How do I port my Windows Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files to the MAC? What software is needed on the MAC to use them? Thanks.
iPhone 4S, iOS 5.0.1
The easiest way to copy over your files is to use a USB 'thumb' drive.
To open those files on a Mac you would either need a copy of Microsoft Office for Mac, which has Word, Excel and Powerpoint, or a compatible application such as Neo Office (http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php) or OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org/porting/mac/) both of which can open Word, Excel and Powerpoint files, and also save into those formats - and unlike Microsoft Office, are both free.
Thanks, Andy. What about using iWorks (Pages, Numbers, Keynote)? I did also have an afterthought: I currently use Windows Mail. Can my saved emails with their associated folders (Drafts, Saved items, Sent items, etc), contacts, etc. be ported as well?
I am anxious to move to a MAC platform, but don't want to be deterred by the level of effort to get there or to find out that I can't port my important "stuff" that I accumulated over the years on my Windows based PC.
Again, thank you.
You can certainly use iWork, though I hesitate to recommend it to a seasoned Windows user simply because it would add another level of the unfamiliar with which you would have to gain familiarity. The iWork applications are certainly very competent and in most respects both easy to use and surprisingly powerful. They are not 100% compatible however, though that typically manifests itself in document formatting issues rather than anything more significant.
I have never attempted to import emails from a Windows system into MacOS - other than in Outlook connected to an Exchange server, thus not really an issue at all. I doubt that the Mail app in MacOS can import directly, but of course you could always set the account(s) up on the Mac and then forward emails you want to keep from the PC. Not elegant, but it works. Virtually any Windows document or file, whichever application created it, can be opened or converted for use on a Mac, and using both systems on my desk each day I rarely see any issues switching stuff from one machine to the other. You may stumble over one or two issues, but likely not significant.
In switching platforms there will be some inevitable issues, not so much with being able to import your stuff because there's usually a workaround or a utility that can help, but just with getting familiar with the platform and the differences between Windows and MacOS that can obscure their similarities. From time to time the support community here hears from a user who has found the migration very problematic and regrets it, but for the most part the phrase 'I should have done this years ago...' is rather more prevalent!
Perfect, Andy. Thank you. My knee jerk reaction is to use iWorks rather than introducing a third party. I would go slowly with experimental ports prior to porting the remainder. I appreciate your hesitency and can understand it. But it can also be a way to wade in and get used to the new environment.
I look forward to it. Thank you very much for your help.
How do I port my Windows Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files to the MAC? What software is needed on the MAC to use them? Thanks.
