

- #APPLEWORKS FOR MAC OS X UPDATE#
- #APPLEWORKS FOR MAC OS X UPGRADE#
- #APPLEWORKS FOR MAC OS X SOFTWARE#
With AppleWorks 6, there’s no easy way to inspect the attributes of the current text. You could also adjust these properties from the pop-up menus. In AppleWorks 5, the button bar could display pop-up menus that showed the font, size, and style of the current text. It also no longer supports multiple sets of buttons, which is bound to disappoint some users, although I’m not among them. The button bar has prettier icons than before, but it ends up being less useful.

Rollover buttons that don’t look like buttons. Thankfully, with AppleWorks 6, the interface changes are mostly relegated to the floating palettes and the button bar, which now features Office 98–style Who has to put up with the trendy non-standard interfaces? We do, of course. If Apple won’t follow its own guidelines, it sets a poor example for other developers. This is particularly unfortunate for AppleWorks, as it comes from Apple. And, like IE 5, the new look does nothing to improve usability and has some significant drawbacks, not least of which is that the new parts look nothing like a standard Macintosh application. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 5, AppleWorks 6 has a new look that kinda, sorta looks like Mac OS X’s Aqua. The first thing you’ll notice about AppleWorks 6 is its new look. That’s the short version of the review read on to find out what Apple did right, what it did wrong, and whether you should buy. The improvements are welcome and nicely done, but the usability of the program has regressed to the point where I feel that version 6 is actually a downgrade. All of this sounds great, but the truth of the matter is that AppleWorks 6 is a mixed bag.
#APPLEWORKS FOR MAC OS X UPDATE#
It’s also the most significant update to the product since ClarisWorks 4, featuring tables (at last), a presentation module, and a new interface. AppleWorks 6 is the first major Mac application to be Carbonized for Mac OS X. Not only is it now bundled with new iMacs and iBooks, but Apple also holds it up to developers as a sign that they are eating their own dog food. Although Apple ignored great products such as Claris Emailer and HyperCard, it seemed to recognize the importance of AppleWorks and understand its appeal. FileMaker and HomePage were spun off as FileMaker, Inc., and as Apple rightly recognized that ClarisWorks was an essential product for the consumer and education markets that its new i-products were targeting, it took ClarisWorks for itself and renamed it AppleWorks.
#APPLEWORKS FOR MAC OS X UPGRADE#
It was not the upgrade most hoped for.Īpple soon resorbed Claris, jettisoning all its products except FileMaker Pro, HomePage, and ClarisWorks. (“It’s all the office you need.”) Sadly, this was one of only a few minor changes between versions 4 and 5. ClarisWorks was always popular in education, and with version 5 Claris introduced a Word 5–like button bar to help the product gain acceptance with small businesses. Soon after, it was the only one left standing. Although early versions of BeagleWorks and Symantec’s GreatWorks put ClarisWorks to shame, Claris persevered until version 4 became the clear champion of the integrated productivity suites.
#APPLEWORKS FOR MAC OS X SOFTWARE#
The new name still elicits happy memories from my Apple II computing days, when AppleWorks was the only productivity software one needed.


Requirements: Power Mac with Mac OS 8.1 or higher, 24 MB of RAM.ĪppleWorks 6 is the long-awaited revision of the integrated suite formerly known as ClarisWorks.
