Apple iWork '08 Reviews

• Just what I needed!

  
  By A3CLEFXUIWRKOA on 2007-08-16
  Earlier this year I bought my first Mac. I was using Office 2004 with it and eagerly awaited it's predecessor, only to discover the release date had been pushed back. I'm not a rigid office suite user, just a casual one but I do work with word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations and wanted something that will also allow me to get creative. I got my hands on a copy of iWork 05 which only had Pages and Keynote 2. I played around with it but I felt it wasn't up to speed with Office. Then I got the trial version of iWork 06 and felt it was somewhat of an improvement but still too basic. I decided to take a chance with iWork 08 and I'm so glad I did. Pages now has a word processor mode similar to Word but more simple. Something it should have had from the beginning. Keynote, now in its 4th incarnation has some awesome new animation and graphic tools that blow Powerpoint right out of the water. And I can now make spreadsheets...with graphics! For email, I just use the Mail client that comes with Tiger and voila! An entire office suite at about $200 less than the standard version of Office. So for the casual desktop publisher, or publisher on the go, this is the best deal. The price is right, and it won't eat up all your system resources.
  
  

• Great Product at a Great Price

  
  By AVJRYJHGXR3NX on 2007-08-24
  This is a great office suite at a great price compared to MS Office for the Mac. Keynote is a presentation program like PowerPoint but is a much better product. The templates which are included are beautiful and rich and can incorporate drawings, photographs, documents and tables by simply dragging or inserting them. The program also has a wonderful feature that automatically allows you to find exactly where to place such items if you want them to be, for example, perfectly centered. And of course you can open Power Point files with it and you can, if you want, save your own presentations in PPT format to share with Windows people. The spreadsheet is also terrific. It is easy to have multiple tables on the same worksheet, and has some very attractive templates ready to use. It also has some neat features which permit you to "slide" or "step" values up or down within limits you define. I prepared a retirement planning spreadsheet yesterday which permits me to consider variable yield and withdrawal rates. If you insert a chart in your spreadsheet linked to this data, it will automatically redraw your chart. It's just great. Mossberg's column criticized it for having fewer built in formulas than Excel. In fact, Numbers, which is the spreadsheet program, contains 150 built in formulas, including the ususal ones for finance, statistics, etc. If there are fewer formulas, I don't know how important they might be to you--but it has everything I need. Finally, Pages is the word processing component of the program. It looks a bit lighter than Word, but it turns out that that is only because it doesn't have the hundreds of toolbars and buttons that Word clutters up the screen with. But in my experience it does everything Word does, only in a much more attractive way. iWork does not come with a built in calendar, email, or contacts program, but that is because Macs all come with those included so you don't need another add on.
  
  iWork will open any Office document and you can then save it as an iWork document or (if you insist or need to share) you can save it in the Microsoft format (.doc, .xls., .ppt extensions.)
  
  All in all, a much better and cheaper mouse trap.
  
  

• Numbers 08 - Spreadsheets for the Rest of Us by Bakari Chavanu

  
  By A1VLVWTLV3LVHR on 2007-09-18
  After spending some time with iMovie '08 and writing a series of articles on it, I thought I'd use this week to explore Apple's Numbers '08, the newest addition to Apple's iWork '08 suite of office applications.
  
  Now, I must admit upfront that I have little or no prior experience with spreadsheet applications. My basic numbers calculations have been done in programs like Quicken and the analog pen and paper method. I think in the past I may have opened up Excel or tried to use Apple's AppleWorks spreadsheet program, but not only did the programs look boring, but I had no idea where to begin in using these applications.
  
  Leave it to Apple, however, to create yet another useful production program for the rest of us. That is, a program which is intuitive, practical, and stylish. Numbers '08 is another fine program that can help you transform the analog fashion of pen and paper calculations and create functions that can help you become more efficient with various projects involving money, data gathering and calculations.
  
  Already I see a number of projects that I can create or improve upon using Numbers '08. For example, for the last couple of years I've been keeping a simple photography equipment inventory list in my business binder. When I make a new $[...]+ purchase I make note of it in my list. But with Numbers '08, I can streamline that data and keep a running balance on how much I've spent on equipment. Likewise, I can use the same technique for creating a better marketing plan, an equipment needs budget, a business growth plan, a couple of simple to-do check lists for long terms projects, and a few custom invoices for freelance work I do. In fact, I've already re-designed my wedding client contract using Numbers '08 so that I can use it on my laptop and fill it in right after the close of a sale. This type spread sheet method is more accurate and less time consuming than the paper format.
  
  The templates that come installed with Numbers '08 provide a list of other possibilities that include various financial budgets plans, a home improvement plan, an event planner, grade book, and a science research report.
  
