have to buy it at the app store. I don't know if it works with word. I have it, but hardly ever use it, I just use google docs.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

Okay, why didn't I think of google docs? durrr

Probably because I lost my bookmark for it when my old laptop died, and GOD FORBID, if I don't have a bookmark, it probably doesn't still exist! ;)

Thanks hon.

[ragdoll.livejournal.com]

I use Open Office on my netbook because it's free, and works better than the current version of MS Word, but I use a PC, so not sure there's also a version for Macs.

*runs to check*

Yes, there is: http://www.openoffice.org/porting/mac/

I would assume you can save files to formats that are compatible with PCs. :)

[mella68.livejournal.com]

Yes, Open Office is my choice for Mac, too. It's similar to Word 2000 or 2003.

[ragdoll.livejournal.com]

I got it for my Netbook since it came with a trial version of MS Word/Office 2010 which was horrendous. I wasn't about to pay out for something that sucked, and it's full of ads and other crap as the trial version. Open Office is fabulous, and since I prefer the Word 2003 interface to the 2007 one (though I own both), it's even better. :)

[theficklepickle.livejournal.com]

Joining the chorus of support for OpenOffice, although the version I use is called LibreOffice. You can save in any number of Windows-compatible formats for exchanging documents with betas; I do this on a regular basis and have never had any trouble with it at all.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

I use LibreOffice too, which is free, and I've used OpenOffice too. LibreOffice will default to saving new documents in .odt format (if anyone knows how to change that default, let me know) so when you save them change it to .doc format and you're all set for compatibility with just about everything!

I used to use Microsoft Word but decided that I was tired of forking over money for it every time I got a new laptop (the damn suite costs half as much as the laptop, nearly!) and was hardly using any of its features. I was very happy when I discovered LibreOffice and OpenOffice.

Pages, which is Apple native, is very VERY useful if you have an iPad and want to work on documents between your computer and your iPad. I haven't yet found a Word-type program for iOS that's as good as Pages, so that's what I use for writing on the iPad. And Pages has an iCloud beta version for the computer, so it's easy to go to your computer and then fetch the document that you've just been working on on your iPad. Pages costs $10 for the iPad version and its iCloud beta version for the computer is presently free.

And don't forget, there IS a simple native writing program that comes with the Mac that is called TextEdit; it's in your Applications folder, and it's what I use to write notes and lists and things. I use it every day! It saves documents by default in .rtf (rich text format) which is a simpler format than .doc BUT this format is not compatible with some iOS apps, I've found, so if you want a .doc version it's necessary to choose File > Duplicate and then save the duplicate as .doc . Once you know that trick using TextEdit is often all you need!

Hope this helps!

[verizonhorizon.livejournal.com]

There is no easy way to get around buying Office.

[whizzy.livejournal.com]

Libre office, yes. I've used that in win, linux, and osx. I also used to use Textwrangler in osx because I wasn't fond of whatever the native plain text editor was. (Alas, my mac is strictly linux these days, so I'm not up on the latest osx programs.)

[demicus.livejournal.com]

I never bought Pages. I've got the ol' Microsoft Word for Mac running on mine. I had to go with that program because everyone at school used it.

To answer your question, what about using something like 'DOCX Converter', an online tool that lets you export your DOCX file into one of several other formats including DOC format, plain text format, etc.