Apple iWork '06 (Mac DVD) [OLD VERSION] Buyer Reviews

I am a visual designer and use Central to mend CD presentations.Here is how I use it:* I start a Central presentation(s) with text and photos and transitions. When by a lot of text, still photos, graphics etc., you can start amazing presentations far stuck-up to PowerPoint with look of templates, ease of use, cleverness to potential transitions. It's stuck-up if you want a stuck-up refined manufactured goods. These presentations can be used lonely or you can go additional than a "slideshow" into the realm of iMovie/iDVD.* Export as full-feature QuickTime show* Import QT show into iMovie* Combine record with Central presentation(s) and add audio (you can add audio in both Central and QuickTime, but you have a lot more potential in iMovie).* Next I import the iMovie into iDVD, start a menu page and have a sensational, low-priced CD presentationAs for Pages. As a 21 year Mac user, if all I had was Publisher (which is not void for the Mac anyhow) or Pages to start good looking newsletters and flyers, then I would top out Pages any day. I would by no means use Word. Word is not a page describe curriculum---that's why they have Publisher. Even if, as a visual designer I use inDesign which expenditure in this area 8 era as much as Pages and Central collective. I hate to say it but Amazon's price for iWork6 of $73 is in the end the upgrade price. Apple made it low-cost to start with and you will more than get your cash's value. I'm not sure if you need to upgrade if you don't already love the curriculum.A additional tip: Buy Robin William's book, The Non-Designer's Top Book, stay on her suggestions and start making all you do look best.
- L. Craig

Easy to use word PC with a nice, minimalist boundary. But it does have some insignificant harms.Bad exporting map up your sheath, iWork's Pages doesn't spot or help assess grammar mistakes in ID. Has an okay "denote try out" map, even if. These facial appearance are important to me in view of the fact that I enter lots of ID. For these reasons, I took off one big star.
- O. Clah "Beetbox"

The fact that far more broadcast use Powerpoint than Keynote is a travesty. Keynote is far stuck-up is just about every position that I can think of. It is both easier to use and your can create much more impressive projects. It was extremely easy to gather how to make fairly sophisticated presentations. Keynote just has a WOW factor that cannot be denied.The word dispensation curriculum has some nice features, but seems to be kind of top bolt from the blue in its applications. For my uses, Microsoft Word still is far stuck-up. However, the clear superiority of Keynote makes this product a must buy.
- Robert P. Molina "Molingo"

I've old iWork for a digit of projects counting my wedding invitations which were sent to a certified laser printer and a Quicktime slideshow for job interviews. In cooperation Pages and Central are positively intuitive applications including shiny facial appearance allocate family users to yield approximately extremely kind ID and presentations.In cooperation applications recommend itself including approximately fantastic templates, even if I was disappointed not to discover a generous pool of addict-bent templates online.Pages, in fastidious, was what I was most attracted in, having familiarity including--but not the fiscal proclamation for--in cooperation Quark Xpress and InDesign. Even if, I exposed a foremost conundrum including Pages including the intention of owing to the curriculum so unreliable including the intention of I'm now extremely loath to use it for no matter what business including the intention of will be mutual. Including producing dozens of resumés in Pages, exporting them to PDF format, and mailing them to the makings employers, I ran into a few including the intention of would demand me to e-mail a tricky pretend.For approximately mind which I can no longer recall, I unbendable to print these resumés at a close 24-hour print crucial top. So I exported the PDFs, emailed them to the print crucial top, and as to pick of the litter them up. Sorry to say, the printouts were a garbled fix of illogical font. So I tried ended again, but got the constant consequences. Indeed this conundrum was due to the detail including the intention of the print crucial top was printing the ID by PCs and not Macs, I thought. But as I opened the ID on my Mac by Adobe harvest be fond of Booklover or Illustrator--extremely than Preview--I establish including the intention of the conundrum was not top bolt from the blue to PCs.Including a fleeting calculate on Apple's help pages, I establish others including the constant harms and here was no crumb or bring up to date void to fix it. I can no longer entrust Pages to yield ID old by anyone additional than for myself and quiver to reflect how loads of of my resumés and pocket in calligraphy were overlooked as the getting party was release competent to check over a fix of unsystematic font. Bring shame on on Apple for not releasing a fix for this celebrated conundrum in iWork '06 and I can release desire including the intention of it will be full vex of in '07.EDIT: Including conception the annotation which understood including the intention of the PDF conundrum is logic-wide and not iWork point, I've upgraded my rating to **** from **. I'd doubtless yield it 5-stars if approximately dependable put a stop to-platform export solution had been present (be fond of a dependable PDF export).
- Mr. Pen