  
  
  As with Apple's Pages and Keynote, Numbers '08 is also a graphic design application. It contains tools for adding various font styles, shapes, photos, and other media. In other words, you have the ability to tell a visual story with your facts, figures, and data.
  
  If you have no prior experience with spread sheet creation or if you want to learn the features of Numbers '08, Apple has produced an excellent set of tutorial videos to get you up and running. The 286-page Numbers User Guide is also another useful source for getting started and learning the program.
  
  The most challenging part for those of us new to spreadsheet development is understanding how formulas work in a table setup so that calculations can be made. Numbers '08 comes installed with over 150 formulas that will perform most all the calculations that we'll ever need. But the basic mathematical functions that you learned in high school should be enough to get your started. Basically, a formula simply provides the sum of selected cells in a table. Again, the Apple tutorial or User Guide and the installed templates will show you some really easy steps for basic functions. From there, you can study and create formula functions to fit your individual needs.
  
  Already a third-party website called Numbers Templates has been created to share templates, tips, and tricks for using the Numbers '08 spreadsheet program.
  
  Though I can't compare Numbers '08 with the industry standard program like Excel, Apple's program I think will fit the needs of most home and small business users. No doubt, future versions will include even more advance functions, but as with Apple's other fine programs, Numbers '08 has the simplicity and style that we've all come to expect.
  
  Original posted at [...]
  
  

• OK, But still using Word the most.

  
  By A2U1CMEGA3950K on 2007-10-11
  Coming from a PC to a mac I find it is Word that I always go to when I need to do some word processing or powerpoint. I get very frustrated trying to figure out how to do simple stuff in Iworks that just seems to come naturally in Microsoft. (IMHO) I upgraded to the new version of Iworks thinking that it may have been a bit easier to use than the previous version, but after a few attempt to navigate around it, I gave up and went back to Word. Microsoft is a bit more expensive... but for those used to a PC... Worth it.
  
  

• Perfect If You're Looking For ...

  
  By AF9BQQYCKQ3UC on 2007-08-19
  iWork consists of three apps, PAGES, NUMBERS & KEYNOTE.
  
  PAGES: While being billed as a word processor, it really is a mini page layout app that has word processing features. It has dozens of classy, elegant templates from business letters to flyers to brochures. If you want to create a newsletter, other than the typing, a few clicks will bring in your photos and you are set to go. Comparing the stark ugly templates in MS Office and the fact they are weird & wonky to use is NOTHING like your new experience with PAGES. MS Office templates are is changing a tire by the freeway in the rain while PAGES is driving in a convertible on a sunny autumn day.
  
  And to carry the pleasure & pain analogy further, KEYNOTE is flat out the best presentation software while Powerpoint is a visit to the dentist - necessary but hardly anyone looks forward to it. The only problem is that most people are stuck using Powerpoint without a choice but if you have a choice, KEYNOTE isn't just day and night but while Word is a fine app, just not very exciting, Word templates are like changing a tire in the rain ... Powerpoint is changing a tire in the rain while a thousand ball peen hammers work you over as you do it. KEYNOTE is sitting at a cafe drinking a cappucino. And on top of that, it's so classy and elegant that you can't really mess it up ... no pink and bright green templates.
  
  NUMBERS on the surafce does not seem particularly exciting - after all, it's a spreadsheet app. It is a mini Excel, but that's not necessarily a knock if you don't need the 1,000 features of Excel & ESPECIALLY the major flaw of Excel is that its charting while plentiful are fairly unattractive looking. In NUMBERS, you can create great looking charts, place a photo underneath in about two clicks. You can also move cells as objects around just by dragging them around - again, like PAGES - elegant & classy looking are really just a few clicks away. Unlike PAGES though, you do not get that many templates - the ones included are all nice or downright gorgeous though. THERE IS NO WAY you can match the design and presentation aspects of NUMBERS in Excel and I've been using EXCEL since version 1.0. For power users, macro writers and DB front end, and major number crunchers - Excel still is the main choice but if your needs are more towards standalone spreadsheet but in particular - number oriented presentations and making checklists, NUMBERS is great. NUMBERS also requires a little learning curve (a few weeks) since it offers all of Excel's most popular features but requires a little time to learn where they are in NUMBERS. Again, like PAGES, NUMBERS is a presentation & layout app disguised as a spreadsheet.
  
  MS Office is great for corporations, a thousand features - lots of macros and customization for the IT department. It's a fine functional app (well, other than Powerpoint) - iWork is really a subset of that - the features that a small business, a club, an organization, church group or a consultant who does presentation pitches wants that looks good, runs fast and is easy to use ... that's iWork.
  
