Help Desk Blogger

Updated September 2026: in 2020 I listed the features Apple Pages needed to catch up with Microsoft Word, grammar checking first. Both apps have changed a lot since, so I have rewritten this around where the gap stands now and who should use which.

I have used Pages on a MacBook Pro for years alongside Microsoft Word for office work. In 2020 my complaint was simple: Word caught grammar mistakes Pages missed, and Pages hid its formatting options in ways that slowed me down. I suggested Apple should buy or build a proper grammar tool. Some of that has happened.

Has Pages closed the grammar gap?

Partly. On Macs that support Apple Intelligence, Pages gets Apple's Writing Tools, which can proofread, rewrite and summarise selected text. That is a real step up from the basic spell check I was comparing against in 2020. Word, meanwhile, has Microsoft Editor built in, and Microsoft 365 subscribers get Copilot inside Word for drafting and rewriting. For careful grammar and style suggestions on long documents, Word still gives more control. Writing Tools also depends on your Mac and language settings, so check it is available on yours.

Is Pages still harder to format in?

It is different rather than harder. Pages puts formatting in the sidebar Format panel, organised around paragraph and character styles. Once you work with styles instead of formatting text by hand, it becomes quick. Word's ribbon exposes more options at once, which suits people who move between many documents with different templates. My 2020 frustration was mostly about habit, and the fix is learning Pages styles.

Which features still favour Word?

• Working with others on Windows: Word files round-trip reliably; Pages can export to .docx, but complex layouts, comments and tracked changes can shift on the way.
• Long structured documents: references, cross-references and heavy review cycles are more mature in Word.
• Company templates: most offices build templates in Word, and they rarely convert cleanly.

When is Pages the better choice?

• Personal and design-led documents: newsletters, flyers and reports with images are faster to lay out in Pages.
• Cost: Pages is free on every Mac, iPhone and iPad; Word needs a Microsoft 365 subscription for full editing.
• Apple devices: documents sync through iCloud and open on iPhone and iPad without a subscription.

How do you move a document between them safely?

Export from Pages with File, Export To, Word, and open the result in Word before you send it, rather than trusting that it converted cleanly. Check headers, footers, tables and any images placed inline with text, which are the elements that move most often. Going the other way, Pages opens .docx files directly, but keep the original Word file as the master copy if a colleague will edit it again.

So should you switch?

Use both, for different jobs, which is what I have always done. Anything that will be edited by a Windows-using colleague or client belongs in Word. Anything personal, visual or Apple-only is quicker in Pages. The grammar gap I wrote about in 2020 is narrower now; the compatibility gap is the one that still decides it.

Keep reading

• How latest iWork update impacts old Mac users
• Comet Browser Assistant vs Chrome: Where Google Falls Behind
• Microsoft 365 Family vs Google One for Photo Backup

Updated September 2026: this post began as my March 2020 diary of waiting for my manager to allow work from home as Covid-19 spread. Remote work is now a normal, negotiated arrangement, so I have rewritten it as a guide to asking for work from home well, with what that period taught me.

In early 2020 the coronavirus was spreading city by city. Traffic on my commute thinned, colleagues were quietly asking their onsite counterparts about working from home, and when I asked my manager, he said he would wait and decide. Within weeks the question was settled for everyone by lockdowns.

Six years on, work from home is rarely an emergency request. It is a negotiation over days, roles and trust. The lessons from that spring still apply.

Why did so many managers hesitate in 2020?

Mostly uncertainty. Few had managed a fully remote team, client contracts sometimes specified where work could be done, and nobody knew how productivity would hold up. The hesitation was less about distrust of individuals than fear of being the manager who got it wrong. Understanding that helps, because the same worries sit behind most refusals today.

How should you ask for work from home now?

• Know the policy first. Most large IT companies publish a hybrid policy with a minimum number of office days. Ask for something inside it, or explain clearly why you need an exception.
• Lead with the work. Say which tasks you do better remotely, such as focused documentation or late calls with overseas teams, and which you will still do in person.
• Offer a trial. Four to six weeks with a review at the end is easy for a manager to agree to and easy to extend.
• Put it in writing. A short email after the conversation avoids "I never agreed to that" later.

What should you avoid?

Asking in a crisis, when the manager is already stretched. Comparing yourself to a colleague who got approval, which makes it about fairness rather than work. And disappearing once approved. Being reachable during agreed hours is what keeps an arrangement alive.

What if the answer is no?

Ask what would change it. Sometimes the answer is a client requirement you cannot influence; sometimes it is a concern about a specific task that you can address. If you have a genuine need, such as caring for a family member, say so plainly and ask HR what formal options exist. A written refusal with a reason is more useful than a vague "not now", because it tells you whether to wait, adjust, or look elsewhere.

Looking back at March 2020

My manager's "let's wait and see" was frustrating then. What would have helped was a concrete proposal on my side: which work, which days, how I would stay reachable. It is the same proposal that gets a remote arrangement approved today.

Keep reading

• What a Fair Hybrid Work Policy Should Include
• Work Arriving Just Before Your Leave: What to Do
• Why Employees Resist the Return to Office