Apple updates iWork for iCloud with persistent document settings, keyboard shortcut tips, more
Apple on Tuesday updated its iWork for iCloud productivity suite with new functions that make switching between OS X, iOS and the cloud a less jarring experience.
First spotted by The Loop, Apple's latest additions bring the cloud-based Pages, Numbers and Keynote more in line with current Mac and iOS versions as the company works to converge the suite into a more uniform user experience.
With the update, all three apps -- Pages, Numbers and Keynote -- get persistent document settings, which means iCloud "remembers," or syncs over, things like zoom level, last selected sheet or slide, show/hide guides and more.
In addition, the update also suggests a user's most recent screen name when opening a shared document, making it easier to quickly collaborate on a project. Previously, users had to choose their screen name to open a file.
iWork for iCloud now includes tips on how to invoke basic functions like cut/copy/paste using keyboard shortcuts. As seen in the image above, the new shortcut commands are displayed in the contextual Numbers pop-up menu much like the desktop version of the app.
Finally, right-clicking on an inserted image like the one above brings up a dynamic masking tool that can crop and size graphics.
Apple last updated iWork for iCloud in May by adding the ability to collaborate with up to 100 people and support for documents up to 1GB in size.
The latest iWork for iCloud version is rolling out now and can be used with a registered iCloud.com account.
First spotted by The Loop, Apple's latest additions bring the cloud-based Pages, Numbers and Keynote more in line with current Mac and iOS versions as the company works to converge the suite into a more uniform user experience.
With the update, all three apps -- Pages, Numbers and Keynote -- get persistent document settings, which means iCloud "remembers," or syncs over, things like zoom level, last selected sheet or slide, show/hide guides and more.
In addition, the update also suggests a user's most recent screen name when opening a shared document, making it easier to quickly collaborate on a project. Previously, users had to choose their screen name to open a file.
iWork for iCloud now includes tips on how to invoke basic functions like cut/copy/paste using keyboard shortcuts. As seen in the image above, the new shortcut commands are displayed in the contextual Numbers pop-up menu much like the desktop version of the app.
Finally, right-clicking on an inserted image like the one above brings up a dynamic masking tool that can crop and size graphics.
Apple last updated iWork for iCloud in May by adding the ability to collaborate with up to 100 people and support for documents up to 1GB in size.
The latest iWork for iCloud version is rolling out now and can be used with a registered iCloud.com account.
Comments
New features are welcome in iWork for iCloud... Thanks Apple!
Is iWorks back to the feature set it had before the shit was ripped out of it? Or is it still crippled?
If you actually gave a shit, and even used iWork, you would do the research and find out (not so hard), instead of presenting such a trollish, mind-numbingly idiotic statement. "Shit ripped out of it"? "Crippled"? Yeah, ok. It has more features than it even had before it was rebuilt from the ground up (your definition of "the shit was ripped out of it"), as well as the bonus of being faster, more stable, and having 100% compatibility and collaboration features between OSX, iOS, and the web.
It's anything but "crippled". Some of you can't see 2 feet beyond your own nose.
If you actually gave a shit, and even used iWork, you would do the research and find out (not so hard), instead of presenting such a trollish, mind-numbingly idiotic statement. "Shit ripped out of it"? "Crippled"? Yeah, ok. It has more features than it even had before it was rebuilt from the ground up (your definition of "the shit was ripped out of it"), as well as the bonus of being faster, more stable, and having 100% compatibility and collaboration features between OSX, iOS, and the web.
It's anything but "crippled". Some of you can't see 2 feet beyond your own nose.
I needed a good laugh, thanks.
I've found that each version is getting better and better. All apps are very useable. I've starting using Keynote instead of PPT for many things at work simply because it has almost no legacy baggage.
Sooo, you don't the answer either?
But, but, but....is better and better yet back to where it once was???
I use the new pages for Mac and for iOS everyday. I've gotten used to the new interface, and I do kinda like it. It feels less complicated. There are still a couple of features that I really miss and can't wait till they get added back in. Number one for me is that in the old pages you could rearrange pages just by dragging them around in the side bar. In the new pages you can only rearrange whole "sections" which might be many many many pages long each.
I find pages to be just as fast as the old version. However, when it comes to Numbers, the old version was actually much faster. I don't know why the new version isn't as fast. I assume it just hasn't had time to get optimized. But,if you have a sheet with say 10,000 rows, scrolling up and down is brutal. The screen doesn't have time to repaint while scrolling and so the check board pattern is showing most of the time that you're scrolling. The old numbers never had this problem.
Fortunately, in my job, I don't use numbers but maybe once or twice a month. And I am convinced that they'll fix the problems. BTW, being able to seamlessly go from iOS pages to Mac pages with a document stored in iCloud is the friggen bomb! I can work on my iMac and when I have to go to the can, I can carry on almost immediately with the ipad on my lap. About a one minute delay or less in getting the update.
... I can work on my iMac and when I have to go to the can, I can carry on almost immediately with the ipad on my lap. About a one minute delay or less in getting the update.
Now that's what I call time management...
Good stuff – though unless I'm missing something, the masking is only cropping to a rectangle, not the ability to mask to any shape (as on iWork for Mac).
These are literally the only 3 things keeping me from ditching Microsoft Office forever.
Well if you're referring to only the web apps, they're better with each iteration. I never used the OS X apps, only the web and ios versions.
