If you're a Mac user, you face a dilemma: Do you choose Apple's own AppleWorks (AW), its most popular software product outside of the Mac OS itself, or Microsoft's Office 98, an office suite that's like AppleWorks on steroids. And while AppleWorks 5.x comes preloaded on all iMac machines and a newer version costs only $79, Office will cost you around $250.

There's no doubt that Office packs more punch than AppleWorks. But a lot of that punch will never be needed by your average user. And if you want to pump up AW, you can purchase the latest version and a handful of enhancement-adding utilities and still spend slightly less cash and consume lots less RAM than you would with Office 98.

Apple recently upgraded AppleWorks to version 6. The product sports more than 100 new features and a revamped look designed to make it more aesthetically compatible with the latest Mac OS appearance. Plus, it adds a presentation component and drops the outdated communications module, making it more akin in features to Microsoft Office.

However, AW 6 has drawn mixed reviews from the Mac community. And though AW 5.x is still being bundled with consumer systems (iMacs and iBooks), it will eventually be phased out in favor of the latest version.

On the plus side, AppleWorks now features a series of floating, customizable toolbars that are semitransparent, letting you see through them to documents underneath. The interface is easy to configure. Multiple column widths on a single page are now easy to produce with the new Column tool.

The new version was written to take advantage of new features in Mac OS X, due this summer. AW 6 has an aqua appearance designed to complement OS X's user interface.

The new auto-save feature will save a copy of open documents in the Startup Items folder. If you restart after a system crash, AppleWorks will automatically re-open the document at startup, though you can disable this feature if you wish.

Plus, you can now browse clip-art on a Web site from within the Starting Points window and drag it directly into your document. And the beefed-up AppleScript support is solid, if not spectacular.

On the minus side, performance--such as opening and closing windows and dialog boxes--is more sluggish than that of version 5.x, at least on pre-Power Mac G3 systems. AppleWorks 6 also has a tendency to crash or freeze your system (although Apple now has fixed this problem--more on that later). It's also something of a downgrade in terms of compatibility. Once a fine example of cross-platform integration, the newest version doesn't ship with any file translators. Even reading Rich Text Format files is now a headache.

Despite all this, AppleWorks 6 can serve the needs of the majority of Mac users if they get their hands on the following items:

Item 1: Apple's CarbonLib extension 1.0.3. This is very important for system stability when using AW 6. Without going into a long technical explanation, let me just say that CarbonLib 1.0.3 addresses several outstanding customer issues and improves system stability when using Carbon-based applications such as AW 6.

Carbon is the modified version of the Mac OS application programming interface that lets applications be rewritten with relative ease for Mac OS X. So CarbonLib 1.0.3 is designed to let developers write an application with one set of sources deployed across Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X systems with minimal effort. You can get a free download of this must-have extension.

Item 2: CanOpener from Abbott Systems. At $65, it's indispensable for recovering text from damaged files--from AppleWorks 6 or other programs. Sometimes crashing, freezing, or ornery system glitches can corrupt files on your computer. When you try to open that valuable paper only to get a File Corrupted message, you may feel like crying, cursing or both.

CanOpener can open files that other recovery tools are ready to declare dead. Believe us, it's a lifesaver, indispensable for recovering text from damaged files. It lets you read any file--and extract the text and pictures you need. It's great for browsing all types of files, including foreign files.

It even lets you view virus-infected files without launching the virus, so you can safely check suspect files and recover text from them--a great way to avoid virus infections in the first place. CanOpener also reads the formats of more than 25 picture files, and lets you convert pictures between different formats.

CanOpener has special text filters that let you extract names, phone numbers, URLs, e-mail, Web, and IP addresses; strip HTML coding; remove extra carriage returns and blank spaces from e-mail and Web text; extract important sentences such as questions or anything containing dollar signs and numbers; and quickly find clean text in files that contain huge amounts of garbage.

And you're not limited to opening files individually. You can drag and drop any file, or a folder full of files, to do bulk extraction using any of the special text-extraction filters.

Item 3: DataViz's Mac-LinkPlus, a $99.95 Mac utility that converts files to and from various Mac, Windows and DOS formats-and keeps the original formatting. Why should you want it? Consider this: You use an iMac to write all your papers in AppleWorks. Your boss wants everything submitted in a Word for Windows format. Or what if you use AW 6, and your associate needs your report in an AppleWorks 5.0 for Mac format? MacLinkPlus Deluxe can convert the files and make everyone happy.

Item 4: Mac expert Bob LeVitus' "AppleWorks 6 for Dummies." The manual that accompanies AW 6.0 isn't much thicker than the paper this article is printed on. This reference for the rest of us can be ordered from IDG Books and will set you back about $20.

Item 5: T&B's Enhancement Pack for AppleWorks, which provides 40 extra features (some of them quite Office-like) for AppleWorks. They include Table of Contents, Small Caps and Word Caps, Dashed Lines, Join Prism Corners, Document Compare, Text Along Arc, thick spreadsheet cell borders, and functions such as Median, Mode, and Linear Regression.

Once installed, these enhancements are accessed simply by selecting the new menu items in AppleWorks. The features are facilitated through AppleScript. The Enhancement Pack is shareware, ranging from $20 for a single user down to $2 per copy in a site license. Registered users of previous versions can upgrade for free.

Item 6: A membership in the AppleWorks Users Group, an independent support group with more than 15,000 members in the United States and 51 other countries, all dedicated to helping AppleWorks users. Membership is $39 per year, which gets you:

Ten issues of the AppleWorks Journal, a 24-page monthly newsletter that describes tips, techniques, and hints that help users get more from AppleWorks. Unlimited telephone support from AWUG's 75 volunteer consultants. The Members Helping Members database is also available in Adobe Acrobat format for Mac or Windows users. Unlimited access to AWUG's Web site and other electronic services. You can use these services to get answers to your questions and download AWUG's AppleWorks templates, utilities, system extensions, system updates, and software updates 24 hours a day. Access to AWUG's Public Domain Library, which offers hundreds of templates and files, and thousands of AppleWorks-compatible fonts, utility programs, AppleWorks enhancements and demonstration versions of programs from commercial vendors. The AWUG Public Domain Library is also a convenient source for the latest Apple system enhancements.

OK, you've spent around $200 so far. But you now own some utility programs that will serve you well beyond your use of AppleWorks. Besides, keep this in mind: With AppleWorks and two freebies from Microsoft, Internet Explorer, and Outlook Express, you'll be able to do all the tasks that most computer users undertake: Word processing, Web browsing, and correspondence via e-mail.

Plus, you can do some artwork, create presentations, tackle databases, and make spreadsheets. And if you have an iMac DV, you even have software (iMovie) for making your own movies.

Being a nice guy, I'll be back next month with tips and techniques that won't cost you a dime.

Contributing Editor Dennis Sellers is senior editor at MacSense.