  But if you want to create flyers, newsletters and have access to dozens of classy & elegant templates ... and you want the best presentation app around - iWork at @$75 is a great deal.
  
  
• Numbers in the Courtroom
  By A32O5FZH994CNY on 2007-09-18
  In connection with a trial I was about to start I used Numbers to create a jury selection template. After a small bit of experimentation and some refining I was able to provide a tool that quickly entered data and helped in evaluation.
  
  Now that may not sound like much, but I have tried for years to create an Excel spreadsheet to do the same thing.
  
  Jury selection seating varies from courtroom to courtroom, and the ability to adapt charts quickly to the courtroom configuration is absolutely incredible. Using popup menus for standard answers (prior jury service, military service, etc) and conditional commands I am able to see the status of the venire at a glance.
  
  This is a great product.
  
  
• very neat, but not an ms office replacement for those who must be compatible
  By A2RIXSMGE9VIBG on 2007-09-25
  
  pages and keynote are very polished products, and, if you dont need to be able to work on existing ms doc files you are safe. but, and this is a big but, you get mildly to moderately complex doc files to work on, the constant error messages that this or that does not work will be frustrating. same goes for numbers, in even a bigger way. just too many excel formattings and formulas cause numbers to hiccup.
  
  
• iWork is only OK
  By A14PF3B2TZDQRK on 2008-02-01
  As a student I have found iWork to be only OK.
  
  Numbers:
  My biggest problem is with Numbers. Numbers does not have any sort of linear, exponential or logarithmic regression functions, error bars or trends which makes it next-to-useless for any sort of lab work or mathematical analysis. While Numbers does have the basic statistical functions, the input is unintuitive and commands are different from excel which makes crossover very difficult. Numbers does look pretty, but unless you use the templates, creating your own style is difficult. Each portion of the table needs to be changed separately and short of automator I don't see any easy macros (note: you can save a template). Templates are helpful occasionally, but the majority of people who use Numbers are doing some sort of number crunching and in this aspect Numbers falls short, way too short. Too much pretty, not enough function, Numbers is not Excel.
  
  Pages:
  Pages is at least somewhat useful. It types, formats, spell checks and prints, which is all most people need it to do. Unfortunately, Apple portrays Pages as a Microsoft Publisher alternative--it is not. It's not even close to MS Word which is a step down from Publisher layout wise. My main complaint is that the dictionary/grammar check are not as powerful as Word. It doesn't make changes as you type, recognize common grammatical mistakes or even register capitalization rules. Templates are helpful I guess (in this way it is like publisher), but honestly how often do you use them.
  
  Keynote:
  Better than Microsoft Power Point - hands down. Apple focuses on the `pretty' in each of these programs and for keynote this is actually a good thing.
  
  
• iWork Lite: Not What I Expected
  By A3797HHQXCI1CT on 2008-07-19
  If Apple took its cues from Microsoft, we wouldn't have merely one version of iWork. iWork 2008, in Microsoft parlance, could more aptly be described as "iWork Lite". Alternately, this version might best be billed as iWork Home. What about iWork Office and iWork School? Or iWork Superior to include all of the above? Don't count on it, at least not from iWork '08.
  
  If the other reviews on Amazon and Apple are any indication, the only application in this trio that truly rises to the Microsoft Office challenge is Keynote. My beef with this suite pertains to my primary reason for purchasing iWork: word processing. Microsoft Office 2008 amounted to a series of alarming 1-star reviews at the time I purchased iWork 2008, and aside from that is enormously overpriced. More importantly, however, I wanted to reward any developer who dares compete with the Goliath that is MS Office by casting a vote with my pocketbook in favor of their product. Apple, after all, has been updating iWork long enough to give it time to mature. Or so I thought.
  
  While I appreciate the beautiful templates and intuitive interface that iWork offers, what remains when all the pretties are stripped away? iWork Lite: The version you weren't bargaining on but should have expected for a mere $79.99 (MSRP).
  
  My hope was that Pages would reference Webster's New World Dictionary, which is regarded as a superior reference in hard copy form for capitalization and proper hyphenation. While Pages approaches this level of accuracy, it doesn't quite make the grade. This calls into question its usefulness for English majors, journalists and writers of all stripes. Worse, Pages proofreader is a poor substitute for MS Word's grammar checker. As a result, Pages is also a questionable choice for teachers, students and professionals.
  
