topic Re: Question About New MacBook Pro in Electronics

Question About New MacBook Pro

patticakes — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 13:21:05 GMT

I just got a new MacBook Pro and can't seem to find anything like Office on it. Does anyone know if there's something already on the the new MacBook Pro of will I have to add a program? If so, what?

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

aggravated — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 15:22:02 GMT

I got one about 8 months ago. The only way I can find anything on it is to use the taskbar across the bottom. So far, I have managed to find Safari and calendar. I wish I had bought a dell, HP or lenovo. Called my local Apple store and asked if there were classes; they sort of laughed. What a waste of money and I actually hate it. By the way, I've used computers in offices now for almost 40 years and was working during the transition from typewriters to the computers (very young but working). I know how to operate them.

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

Katrin B — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 15:39:52 GMT

You will have to buy the Microsoft Office Suite or the Apple equivalent, which contains Pages ( like Word) etc.. You can do this over the Internet as a download, no more discs.

Enjoy your new computer!

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

FranandZoe — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 16:35:09 GMT

You can buy MS Office "for Mac."

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

Mz iMac — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 17:44:09 GMT

@patticakes

Pages is what you are looking for. It is pre-installed. No need to purchase anything else unless you want to.

All your applications are located inside your Application folder. If you do not know how to find your Applications folder, let me know & I'll map it out for you.

Another resource:

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

Sweetbay magnolia — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 17:45:09 GMT

Look for "Pages" and "Numbers" and "Keynote". I would be surprised if they were not included with your machine. It's just not a "suite" of software like in MS (if I remember right) - these are apps on your computer. They work very well.

They are located as icons on your taskbar. Hover over those icons and you will be told what they mean.

I have an older Mac; I don't have experience with the built-in task bar I've seen across the top of newer models, but really, it should not be that hard to find if that is what you are looking for. I understand, though, there is a learning curve with new things.

Good luck!

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

phoenixbrd — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 17:55:05 GMT

@patticakes @aggravated I switched from a Dell PC to an Apple in the middle of writing my thesis in graduate school, The Dell was a total loss and I was hesitant knowing I would have to learn a new system. The change was seamless and I will never look back. All of my electronics are Apple. If you stay with it, and yes they offer free classes, you might be amazed. Give it a chance.

I have the new Mac Book Pro as well as my older one that I purchased in graduate school. I use the old Mac at home, love it and it is larger. The smaller pro is used for travel/conventions/workshops etc, because it is much more portable. Will never go back to PCs.

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

Lilysmom — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 20:34:39 GMT

@phoenixbrd @Mz iMac are right. All the software is preloaded on your MacBook Pro. That is what I have as well. You can create documents, tables, etc in Pages and export them in Word form, PDF, etc. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the computer. I think you will like it especially if you use it enough to retain working knowledge of the programs. Take advantage of the free classes.

Like @phoenixbrd, everything I own now is Apple.

One thing that happened to me was that Apple staff told me I could not use my Sony ereader with the computer because the Sony software for the Library was so old. Sony, which made an awesome ereader (aluminum, not plastic) was bought by Kobo.

I bought a Kobo ereader and tried it and didn’t like it at all. I did my research and found an ereader library that I could use with Apple products and today I am still using my 8 year old ereader. My point is, if you have issues such as I did, check it out. Do your homework. There is always a smart techie who has found a way around such issues.

Good luck with your new computer! LM

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

Cats3000 — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 20:40:57 GMT

We have several Apple products. All Macs used to come with Pages, Numbers and Keynote pre-installed. If that's no longer true, you can purchase them through the AppStore.

Pages is similar Word. In fact, if someone sends you a Word document, Pages will automatically allow you to open it in the Pages format. If you want to send someone a Pages document in Word format, there's an "Export" link that'll let you do it.

Numbers is similar to Excel. You can open an Excel spreadsheet in Numbers. I think going the other way is the same as for Pages.

I have Keynote. Have never used it.

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

glb613 — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 21:07:30 GMT

@Cats3000 wrote:
We have several Apple products. All Macs used to come with Pages, Numbers and Keynote pre-installed. If that's no longer true, you can purchase them through the AppStore.

