If your boss or professor (or other person grading your work) uses Word, then using Word yourself can help avoid grief from possible compatibility issues that can arise when other apps export to Word format. More specifically, it was available for Mac in 1985, four years prior to the release of the Windows version in 1989. There's also NeoOffice (which does have a small cost but offers a number of improvements over OpenOffice and LibreOffice).Īs an aside, if you’re interested in a bit of history, Microsoft Word was originally available for the Mac before it was available for Windows. Karen Hughes said, I’m always a bit conflicted about Word. Reader comments showed grudging respect, but most people seemed to consider Word a necessary evil. For more information on Pages generally, visit Create and collaborate on documents that are beautiful beyond words.Ī couple of other options are OpenOffice and LibreOffice (both free). The 800-pound gorilla of Mac word processors, Microsoft Word easily earned the most votes, but it is far from the most loved word processor. MacWrite was the first such program that was widely available to the public to offer WYSIWYG operation, with multiple fonts and styles. If you’re looking for Apple's main word processor then Pages has most of the commonly used features of MS Word. The word file extension is related to MacWrite, a word processor application released along with the first Apple Macintosh systems in 1984 and used for its default document format. For more information, visit Welcome to the new Office for Mac!. You cant buy Word without buying the whole Microsoft Office package, which means you end up paying a lot for. Bean is a great tool for basic word processing, but it doesnt support the kind of high-end features some users may depend upon. Word for Mac remains the gold standard for word processors, but its no bargain. Unless I’m missing something, Microsoft Word is also available for macOS. Bean: Free Word Processor Is Fast and Lean and Looks Great, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.05.29.

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