  Other purported iWork limitations include:
  
  
  * Few keyboard shortcuts (native Mac users once prided themselves on the ease with which they could zip through tasks with minimal mouse clicks);
  * Cannot change the "save as" to default to an export file type;
  * No auto-save/recovery;
  * No auto-correct;
  * Pages lacks an outline function;
  * Weak on functionality: Does not support right-to-left language types. Cross references and the automatic numbering of legends, equations, references are missing. Limitations using the chart editor. "Start count at" and indentation level controls frustrate some users. No HTML import/export;
  * iWork Server/Client works on an intranet using Rendezvous, but does not support Internet networking;
  * Pages supports only basic citation and footnoting. Cannot use footnotes and endnotes simultaneously. Can accept Grapher/LaTeXiT services but does not support bibliographies (fails to interface with EndNote, for example);
  * Opens Appleworks files only via the "import" command;
  * Cannot add images -- such as company logo -- to Pages headers or footers;
  * Numbers will not satisfy technical users, nor those who wish to include some of the following in a Keynote presentation: It does not support pivot tables. Cannot plot a graph with two y-axes. Will not graph error bars. Does not support Visual Basic macros. Cannot perform trendline analysis or basic statistics (t-test). Does not permit users to freeze/unfreeze panes;
  * Apple reports: "Your ability to open a large Numbers file or import a large Microsoft Excel file into Numbers '08 may be constrained by the amount of memory installed on your computer. This constraint adjusts with the addition and removal of memory from the computer."
  * Users porting complex Excel documents to Numbers report the need to perform numerous corrections;
  * Does not include a database application. Lacks SQL database integration, among others;
  * Does not support envelope printing within Pages (envelope printing is left up to Mac Address Book);
  * Does not support mail merge (except from Mac Address Book);
  * Cannot email a page from within an iWorks application;
  * Does not include a standalone email application (relies instead on the integrated email application in OS X);
  * Apparently, native iWork files are actually packages, which many web-based email servers do not support. To overcome this limitation, iWork files must be exported and/or saved and subsequently attached to outgoing web-based email messages as archives (zipped files);
  *iWorks users who are borderline on system compatibility or whose machines place them at the lower end of iWork's system requirements may encounter sluggish performance (I encountered a number of pauses during which the rainbow colored beach ball appeared while working in Pages).
  
  Do I recommend iWork? That depends on who, what, where and why you wish to use it. From my vantage point, iWork is not a Microsoft Office competitor but an entry-level trio of applications that are big on potential but small on delivery. Nevertheless, there are some users -- primarily those who require strong visuals and a template-based approach to productivity -- who may benefit from iWork 2008.
  
  
• Good Mac-centric office suite...now outdone by MS Office 08
  By A3FPSY1M6G7XIB on 2008-02-01
  This is an absolutely wonderful-looking office suite from Apple. For a few months, it was the best you could get for your Mac, especially the new Intel macs.
  
  But as of last week's release of MS Office 2008 for Mac, iWork returns to second place in the Office Feature set. There is nothing here that isn't outdone by MS Office 08.
  
  What iWork continues to excel at is the interface, and the mac-centricity of the program -- everything looks and feels like all your other familiar Mac programs.
  
  For those who have been reared on MS Word and Excel, there is no comparison, however.
  
  The one downside of iWorks -- you can not natively save programs to .doc or .xls format. You need to "export" each document you want to share with your PC-office co-workers. This adds an extra step to every save...eventually you stop doing so and hope that nobody wants any of your files...and when you do need to share them you need to convert all of them.
  
  I installed MS Office 2008 the day it was released, and found myself having to convert hundreds of Pages documents to use them back in Office -- a royal pain, and really one of the reasons that iWork is now banished tot he Application folder. I dare not delete it from my harddrive for fear that I will have files I saved in iWork format that can't be converted in Word....there's the rub -- you MUST convert files using Pages or Numbers, you can NOT convert anything inside MS Office basically meaning you have to keep two office suites on your hard drive.
  
  The other serious (not yet fixed despite being out 6 months) flaw in Pages is the drop color problem -- if using shadowing around photo-image boxes the program changes the colors of your photos on the page. There is no work around for this other than to save the entire document as a PDF, open in Text Editor, re-save it as a JPG, and and then print. This affects all macs across the board. Graphic Designers beware.
  
  My Timeline....up until iWork 08 was released, MS Office 2004 for Mac was the Suite of Choice....then for about 6 months iWork 08 was the clear leader...now with the release of MS Office 2008, there really is no comparison and MS Office 08 wins in the full-feature-full-compatibility realm.
  
  
• Great office suite
  By A3G0VC4V40KYFG on 2007-10-08
  This is just simply a great office suite. I no longer use MS or any other office suite because iWork has everything I need. The templates in Pages are great and working with them couldn't be easier. Numbers may not have everything Excel has but it will probably do what you need 90% of the time. Keynote is just flat out fun to work with. While my wife scrapbooks, I create great looking slideshows with animations that outdo PowerPoint. I'm really enjoying iWork. It's put the "fun" into an office suite.
  
