MS Office X for Macintosh

Apple is planning to ditch the current Mac operating system in about six months' time and replace it on new machines with the shiny new OS X. Mac users, however, are waiting for three key pieces of software: Quark XPress, Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Office.

As we went to press, the OS X versions of XPress and Photoshop were nowhere to be seen, but Microsoft has released Office X sooner than expected.

Like previous versions of Office for the Mac this suite includes Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, plus the personal information manager, Entourage. All four programs have been updated to match the colourful interface of OS X, but support for the new OS is more than skin deep.

They all support OS X features such as 'sheets' - dialog boxes linked to specific documents. So, if you want to print a Word document, the Print dialog box will be linked to the particular file you are working with. This means that you can switch to another document and call up the Print dialog for that document as well, perhaps to compare print settings.

The 'genie' effect

Many toolbars and palettes use the OS X 'genie' effect. Instead of simply appearing, they seem to be squirted on to the screen like a genie escaping from a bottle.

Office X also supports the 'Quartz' graphics system used by OS X. This means that the Draw module, which works in all four Office programs, can be used to create smooth anti-aliased text and graphics, or to quickly apply transparency effects. So expect to see a wave of Excel spreadsheets with multi-coloured, semi-translucent pie-charts any day now.

Microsoft is also introducing Mac users to its .Net strategy. Documents created with Office X can be linked to 'notifications' - such as reminders or stock-market quotes - that can be sent directly to your Mac from internet services such as MSN (Microsoft Network).

Program improvements

These new features are common to all four programs in Office X, but there are improvements to the individual programs as well. Word X, as it's now called, includes a new Collect and Paste option which allows you to copy multiple blocks of text into the Clipboard. You can also perform tasks such as formatting and spell-checking on multiple selections.

PowerPoint has improved tools for handling QuickTime video and transition effects within presentations, while Excel gets a new Auto-Recover feature and List Manager for sorting and presenting long lists of items.

Entourage enhancements

However, it's the Entourage organiser that has had the biggest facelift. The program's interface has been completely redesigned, with a series of buttons in the top-left corner of the screen for instant access to email, calendar, address book and other features.

The calendar window has been given an overhaul too, making it easier to view appointments and to-do lists for specific dates. A new OS X version of Microsoft Messenger has been integrated, and Entourage can also communicate with PC users who use Outlook, so Mac users can arrange meetings with PC-based friends or colleagues.

Conclusion

Office X isn't a huge upgrade in terms of new features, but Microsoft has done a good job of bringing the various Office programs into the new environment, and for many this will be the 'killer app' that convinces them to switch to OS X.

Minimum requirements
G3 Macintosh with OSX v10.1, 128Mb RAM

Contact
Microsoft: 0845 700 2000 www.microsoft.com

See also:

Mac OS X entices corporates

Apple is preparing an update to its OS X operating system that will include capabilities to attract corporate customers  25 Jun 2002

Microsoft Works Suite 2002

If you want an office suite but don't want the expense of Office XP, take a look at this.  27 May 2002

Microsoft Office XP

The software colossus rolls out a new version of its ubiquitous office product.  20 Sep 2001

Apple Mac OS X

Can Apple's OS X make the Mac more reliable and still easy to use?  01 Dec 2000

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