I tend to use Pages then export the file to Word. For prose this generally works fine, but for poetry or any text that requires precise positioning the Word file often needs attention. Publishers generally use Word, so I keep Microsoft Office on a Windows machine to edit my submissions, though I prefer to write on my M1 Mac. A lot of writers praise Ulysses but for me the results were worse.
I have tried Pages on my Ipad and found it different from Word. It needs some training. I am used to Word , so donāt want really to take the time to investigate and learn how it works. At work I will not have the time and on holidays I prefer to do something else. But thanks for sharing.
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When Pages etc. were first released I found it hopeless at dealing with Word and Excel documents, which often appeared as a complete mess. That was a few years ago, so I would hope that it was now working properly.
The problem is, whether we like it or not, MS Office has become a global standard, just like PDF files, and Photoshop (and of course VHS Tapes)
Although I think Photoshop has lost its appear since going subscription based. Iāll be devastated when my 2009 iMac dies as it runs CS6 very well, and it wont run on the latest OSās.
Iāve just updated my partnerās 2009 iMac and itās running Catalina very nicely with patches. There are other patches which can take it even further to Big Sur or Monterey.
Montereyā¦ I believeā¦ 
Yes, Monterey - large hands, small screenā¦
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The problem is that Photoshop CS6 relies on 32 bit components which later Apple OSās donāt support
Ah yes. However, my point is I reckon that with a fair wind your 2009 iMac could be around a fair bit longer. You could always run the earlier OS alongside a later one (boot into a separate partition or drive).
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Have a look at Google Docs; you āinteractā with it within a browser, but it is not half bad really. And free. I have been using it a fair bit for collaborative spreadsheets, and it has been ideal for that.
Being browser (& online) based, it is OS agnostic & the GUI will be the same on a PC, Mac or Linux.
I know google doc, itās the best I could find to have similar to word on my IPad. Maybe I should now compare it to Libre Office, on my new MacBook Air.
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If you always have access to the internet, then as long as you have a Microsoft account, you can get the Office apps free through a browser, as long as you are online. See https://www.office.com
It also uses your Onedrive share. But of course you do need to be online to run it from your browser.
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I donāt understand. So, if I have a Microsoft account, then I can access free to Word/ Excel? But what do you mean by being online? Online on the Microsoft site?
Exactly - providing you have internet access and a browser, you can access the apps free. Now I must add that I donāt use them, but an IT colleague of mine has been using it successfully for years. Just go to the MS link I put up and login (or Google microsoft office online)
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For extended prose works, you may find it worth trying Scrivener
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I like Scrivener and have used it for some years, off and on.
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