I want to be able to read and write files written in AppleWorks when I upgrade from Leopard to Yosemity on my MacBook. Is this possible? I know that AppleWorks is a long-outdated application, but I have been using AppleWorks since it evolved from ClairisWorks, because of its convenience and simplicity in use compared with more recent software.
iWeb '08, Mac OS X (10.5.8)
No, AppleWorks is not supported on OS X (greater than 10.6.8)
No, AppleWorks is not supported on OS X (greater than 10.6.8)
If you have upgraded to Yosemite and have AppleWorks documents you cannot open, then you should be able to install Snow Leopard on an external hard disk and start from that (provided that the Mac did not come with anything higher than Snow Leopard originally installed); and success has been reported in running Snow Leopard Server under emulation in Parallels - the method is described here: Snow Leopard Server is (as far as I know) still available in the Apple Store (by telephone) at a reduced price and is preferable to using ordinary Snow Leopard which is quite tricky. I haven't tried this myself: use at your own discretion. You can then run AppleWorks within the emulation.
Note that if you want to upgrade to Yosemite your Mac must obviously have an Intel processor, (an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon) and from Leopard you will have to start by purchasing Snow Leopard from the Online Apple Store in order to be able to access the Mac App Store in Applications. Yosemite is supported by the following Macs:
Many thanks for your link to the documentation on AppleWorks - very useful reading. You rightly stress the sheer usefulness of its integrated modules. I run it for word processing, for drawing (my Xmas cards and my evolving family tree), spreadsheet (all my personal finance), database (all my contacts) and desk-top publishing (a small book of text and ohotos about the history of the village where I live). I weep over the gradual degradation of Apple software towards the Microsoft "norm" which assumes users have no skill to use other than pre-formatted templates and pre-written operations embedded in their endlessly intricate drop-down menus.
I sincerely understand your anguish concerning the loss of this very useful yet simple program. I have used Claris then AppleWorks since the Mac came about in 1984 and have never owned a PC. I later ran my manufacturing business on 6 Macs with many documents in WP. SS. and DB. After selling the company I continued to use it for many other purposes of a political nature and for video processing. It is a great loss to me and I am in a dilemma. I am stuck with 10.6.8 with nowhere to go. There are literally thousands of WP documents scattered over 17 Tera Bytes that I rely on but have no way to search and convert to MS. I don't like either MS Word or Pages. They are too cluttered with unusable features. When I am forced to convert for sending via email I go with MS Word because only Mac users can open Pages.
If only Apple would offer a search and replace option for this marvelous (old) product. I have a MacBook Pro which I did upgrade to Yosemite 10.10.2 but rarely turn it on. The iMac I use is a 2011 version and I believe was the last version that would still run Snow Leopard. I have plenty of hard drives that I could place Snow Leopard on but then I would have a problem coordinating the back and forth that would be involved.
Some whiz kid please come to our aid...
Harold
Hi Harold - your experiences are exactly like my own. I have a reply from MichaelLAX, though this doesn't seem to have posted to this support community.
He says: "Before you upgrade to Yosemite, partition your hard drive or add an external drive and install Yosemite there. Dual-Boot into Snow Leopard when you want to run Appleworks and Yosemite otherwise." I am thinking of buying Snow Leopard and trying this.
I am happy to keep running my life with AppleWorks on my MacBookPro with Leopard. My only need to upgrade to Yosemite is that I find more and more that the outside world tells me it cannot communicate with my outdated OS. I can't get virus protection, Spotify won't let me download stuff, and while I have the opportunity of free MicrosoftOffice for Mac through my work, I can't take it up (well, I thought having actual Word, Excel and Powerpoint might come in handy). etc, etc.
How many millions (yes, I reckon millions) of Mac users around the world are in the same position? Can't we all put pressure on Apple to do something about it?
I'm afraid there is no chance whatever of Apple reviving Appleworks. There are apparently difficulties over the code, which of course is PPC so that it would have to be re-written from the ground up for Intel. Apple consider that they have provided replacements with iWork, though you and I know it's no sort of replacement and there is no attempt to provide a database to replace AW's remarkably powerful one.
Provided you have a Mac which did not originally come with a system higher than Snow Leopard you can follow MichaeLAX's suggestion of separate Snow Leopard and Yosemite partitions, but if you have a newer Mac you can only do it by running Snow Leopard Server under emulation in Parallels.
Niel has already provided a link to my article on 'Abandoning Appleworks' which may at least offer some suggestions.
If I upgrade from Leopard to Yosemity will I still be able to use AppleWorks as an application?