iWork indeed has sufficient quirks to solicite criticism: Pages is terribly counterintuitive for a beginner, is not as commanding as Microsoft Word, and the suite lacks a database curriculum.But, I infer, having been manipulated by Microsoft for all our lives, Apple gets a break. The only reason Pages seems difficult to grasp at first is since we've been break down fed Microsoft Word for fifteen years; we're used to seeing the describe a certain way, and that's what we're comfortable with. Apple altered all that with Pages, so there is a learning curve, even though Pages is much simpler to use than Word.In any case, even if you intend to wait with Microsoft Word (the contemporary 2007 relief being a new leap in brainwashing, by the way) Apple's Keynote presentation software is more than sufficient to excuse the price tag. Keynote is elegant, easy to use, very commanding, and incredibly addictive.As is true with all Microsoft software, using PowerPoint is an encounter to be dreaded. Not only do you constantly fear of a frozen curriculum but also bugs with which to contend. Now, instead of concentrating on the project, you must also try to dredge up to endorsement the in rank every five minutes, be careful not to hit the ill-treat keystrokes to solicite an angry, childish response from PowerPoint, and sweetly inveigle your pad to wait supportive in anticipation of you can save over again. And the encounter is no less dreadful on a far more dependable Mac. The software just doesn't seem to converse with the logic. PowerPoint is like a disfigured outcome, constantly throwing irritability and causing hell.Keynote is like your neighbor's good son. You wish you could have agreed birth to such a wonderful outcome. Well...Apple's presentation software is, as stated before, austere. No mucking about with it as in PowerPoint. The describe is very intuitive; the templates are dreadfully more elegant than no matter what PowerPoint gets shipped with; and the software comes with caring utilities to maximize efficiency and productivity (as well as fun): from commanding estimate tables to affect-forming slide ring fence clippers to sticky clarification that you can apply to invidual slides as reminders for additional enhancement, Keynote has it all to make presentation enhancement a breeze.iWork is predictable Apple...perfect.
- Burt Reynolds "Burt"

iWork contains both Pages 2 (a word dispensation/page describe application) and Keynote 3 (a presentation application). These apps are designed to bring about as instinctively as iTunes, iPhoto and the other applications starting the iLife suite. In detail both Pages and Keynote are fully integrated with iLife so adding files starting any of the iLife applications to a Pages or Keynote paper is as straightforward as drag and drop.I mainly aid Pages and have produced newsletters, envelopes, flyers and personal letters. I'd estimate I worked an norm of 20 to 30 outline on the flyers I have produced, and most of that time was washed-out on the real text of the paper. Similar projects with all the formatting, colors, metaphors and boxes, have straightforwardly taken me double that time using Word and AppleWorks.Pages let you export your paper in Word, PDF and HTML formats, though I have found that the exported files now and again don't impeccably mirror the first. Drop shadows didn't grow and positioning was slightly off. Keynote has similar exporting problems. If you need to share real files with others, the exporting problems in iWork will give you practically a few headaches. Thankfully, I'm printing out all my documents or allotment them with other iWork users.The iWork boundary is seamless and beautiful and offers many helpful templates. These templates are so good that I'd be fond of to se even more of them included. Save for if the templates don't offer what you're looking for then iWork lets you make to order them to your tastes/desires or moreover create your very confess templates starting scratch. A few of the included templates give me a bit of lag as using them save for it's not anything egregious. Up your sleeve starting that insignificant quibble the release complaint I have is the vex I have exporting my files to other formats.If you routinely create letters, flyers or presentations, then you owe it to yourself to pick of the litter up iWork. Why? Water supply, iWork facility tricky for you by increasing your options and helping you create beautiful projects in a part of the time it would take with other software. And it does it all with a lovely visual flair.Though, users thinking of upgrading starting iWork '05 should perhaps pass the time for the next translation of this wrap since not anything that new has beeen inturoduced this time. About the release new feature added to iWork '06 is support for basic table functions. The rest of the additions are new templates and things, that while georgeous, don't improve or add to the functionality of either application.
- Bruce Aguilar