I timed it from updating a doc from ios to when it shows up on a computer running Firefox in Windows and Safari on Mavericks. On the average, the update takes 30-50 seconds to auto sync. The cool trick is to have the same doc open between two computers - there's no lag at all; you can see your typing on the other computer instantly, pretty much real time.
Apple does:
http://www.apple.com/productivity-apps/whats-new/numbers/
Sharing
New “view only” setting lets you share spreadsheets you want others to view but not edit
View a list of spreadsheets others have shared with you in the document manager
Share password-protected spreadsheets
Print your spreadsheets directly from the Tools menu
Collaboration
Collaborate with up to 100 people at the same time
View the list of collaborators currently in a spreadsheet
See cursors and selections for everyone in a spreadsheet
Jump to a collaborator’s cursor by clicking the name in the collaborator list
Jump to a collaborator’s sheet selection
Watch images and shapes animate as your collaborators move them around
Working with data
Create and format 2D and interactive charts
Flow text into adjacent cells
Keyboard shortcuts for precise rotating, resizing, and repositioning of objects
Create links using the HYPERLINK function
Conditional highlighting rules are preserved on import
Custom data formats are preserved on import
Pop-up menus are preserved on import
Design tools
Almost 200 new fonts
More color options in the format panel
Apply rich formatting to text in table cells
Turn on Alternating Row Color in tables
Insert images up to 10MB in size
Microsoft Excel compatibility
Open password-protected Numbers ’09 and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
Accessibility
Improved VoiceOver support for document manager
Usability and performance
All-new design
Use folders to organize your spreadsheets
Drag and drop to reorder sheets
Open spreadsheets directly from iCloud Mail
Edit spreadsheets up to 1GB in size
Export to CSV
Improved CSV import
Support for Retina display
http://www.apple.com/productivity-apps/whats-new/pages/
Word processing
Improved EndNote support, including citations in footnotes
View character count with or without spaces
Copy-paste style improvements
Start a list automatically using new special characters
New Arabic and Hebrew templates
Improved support for bidirectional text
Word count for Hebrew
Design tools
Center and edge guides are on by default
Delete, duplicate, and reorder sections using the page navigator
Inline images and shapes in table cells are preserved on import
Show rulers as a percentage of document size
Improved Instant Alpha image editing
Media Browser improvements, including search
Create charts with date, time, and duration values
Create custom data formats
Control the z-order of bubble chart labels
Sharing
New “view only” setting lets you share documents you want others to view but not edit
Share password-protected documents via iCloud link
Improved ePub export
Microsoft Word compatibility
Improved compatibility with Microsoft Word 2013 documents
Export password-protected documents to DOCX format
Custom number formats in charts are preserved on import of Pages ’09 and Microsoft Word documents
Usability and performance
Customize the toolbar with your most important tools
Better placement of inserted and pasted objects
Improved text box behavior
Improved AppleScript support
http://www.apple.com/productivity-apps/whats-new/keynote/
Sharing
New “view only” setting lets you share presentations you want others to view but not edit
View a list of presentations others have shared with you in the document manager
Print your presentations directly from the Tools menu
Share password-protected presentations via iCloud link
Open attachments directly from iCloud Mail
Collaboration
Collaborate with up to 100 people at the same time
View the list of collaborators currently in a presentation
See cursors and selections for everyone in a presentation
Jump to a collaborator’s cursor by clicking the name in the collaborator list
Watch images and shapes animate as your collaborators move them around
Jump to a collaborator’s slide selection
Editing
Almost 200 new fonts
Insert, edit, and format inline tables
Show and hide slide numbers
Insert images up to 10MB in size
Charting
Create and format 2D and interactive charts
Update charts using the chart data editor
Microsoft PowerPoint compatibility
Export to PPTX format
Open password-protected Keynote ’09 and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations
Usability and performance
All-new design
Improvements to accessibility
Improved support for Retina display
Edit documents up to 1GB in size
This article would be a better one if it had this info included from Apple.
Considering Apple rewrote the apps from the ground up, it didn't rip anything out. It just elected not to include certain features and to include different features it didn't include with the old software. Considering the software is free it seems strange you wouldn't just check it out to answer your own question.
Serious question: Are there any usable workarounds for Endnote referencing support, mailmerge and pivot tables?
These are literally the only 3 things keeping me from ditching Microsoft Office forever.
Don't know about two others, but regarding pivot tables (one of the coolest things in Excel):
No the Numbers does not have support for Pivot tables.
http://www.apple.com/mac/numbers/compatibility/
And as I have heard, the closest thing was Category View, and that's gone in the recent upgrade.
Or perhaps your too dim witted to ask a proper question, like specifying what alleged features you are missing.
Which brings me to a slightly off topic thought I often have ... why can't we have non web based internet apps on the Mac? Watching the ESPN app for the world cup has been fabulous, going to ESPN web site on the Mac isn't even close. The same app could run on a Mac in a heart beat!
The new Pages has a downloadable plugin so you can use EndNote with it. Check here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6009
I guess that mail merge and pivot tables aren't part of the new iWork until this day, unfortunately.
Anyway to answer: Pages still lacks a lot of features from the old version (4.x) and the usability of managing images and setting/getting styles is horrible.
Other than that it's a nice but simple word processor.