Word processing software
From MacFAQ
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[edit] Mellel
RedleX, $49, http://www.redlers.com/
Mellel is a Cocoa-based word processor with an unique iTunes-like interface and 'magnetic' palettes. The great strength of Mellel is shown when editing long structured documents, particularly those using non-Western languages and when creating academic papers with links to reference material. Be warned though, the implementation of independent character and paragraph styles plus Auto-Titles can often make for a long learning curve. Up till version 2.1 Mellel used a proprietary file format, preventing files being exchanged to any other platforms or application. Mellel 2.1 onwards uses an XML format with all the data and images files stored within an package and it is just about possible to amend files with a text editor and and amend any images directly.
[edit] Microsoft Word
Microsoft, around £80, http://www.microsoft.com
Word is the elephant in the room when it comes to word processing - as much as we may like to, impossible to ignore. The great strength of Word (and Office in general) on the Mac is the fact that it provides a means to use the de-facto standard for corporate documentation custom templates. With the latest version of Word (Office 2008) Microsoft have dropped all Visual Basic support within the application suite which takes away much of that compatibility. Microsoft Word is reviewed elsewhere on this site in more detail.
The main problems with Word are:
1. Text is not rendered onto the screen as beautifully as it is in the the other applications listed here.
2. Scrolling in documents is poor. I tend to work with long tech docs so this is important.
3. It feels buggy and particularly unresponsive with large docs.
[edit] Nisus Writer Express/Pro
Nisus Software, $45/$79, http://www.nisus.com
Again, Nisus Writer Express is a Cocoa word processor, in this case using RTF to save files which means that, while not an open format, files can be used cross-platform and RTF is likely to be around for a while. NWE has a fantastically simple implementation of paragraph and character styles and also supports Linkback allowing graphics to be directly edited in the application that first created them. NWE uses a heavily modified version of Appleís text layout engine and the user interface closely follows Apple's human interface guidelines.
The functionality of NWE is a long way behind the original Nisus Writer although the recently released Nisus Writer Pro may mean it is catching-up and becoming much more capable.
[edit] Pages
Apple, £69, http://www.apple.com
Compared to the other applications listed here Pages stand out as being a mini-DTP application as well as a word processor - a poor man's InDesign. The templates provided within the application allow a range of professional looking documents to be created with very little effort. While Pages is not a Microsoft Word killer, it is extremely good at importing Word documents and retaining the original document layout.