  
• OK, but not Great
  By ATL0C6YGK9HP4 on 2007-10-17
  After receiving Apple iWork 08 I am impressed with what you can do with Keynote,Pages and Numbers. However, even though Apple says it will work with MS Word and Excel, it really only reads those files. If you create or edit a document in either Pages or Numbers users of Word or Excel will not be able to open or view your changes.
  If on the other hand all you want is a way to print hard copies to be shared (or shared with other Mac users) iWorks is a wonderful program. If you need to share your work with MS Office users than I suggest purchasing MS Office for Macs. I will.
  
  
• iWork '08 is worth it's weight in gold
  By A1YLJG0TWVI5JR on 2007-12-17
  I've reviewed iWork in the past, and have always thought it was well worth the $79 asking price. However, with iWork '08, these applications have become MUCH more valuable to me.
  
  Some context: I am a marketing executive by day, and an independent writer by night. During working hours, I use Pages to create whitepapers, sell sheets, and other items that we used to have to outsource to a designer for a few $K each. Pages makes documents look so professional, we've been able to take most of this work in house. In fact - I do it myself, and it takes less of my day to do it myself than it would take for me to manage the outsourced help. ages is just easy to use, and creates fantastic looking documents.
  
  I use Keynote when I give presentations myself, but use Powerpoint normally (because no one else has Keynote, and I don't want to have to keep converting files). Keynote opens powerpoints fine, so I can watch/present a presentation without having to have Parallels open. It exports well to powerpoint, too, so I can work in Keynote exclusively if I want to: for example, when working on a plane and tryin to conserve battery life by NOT running windows side-by-side with OS X.
  
  Similarly, spreadsheets open fine - but I'm a marketing guy, so I may not be the best judge of number-stuff.
  
  For my alter-ego as a wannabe writer, I use iWork even more. I wrote, edited, designed and produced by newest novel (Cluck: Murder Most Fowl) entirely using Pages '08. For anyone who has written a book, this means not only writing 100,000+ words, but it also means re-write upon re-write. I tracked nearly thrity minor drafts of my manuscript through the life of the project. Some points about Pages:
  
  1. It handled the large files easily. Scrolling through 300+ pages was fluid on a MacBook Pro. Even when the illustrations were put in place (27 individual 400dpi images) the file remained easy to manipulate.
  2. The spelling & grammar checks work better than expected. Of course, you can't rely on these, but they are a necessary aide when dealing with massive amounts of text. The 'proofread' function was markedly better than MS Word's grammar check, although I missed an "ignore this rule" button.
  3. Searching for certain words seemed to miss results on occasion, especially when the text was formatted specially or the search term contained punctuation (I submitted this as a bug to Apple, and it will likely be resolved in a future revision)
  4. Pages was able to create a print-ready .pdf easily without requiring any extra software. The high-resolution of the images was preserved (I worried about this, since the app handled them so easily in-line I figured maybe they' been downsampled), ad all formatting remained intact.
  5. Sepaking of formatting: I was able to design the interior block of Cluck: Murder Most Fowl with absolute precision, and I was also able to adjust the design along the way with little effort.
  
  The bottom line is that Pages '08 is even better at producing quality, professional-looking and print-ready documents than the original Pages. Cluck is "searchable inside" (or will be, soon) so you can see for yourself how Pages can produce results.
  
  Keynote
  I also use Keynote for personal uses other than corporate presentations. Interestingly enough, Keynote '08 has been critical to me in the development of promotional videos for my book. Now, I'm no move director, but with Keynote I can:
  
  * animate objects along a path
  * chose from a variety of quality transitions
  * imbed movie files (AVI files from my Flip Video Camcorder: 60-Minutes (Black) )
  * add text (again, with great font handling)
  * control the timing of everything
  * export to .mov videos
  
  I was able to create some great-looking (well, I am an amateur, but I think they look great) videos, with hardly ay effort (and about 30 minutes, tops). If you want to see for yourself, you can find them on YouTube is you search around for "cluck" and/or "book promo".
  
  Overall, I would recommend iWork '08 to anyone who needs professional results but isn't professionally trained ad/or who lacks the serious $$$ required to purchase more "professional" tools. The applications are easy to use, well-integrated with the "Mac experience", and produce amazing results. All for small change.
  
  In the business world, iWork has what it takes to bring smaller projects in-house, which could save huge amounts of budget money AND save time.
  
  I would give this ten stars if I could.
  
  
• More Mature
  By A1N022RIQYEQ5 on 2007-10-20
  I work in a highly integrated setting with Windows/Mac and mostly MS Office generated media. I have both Office and iWork on my computer. Up to the most recent release of iWork, Office has pretty much been my workhorse because there are no document conversion issues and Office still did the job better.
  