I was stunned when I ongoing by Pages v2... since I'd been convinced that Apple would by no means get a word PC aptly. AppleWorks pretty much sucked (tedious interface, restricted capabilities, by no means completely updated for Mac OS X). TextEdit is not anything more than a approximate recruit of an application.Pages, by draw a distinction, does all I need for letters, how-to ID, assembly clarification... that is, all that I want a word PC for (as opposed to a text editor, like BBEdiit).The map set in Pages is restricted compared to Word. For example, here are collaboration tools, but not as refined as Lexis. But for my wants -- confidential document creation -- the map set is perfectly adequate. In fact, I love it: bendable nested bulleted lists; splendid slogan and footer support; splendid style support; beautiful describe; export to PDF, Word, and HTML; manifold columns; observations; custom templates... and lots more.But what makes me love Pages, even more than the features, is the very clean, very discoverable interface. In fact, I wish the Mac OS X Finder were as well conceived as Pages. And the Pages interface leaves Lexis interface in the dual dust.(Not that I had vex with Word. I've used it for many being and had figured out how to do no matter what I looked-for to. But Word, as much as it was refined translation-to-translation and superior for Macintosh users, always felt a modest hostile to me.)Pages, on the other hand... Between the easily customizable Tool Bar and the elegant Checker dialogue box and the sane menu organize, I actually take pleasure in appearance up with reasons to create a Pages document. Even the online help for Pages is exemplary. I've always been able to find an resolution to my questions.Well done, Apple.
- M. Jason

I designed a brochure for my restaurant using Pages and it was splendid. I converted it to a PDF and sent it to be in black and colorless. The result was stunning. I would definitely urge it. Easy to use and powerful.
- Chris Connors

On the clear side the software is easy to use, and lets users start professional looking ID.On the halfhearted side, it has not truly be converted into the "next" AppleWorks as it was formerly described. AppleWorks users such as for myself never saw any database or list facial appearance in iWork. A additional thing we never saw was an upgrade price. I'm a registered AppleWorks user, and registered the first Central and iWork '05 as well. The first Central was gifted but median-of-the-road. With iWork '05 Central was MUCH best, and Pages was disappointing. iWork '06 seems to bring many bug fixes and improvements which in my attitude must have been a free bring up to date. Once again, there has not been any upgrade path for before users.This will doubtless make my assess "not helpful" for many readers, but I will say that I'm happier with Microsoft Personnel 2004. The underneath line is that I've used Word and PowerPoint more often than iWork (doubtless 98% vs. 2%). iWork is arresting since it is at the start cheaper and is positively easy to use, but after my experiences with the software I'll wait for iWork '07 or iWork '08. Personnel may be more high-priced, but for me it has been a best value since it also includes Following and Excel, and it is a more helpful tool that I use on a daily basis.For broadcast who are export iWork for the first time, or only need presentation/word dispensation/describe software, it may be worth it. I cultured the hard way not to hold Apple software in their early releases, and that disappointment -added to the lack of upgrade pricing- makes this version not worth it for me.
- Eddie

I'm loving the amalgamation of the stretch of aid of the templates and the flexibility of the curriculum. As an ancient Unix gearhead, I've lingering preferred tools such as LaTeX which allocate you to focus on content instead of formatting. At this calculate, you can plunk your text into a template and consent to Apple's designers agonize about the formatting, or you can create a fit of stylishness names (like "Bearing", "Subheading", "The boards Title", and including the intention of.) and then create the formatting pro all lone later.Word Processors have had styles before to, of course... save pro Pages makes styles the easiest way to do formatting, so including the intention of they in fact get old. Visual formatting is old where including the intention of makes implication (e.g., introduction cinema, rotating them, and including the intention of.), and the supplied templates are austerely beautiful.Finally, to assess a before assessor, Pages does have a standard spell taste out function - go to the Check ended menu, excellent the Spelling secondary-menu, and click "Spelling...", and you'll get a spell taste out of the total paper, by way of a dialog quantity including the intention of gives spelling suggestions.
- Travis S. Casey

Apple iWork '06 (Mac DVD) [OLD VERSION]

Start wonderful ID and cinema-feature presentations in synopsis with iWork ’06, counting Pages 2 and Central 3. Top out an Apple-calculated pattern, then add your own text, charts, tables, shapes, and iLife photos, movies, and composition. Start eyecatching three-dimensional charts, tables with calculations, freeform shapes and photo masks, and more. Pages 2 includes mail merge, auto-refinement, and new Page Thumbnails and Quest views. Central 3 facial appearance stunning new vigor equipment, a Set alight Table view, and tools to help you prepare, bestow, and circulate with ease. The commanding new facial appearance in iWork ‘06 make it easy to get just the look you want.