powerpoint viewer

bigstar

just got my new macbook yesterday, i need to use powerpoint for college, is the only viewer available the 98 version? im not sure newer powerpoint programs will work on that. is there anything else i can use or should i just get office for mac, thanks

J-blk

I don't really know about the viewer, but I have iWork '08 and Keynote (the Powerpoint equivalent) can open all the PPT files I've tried so far, just fine.

I would have recommended iWork '08 in the past because it works out cheaper than Office 2008 for Mac, but thanks to Babypink, who pointed to this, I now know that you can get it cheaper than iWork, if you are a student:

http://www.software4students.ie/Microsoft_Office_2008_for_Mac-details.aspx

bigstar

ive heard of iwork, its been recommended before, its just the formats im worried about,i presume all college work will have to be sent in in .doc as in word format so is iwork compatible that way

J-blk

Yes, .doc from Word can be opened in Pages, the iWork word processor. I'm pretty sure the built-in Preview utility can open .doc too if all you want to do is view them. You might lose some slight style elements though with iWork opening Office files so if you actually need to edit and save those documents, Office may be a better fit.

I'm pretty sure you can save in the MS formats too but I need to double-check when I'm at my Mac.

govinda

It is, yes - you can export to PDF and MS-Word formats from Pages in iWork.

Check out Neoffice too!

bigstar

thanks, your right i can view word docs alright but not powerpoint stuff, ill have alook at neo office first

Breezer

Don't use iWork if you need to submit stuff in Microsoft formats. It's compatible, but only to a certain degree, a lot of formatting gets messed up. I'm a big iWork fan, but I always test (and usually have to edit) stuff I'm submitting on a Windows PC first.

MACHEAD

I regularly set up slide shows for classes in the school where I work. Most of the presentations I produced are in Keynote inc. some old ones transfered from Powerpoint in 'Office for Mac X' (circa 1999/2000). P/points will open in Keynote no problem, but the Microsoft app won't read Keynotes. (So teachers who only have a windows machine need a Mac notebook brought in as well) If you're just doing a presentation I would recommend Keynote, it's waaay better looking show and waaay easier to use. If you have to submit the work then it might be better to assume that it'll be viewed on a windows based system and so it would be cross platform compatible in Powerpoint.

Chardee MacDennis

if you're using Leopard you can view office files by selecting the file and pressing space bar...

MACHEAD

Just found this on Apple.com, might be worth a look.
http://www.apple.com/business/theater/#tutorial=exportingpresentation

Mickser_52

Download openoffice for mac from openoffice.org it can view powerpoint, and other microsoft office applications and its FREE!

MACHEAD

Mickser_52 wrote: »

Download openoffice for mac from openoffice.org it can view powerpoint, and other microsoft office applications and its FREE!

Should'nt have to download anything, if you're using Leopard as according that little tip (in my post 102 above) you can simply export a presentation in Powerpoint format. Have'nt tried it yet myself though, if I get time later on I'll maybe give it a try.