  Now with the most recent iWork release, I am using the Apple product for a greater percentage of my work. The conversion from Word, Excel and Powerpoint is about 90% accurate. Pages still has the most formatting foibles - mostly misplaced tabs and indents leading to unsightly spacing. Keynote does a fine job of importing Powerpoint with few formatting problems. Numbers does a great conversion of Excel files though my spreadsheet needs are limited.
  
  As far as generating new documents, iWork has finally surpassed Office and is less bloated for features I never use. The automatic appearing, context sensitive format bars are very friendly, very Apple. I t has really matured as a stand alone product and I would convert to iWork exclusively if not for my need to seamlessly convert to Office documents. Very happy with this release and would recommend it to users who do not need to work in mixed environments.
  
  
• Pages is still useless.
  By A28YJRSK1EFLUG on 2007-09-02
  I recently downloaded the free trial of iWork 08, to see if Apple had managed to fix the Appleworks import crashing bug that has been present since the original release of iWork. They have not. In addition, they have discontinued support for Appleworks. If you're considering purchasing iWork with the idea of reading all your old Appleworks documents in this new post-Appleworks world, you will be sorely disappointed, as Pages bombs on importing about half the Appleworks documents I've tested with it. Appleworks 6, by contrast, opens them without complaint.
  
  
• Not a great update
  By AJ1ANTPODR9O8 on 2007-10-20
  This is a quirky upgrade that doesn't address the shortcomings of the previous version. There are some new features that are helpful, but I find myself (darn it) going back to Excel and Word, though, being an Apple freak, I'd like to avoid them.
  
  As an example, in "Numbers", it is impossible to print just a section of a spreadsheet (as in Excel "set print area" command.
  
  The graphics in all 3 programs are awesome, but Apple seems to have ignored functionality for presentation. I'm not happy that I upgraded.
  
  
• it's so simple
  By AGBIHNVNPS2T2 on 2007-08-23
  I've used iWork '08 for a few days and it has completely replaced MS Office on my system. Pages can import pretty much any word doc (I have documents with lots of embedded pictures which were imported perfectly). It can export to Word, PDF or RTF formats as well and the process is pretty quick. If you're using an Intel Mac, you will absolutely notice the difference in speed.
  
  Numbers is also a wonderful program - you get a canvas where you can place multiple tables or worksheets, move them around. Best of all is the dynamic print view, its like a print preview where you can resize the size of the page with a slider.
  
  I haven't used Keynote except to import powerpoint files, and it worked flawlessly for this as well.
  
  My only complaint is that there's no option to change the default file type s to be MS Office (OpenOffice allows this). Overall an excellent product and great value for the price.
  
  
• Not as compatible as I'd hoped
  By AQRMUV3QFNKLP on 2008-02-15
  with Microsoft Office files :-(. Also not as intuitive as I'd hoped. No doubt I need to spend some time actually learning the software to get better results with it, but some things seem harder to do than they should be without extensive reference to the help system. Maybe it's just me, but the help information isn't always as clear as it could be either. I'm a longtime Windows user (which may play into the "not intuitive" problem), so I may have been better off buying Office for Mac, but I was just looking for "light duty" applications for occasional home use and I try to be open to learning new things.
  
  
• Solid Suite for the Non-Professional
  By AF7CWQNEAW1UZ on 2008-07-03
  This is a great suite of programs for those of us who don't necessarily need the full power of the Microsoft Office suite. It will be able to do nearly all of what you want it to do in a non-professional environment (read home or possibly small business) for a whole lot less money than MS Office will cost.
  
  That's where this suite shines. For $79 or less ($69 currently on Amazon) you get 80% of the MS Office functionality plus famous Apple-brand style. It's infinitely better than the hack-job "NeoOffice" for Mac which is the free OpenOffice-based office suite that is nearly unusable due to a bad translation.
  
  Pros:
  -Pages is a fine little word processor for writing virtually anything you can think of. It's simple to use and flows well with the rest of the "Mac experience." If you just want to sit down and type a letter or a book, it's hard to beat. This is the Apple equivalent to Microsoft Word
  -Numbers is a usable spreadsheat program that will do some basic number crunching and data manipulation. It's competent and works like most other Apple programs. This is the Apple equivalent to Microsoft Excel
  -Keynote is the best application of the suite. It is a powerful presentation design program that is not only on par with, but superior to Microsoft Powerpoint, which it is aimed at. If you want an idea of what it can do, just watch any of Steve Job's keynote addresses to see a good presentation in action. He uses Keynote, too.
  