Pages is similar Word. In fact, if someone sends you a Word document, Pages will automatically allow you to open it in the Pages format. If you want to send someone a Pages document in Word format, there's an "Export" link that'll let you do it.

Numbers is similar to Excel. You can open an Excel spreadsheet in Numbers. I think going the other way is the same as for Pages.

I have Keynote. Have never used it.

That is not always true. I have received several .docx documents and Pages won't open them.

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

Mz iMac — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 21:22:12 GMT

@glb613"I have received several .docx documents and Pages won't open them."

Exporting a Pages File as Word Format from the Mac with Pages App

Open the Pages file you want to convert / save to Word format into the Pages app for Mac OS X
Go to the “File” menu and choose “Export To”, then select “Word” from the submenu list

At the “Export Your Document” screen and under the ‘Word’ tab, click the triangle next to ‘Advanced Options’

Select the appropriate Word file format to use: “.docx” for compatibility with the newest versions of Microsoft Office and Word, or “.doc” for greater compatibility with older versions of Word – then click “Next”
Give the new Word file a name as usual, select a destination to save the file to, and choose “Export”

Your newly created Word file, either in .doc or .docx format, will be saved wherever you specified.

For the most part, Pages app will produce very compatible word files without any effort, and the resulting .doc or .docx file will open without incident in Microsoft Word and look basically identical as it started.

If something doesn’t look right with the saved file, it’s usually due to complex formatting, an unique font, or the usage of stylized ascii, Emoji, and special characters that are unique to Mac OS X and the Pages app. With that in mind, it’s good practice to keep the saved/exported files fairly simple and using standardized fonts that are available across-platforms, and avoiding any unusually complex document formatting whenever possible. That’s typically not an issue for a text-heavy document or a simple report, and the converted file should open flawlessly in Microsoft Office whether on another Mac or a Windows PC.

Full article--> osxdaily.com/2014/08/06/save-pages-file-as-word-format/

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

Lilysmom — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 21:50:47 GMT

@Mz iMac, such a sweetie! I tried to call you out on @glb613‘s Other thread where she was having an issue but for some reason I couldn’t get your name up. I know where to come if I have an issue. Thanks for posting! LM

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

Mz iMac — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 21:56:53 GMT

@Lilysmom

I was in that thread. I did not participate because she was already getting excellent advice.

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

Lilysmom — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 21:58:23 GMT

@Mz iMac,great emoticons as always! LM

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

wildlifewitch — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 23:20:22 GMT

apache open office. goggle it and it is a free download. docs can be converted to word-pdfs etc.

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

wildlifewitch — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 23:22:50 GMT

You can also download bootcamp to partition your mac into part mac and part windows. It is complicated, but some people need to use it to transition. Pages should be installed already, check finder-applications. I personally hate pages, but it is ok.

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

Cats3000 — Sat, 17 Nov 2018 14:00:51 GMT

@glb613 I can only go from my experiences. I haven't had problems opening either a .docx or .xls document with Pages and Numbers. I have been able to open them, and even do some editing work.

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

glb613 — Sat, 17 Nov 2018 15:40:25 GMT

@Cats3000 wrote:
@glb613 I can only go from my experiences. I haven't had problems opening either a .docx or .xls document with Pages and Numbers. I have been able to open them, and even do some editing work.

I can't and have the latest update for Pages. I wish there was a way to revert back to an earier version to see if that is the problem.

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

Mz iMac — Sat, 17 Nov 2018 17:55:25 GMT

@glb613"I wish there was a way to revert back to an earier version to see if that is the problem."

There is. Google search.

Instructions I provided above earlier did not work??

Re: Question About New MacBook Pro

glb613 — Sat, 17 Nov 2018 18:10:42 GMT

@Mz iMac wrote:
@glb613"I wish there was a way to revert back to an earier version to see if that is the problem."
There is. Google search.

Instructions I provided above earlier did not work??

I don't need to export a document. Neither my iMac or MacBook Pro with Pages installed will read or open a document with a .docx extension. This is somethig new.