I Mac

[Benzowner]

Hi all, just upgraded, if that's the phrase, from a PC to an I Mac, very impressed, but, tell me, I have installed Microsoft Office 2008, yes an old system I know, but I had the discs, on the Mac and it won't read my imported files from the PC especially Excel. Any ideas?

 

[IanA2]

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying, but iirc Word has Mac and PC versions.

Pages for Mac, is cheaper.

 

[bob6600]

What format were they saved in? Sometimes if the Word file is saved on say a 2013 program, it may not open properly on a 2008 program

 

[Giantvanman]

Pages will recognise and open word docs. You'll need with Excel for Mac for those files I think…..not sure if Numbers (Mac equivalent of Excel) would read Excel or not.
I've never had any issues opening any Sh1tows documents on my Macs; they just open it and give the option to save as .doc (in W98 onwards) as well as other formats.

 

[spinaltap]

To save money in the short term you can install your existing Windows apps on your iMac.

One option that I use is CrossOver 13 from www.codeweavers.com - which allows running of most Windows apps, and all Windows games - at native speed on your Mac. This method does not require installing any Windows OS. I run Office 2013 by this method.

All other means of running Windows on your Mac (BootCamp, VirtualPC, Parallels, and, Fusion) require Windows OS to work.

 

[cb1965]

Try Libre Office, that opens most MS Word and Excel files and it's free... hence the word 'libre'

 

[IanA2]

To save money in the short term you can install your existing Windows apps on your iMac.

One option that I use is CrossOver 13 from www.codeweavers.com - which allows running of most Windows apps, and all Windows games - at native speed on your Mac. This method does not require installing any Windows OS. I run Office 2013 by this method.

All other means of running Windows on your Mac (BootCamp, VirtualPC, Parallels, and, Fusion) require Windows OS to work.

As a matter of interest have you been using this long and are there any problems when Mac changes/upgrades the OS?

Thanks.

 

[evdok]

I have the new 27"iMac, it makes windows look sh**.

 

[spinaltap]

As a matter of interest have you been using this long and are there any problems when Mac changes/upgrades the OS?

I've been using it for several years.

The program operates independently of whatever flavour of Windows that MS develops.

Codeweavers frequently update CrossOver, so it's always up-to-date with Apple OS upgrades.

Download the free CrossOver trial to judge for yourself.

 

[Sp!ke]

I have the new 27"iMac, it makes windows look sh**.

The keyword in this sentence is "looks". Yes, it is pretty and I'll give you that.

However when it comes to actually putting a computer through its paces and doing real data crunching or shock horror, working with data across a network it is less than good. Despite this being a known issue for decades and despite Apple promising that it would be addressed with Yosemite, I was disappointed to find that it still hasn't been addressed. You still cannot copy data to or from an SMB share quickly or reliably.

Office for Mac is a really poor implementation of office and is reason alone not to transition away from a PC in my personal opinion. (I am plagued with Office for Mac issues daily.)

 

[Benzowner]

Thanks for all the replies, the PC was operating 2007, I think, and the Mac is 2008 so I would have thought been ok. Word open fine, it's just the Excel that seems not to work, when transferring from the PC to Max, the Excel document appears as a zip 2.cpgz, whatever that means. It's only a list of figures, so I print it off and do it again I suppose.

 

[rmcservices]

Try installing this on the Mac:
Download Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 1.2.1 from Official Microsoft Download Center

 

[Swozza]

The keyword in this sentence is "looks". Yes, it is pretty and I'll give you that.

However when it comes to actually putting a computer through its paces and doing real data crunching or shock horror, working with data across a network it is less than good. Despite this being a known issue for decades and despite Apple promising that it would be addressed with Yosemite, I was disappointed to find that it still hasn't been addressed. You still cannot copy data to or from an SMB share quickly or reliably.

Office for Mac is a really poor implementation of office and is reason alone not to transition away from a PC in my personal opinion. (I am plagued with Office for Mac issues daily.)