  Cons:
  -Generally speaking, if you are familiar with MS Office programs (as I am), you'll have a bear of a time migrating over to iWork. Apple has its own version of what is logical in the interface, and though I can't say if it's better or worse, it's definitely different and hard to navigate for an MS Office veteran. If you're new to such programs, though, it's probably more intuitive.
  -Pages is a little light on features and flexibility. This offers a simpler user interface, but also means you lose a lot of power that the professional grade MS Word offers. It also has a lot of trouble importing anything but the most simplistic Word documents and doesn't appear to be compatible with Office 2008 for Mac yet (I'm not sure about Office 2007 for Windows, though).
  -Numbers is the weakest program in the suite. It's not really usable in a standard office practice as it lacks so many features and capabilities that have been in Excel for generations. It's more-or-less a sort of placeholder until Apple decides it really wants to be in the Enterprise market. Few home users will bother learning to use a spreadsheet program of any type unless they have to. This is more of an afterthought.
  -Keynote is the jewel of the set. It's only real weakness is that it will ruin you on Microsoft Powerpoint if you ever have to go back or have to export your presentation into Powerpoit format. That's the Achilles' Heel of Keynote is the lack of widespread use anywhere. Industry doesn't use it. Education doesn't use it. Heck, even hotels and conference rooms don't use it. You have to bring your own Mac if you really want to use it.
  
  Overall, this is a great suite for the money, but can't really compete with its entrenched and much more mature Microsoft counterparts (except for Keynote). This is a must-have if you use your Mac for anything productive, especially if your budget is a bit tight.
  
  
• Avoid if you do a lot with tables
  By A2B1NPE213SLTU on 2007-12-12
  Overall, iWork seems like a very nice software set. My review focuses on one aspect, however, and that is tables. I do all kinds of things with tables in MS Word, and was disappointed to find out that tables in Pages are horribly hard to work with in comparison. I tried my best - read the documentation, read Apple online forums, etc. Pages makes the tables with huge cells by default (like you would see on a PowerPoint presentation) and when you try to resize them smaller, it hides part of your text and an annoying box with a plus sign appears in the cell. The box remains even if you resize the font to fit. Then, the text won't center in the middle of the smaller cell, even when you click the button that is supposed to do this. You can't change the text direction in the cells either (who wants to use text boxes? what a pain!). A table I could fit on one page in MS Word, takes up 2+ pages in Pages, even with identical page margins. I just don't understand why the software is so restrictive in this aspect. I was almost tempted to keep this software, just because I might have other uses for the programs, but now I have to sell it to help buy Office Mac 2004. It's a shame that something as simple as tables could not be better engineered to allow the end user to get stuff done. However, if tables aren't as essential to you as they are to me, then ignore this review and go ahead and buy the software.
  
  
• A Big Improvement
  By A1ZHCP23336Q6V on 2008-03-29
  iWork '08 is a significant upgrade to the Apple iWork line. I have used the product since it was merely Keynote then when it added Pages and changed the name to iWork. I find Keynote continues to mature and while it plays nicely with Microsoft Powerpoint slides it is much easier to use and the transitions are more robust. I often receive Powerpoint documents created on both Windows and Apple operating systems and have never had any trouble opening then nor have any of the recipients had trouble in receiving and using mine.
  
  Pages also continues to improve. Especially helpful is the ability to seamlessly open the new Word format (XML) as well as support for older documents. The ability to track comments including those from Word is a welcome addition. I use Pages for taking notes in a graduate school setting as well as for preparing papers, reports, and brochures. I have used many of the templates and adding new ones for special projects is a simple process. I have not had any difficulty in exporting documents.
  
  I am still learning Numbers, mainly because I haven't had a great need for any spreadsheet program, but what I have found so far is a robust and easy to use program.
  
  Finally many may ask why iWork instead of MS Office for the Mac. I have used the previous version and have tried the newer version as well on a friend's computer which was the same model as my own. I am not impressed with its cost nor its resource requirements. I believe iWorks simply runs better, looks better and is better for my needs for Keynote and Pages. As for Numbers it meets and exceeds any needs I can foresee in the future.
  
  I strongly recommend this product.
  
  
• Very disappointing! Still need office
  By A3R9GDKTPJ56LO on 2008-06-25
  Pages is not really a word processor at all. It is, at best, a mediocre page layout program. The spell-checking and grammar-checking are basically useless. In my mind, spelling and grammar are as fundamental to word processing as are cut and paste. Apple has been on a real role lately that I had really high hopes for iwork. It doesn't take long to find out this product is just plain junk. I'm sorry I bought it and will go back to office.
  
  
• Not for users of Office
  By A1XM3DCXC6HM99 on 2008-08-11
  We purchased this product after buying a Mac. We have been pc/office users for years and we love our new mac. We needed some basic word processing and spreadsheet software for home use, so we bought this based on its reviews. I have been disappointed with it so far. It's missing some of the basic options that are available in Microsoft Office.
  
  My biggest gripes have been when trying to work with documents that either were created in Office or need to be sent to someone with Office. I tried to help out a niece with her resume, and I found it was missing a lot of the formatting found in Word (ie- the ability to set printing area wider than the pre-set margins, creating bullet characters that weren't dots). When I exported the file into a .doc for her, formatting was lost. I also tried to edit a Word file for someone using pages, and when the program converted the file back to .doc, some of the original formatting was lost (my 2 page document became a 4 page document!).
  
  Numbers works ok, but it's not as easy to use as Excel. I may not be using all of the software functionality, but it seems that simple tasks aren't easy. When I try to sum a series of cells, I have to use the drop-down menu instead of the numerous ways that office allows you to sum things.
  
  I'm sure that I haven't explored the full capacity of these programs, but for someone who needs light duty tools and is used to microsoft, I'd recommend staying with what you know. This is definitely not a program to use if you need to work with microsoft files.
  
  
• IWorks is deficient
  By A3EUAKCFC44UKO on 2008-03-27
  When I use Microsoft Word to prepare a letter, I select the addressee and using a simple menu, select envelopes. Word picks up the address and prints the envelope.
  
  There is no way to do that in iWorks, thus the product is deficient. I wish I had known about it before I bought it. I've gone back to using Word.
  
  
• I use Mac and Windows
  By A13K3ZLWAWN1EI on 2008-04-09
  Keynote is stellar and wins hands-down over Powerpoint. Pages is intuitive once you get used to how it thinks, very good for many types of documents, you can do a lot more than with Word, but lacks a few common-sense features. Numbers is a first release and needs to mature a bit, but offers very nice formatting tools.
  
  
• I really wanted to work for me, but if you are an experienced Ms Word user, you will find missing functionality in iWork.
  By A1VH23UTJ0HZ on 2008-08-08
  I use both Mac and PC. I am not biased at all. I really wanted IWork to "work" for me for word processing. I was persistent, I beat the learning curve, I used the word processor for about 3 days. I have to say that Ms Word is winner. Microsoft has tons of experience under its belt in this category and it shows clearly.
  
  If you are not an experienced Word user, and only need to type simple stuff you may not see the difference, but I am familiar with most features of Word and they help me with my productivity. Apple's word processor is not World class yet. It does what it supposed to do, but it lacks features that Word gives you for customization and productivity.
  
  
• Fantastic
  By A3QHJE1YA79UD5 on 2007-08-24
  I've been using Apple's Office-type offerings since Appleworks 1, and iWork '08 is the apotheosis of the line. I find the ease of use and visual quality of Pages to be top rate, Keynote continues to blow away Powerpoint, and the new Numbers is a dream to use. Apple continues to advance software development beautifully.
  
  
• iWork
  By A207KBCBZ5P3NC on 2007-09-14
  Unbelievable altenative to Word, Power Point & Excel. Easily produce professional documents in a flash! Open Word, Excel, and Power Point docs, make them look fabulous with iWork and then save back to Word, Excel & Power Point to impress your Windows loving friends. They'll wonder how you produced such beautiful looking stuff and want to know how you did it! Mac products ROCK!
  
  
• Beware iWork '08
  By A1IGNGKCMC4A43 on 2007-12-15
  The Numbers program contained in iWork '08 represents that it works well with Excel files. Wrong. And it's not just a problem with Excel files created on a PC, but those created on other Macs. While Numbers will import an Excel file, every imported Excel file I have attempted to print has completely frozen Numbers and failed to print. The Apple Store where the iMac was purchased was baffled by this complaint, and claims never to have heard of the issue, however user based input at Apple's web site includes numerous Numbers-Excel compatability issues (and if only I'd read them before buying Numbers). Trying to get "help" from Apple was a disaster; after a 15-minute phone wait, the tech who answered spent 15 minutes insisting that I try to cut the Excel content and paste it into Apple's tech editor and print it from that program; the tech finally admitted that he didn't know anything about iWork '08 and transferred me to someone he claimed would be able to help. After waiting another 15 minutes on the phone, the next tech advised that I'd been transferred to the wrong department, whereupon he transferred me to another department, and after another unanswered 15 minute wait on the phone, I gave up.
  
  Like other iMac features, I feel that iWork '08 and Numbers offer a lot of glossy promises and a real lack of substance.
  
  
• This is Great!!!
  By A20DZX38KRBIT8 on 2008-01-04
  Move over MS office, Iwork 08 is here. Easy to use exactally what you need and no frills to cover up poor performance. This is all you need!
  
  

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