They are issues, however in my experience, I have over a 100 MACs running and connected to a Windows Domain (SMB/AD/LDAP etc) central managed system and its not a major issue I also believe MS could do more to integrate the 2 platforms, it currently doesn't. Windows connects to Apple SMB shares with no issues. Its just as much a MS issue as an Apple one

Office 2008 was poor 2011 much better 2014/15 expected to be released soon. However MS Office PC or Mac is flaky. Unfortunately its the mainstream otherwise none of use would use it.

 

[John]

I have had a lot of grief connecting initially 5 x Mac G5s and from 2011 iMac 27.5" to Windows 2003 Server / 2008 R2 Server SMB shares.

Many a time spent adding various lines to various .conf files and generally pissing around.

They are 'stable' now but certainly aren't as robust as connecting Windows workstations to Windows servers.

And I've had more problems with those 4 iMacs in 4 years than I've had with 70 PC workstations over 7 years.

The iMacs look great if you like looking at computers though...

 

[bolide]

I'd buy a current copy of Office for Mac and install that and not mess around with 6-year-old versions. Or use Pages, Numbers and Keynote for Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. They work very well, are very cost-effective, and they'll read and write files compatible with Microsoft Office

If Google .cpgz you'll be able to find out what's going on with the odd files

Ignore the usual whining from PC diehards about things completely irrelevant to your situation…

Nick Froome

 

[Swozza]

I have had a lot of grief connecting initially 5 x Mac G5s and from 2011 iMac 27.5" to Windows 2003 Server / 2008 R2 Server SMB shares.

Many a time spent adding various lines to various .conf files and generally pissing around.

They are 'stable' now but certainly aren't as robust as connecting Windows workstations to Windows servers.

And I've had more problems with those 4 iMacs in 4 years than I've had with 70 PC workstations over 7 years.

The iMacs look great if you like looking at computers though...

If your going to use various platforms and os releases, you need to make sure your server structure is up to date. Its a half ****d excuse blaming your front line kit. I know, I used to sing the same song out of frustration, but it has very little to do with what the case actually is now.

I understand its not always possible to upgrade due to budgets constrains, and you have to work with what you have, however its not the reality of what you could achieve.

We have simplistic working comms and connectivity between our 2 platforms connecting windows services, because the hole is right, not just the sum of its parts.

 

[markmifsud]

I hate adding MACs to our network. Some times you can just connect, configure AD integration and its fine, other times they just do not want to play.

 

[219]

I currently have 5 Mac Desktops ( iMacG4 , Powermac G4 , Powermac G5 , Mac Mini and Mac Pro ) , and 4 Mac Laptops ( 3 x PowerBook G4 and one MacBook ) , along with an iPad and 3x iPhones connecting to my Airport network , over a mixture of wired and wireless connections , with network printers and storage ; as well as a smart TV and YouView box , nothing gives any trouble , apart from my GF's two Windoze laptops , which screw up my printers any time she tries to use them via Bonjour

 

[John]

If your going to use various platforms and os releases, you need to make sure your server structure is up to date. Its a half ****d excuse blaming your front line kit. I know, I used to sing the same song out of frustration, but it has very little to do with what the case actually is now.

I understand its not always possible to upgrade due to budgets constrains, and you have to work with what you have, however its not the reality of what you could achieve.

We have simplistic working comms and connectivity between our 2 platforms connecting windows services, because the hole is right, not just the sum of its parts.

It is up to date as far as possible. How much more up to date can you get than a fully patched 2008 R2 server in 2011 onwards with progressively applied patches to Mac OS X?

Constantly upgrading everything to the latest because Apple can't be bothered to write something as good as SAMBA which they dropped is not acceptable.

I blame the front line kit because that is the problem - it's shyte.

 

[Sp!ke]

I too take slight umbrage at the 'half ****d excuse' comment.

If you think you know a way to fix SMB file access on a Mac then I'm all ears.

If you think you can buy a Mac with some kind of service levels on their hardware warranty then I am also all ears.