Apple updates iWork apps for Mac & iOS with new shape libraries, other enhancements
Apple on Tuesday updated both the Mac and iOS editions of its iWork suite, primarily adding 500 new shapes that can be inserted into any Pages, Numbers, or Keynote document.
Some Pages updates shared across both platforms include the ability to add linked text boxes, reply to comments in threaded conversations, and alter margins, headers, footers, and paper size when collaborating on a file. There are also new auto-correct and text replacement options, and support for exporting documents as fixed-layout ePub files.
The same conversation, auto-correct, and text replacement features have been added to Numbers and Keynote. Changes specific to Numbers include print preview in collaborations, and the use of the previous market day's close for the Insert Stock Quote feature and Stock and Currency functions.
The iOS version of Keynote has a new Light Table view and support for editing presenter notes while examining slides. The Mac app already had a Light Table view, but now supports editing presenter notes.
All of the iWork apps are free downloads for everyone thanks to recent policy changes. Many newer devices should already have the software pre-installed.
Some Pages updates shared across both platforms include the ability to add linked text boxes, reply to comments in threaded conversations, and alter margins, headers, footers, and paper size when collaborating on a file. There are also new auto-correct and text replacement options, and support for exporting documents as fixed-layout ePub files.
The same conversation, auto-correct, and text replacement features have been added to Numbers and Keynote. Changes specific to Numbers include print preview in collaborations, and the use of the previous market day's close for the Insert Stock Quote feature and Stock and Currency functions.
The iOS version of Keynote has a new Light Table view and support for editing presenter notes while examining slides. The Mac app already had a Light Table view, but now supports editing presenter notes.
All of the iWork apps are free downloads for everyone thanks to recent policy changes. Many newer devices should already have the software pre-installed.
Comments
Glad to see that is now fixed.
I am one of the hold-outs still using the 'old' Pages. There are two big reasons for that and one is the ability to link text boxes so that text flows between them...and it's just been reinstated and, at a quick look, it seems like it works. Well done Apple.
The other reason I'm a hold-out has not, sadly, been addressed. Pages 6.2 continues not to be able to cope with double-page spreads for which, IMHO, two related features are essential. The first is the need for reflected margins on alternate pages, so the binding edge of the page can have a wider margin than the edge you actually turn. The second is the need for a double page (facing page) view, so the designer can understand the two page combination that the reader will see when the 'book' is open. These are arguably only needed for documents that will end up as hard-copy but that remains quite important in many workflows.
Still, I am encouraged by the text box linking and the new shapes are useful too so it remains great news.
Without support for facing pages, you can't use it to write a book.
Speaking of which, as much as I appreciate that many features are ported to the whole suite, I have a tiny nitpick that I wish they could fix in the App Store 'Updates' notes for these apps. They should list the specific updates for the App, then a small 'iWork Updates' header, then group those common updates so we can stop and not reread them for each app. Yes, no biggie but the iWork features often outnumber the app ones anyway and they intersperse them in no particular order.
As for iWork I use it all the time and would never go back to Office or even Libre/Open Office. It does everything that most people need to do and that's great because most people don't need macros which are probably 90% in existence because Office sucks balls in the first place.
But that's just my not so humble opinion.
iWork does great for the masses who have no need of the few (but necessary?) power user features that are in full blown office suites like MS Office (and others which are actually free). I haven't used Office for years and I miss not one single thing from that bloated, user-interface-mess of a suite, and the 20+ years I've spent in IT I think only once did I use a feature that wasn't in iWork. Office is a racket forced upon ignorant CFOs/CIOs and fiscally irresponsible IT Managers who hate free software and are rabidly pro-M$. The number of people who actually need power features, let them have that suite and pay for it for them, for the rest, get something else, at least get something that's free, what a waste of money if not.
I almost didn't click through from my RSS feed reader because the summary made this look like nothing. Who cares about the shape library? The important part is the dribbling reluctuant return of some of ht Pages '09 features.
I'm glad to see the linked text boxes. I just tried to use one the other day and has a bit of a FFS moment, because I couldn't believe they hadn't returned it yet.
Does anyone know what other major features we are still missing? Rich content in table cells? I see the other comments here about facing pages. It shouldn't take 8 years still not to reach parity. Pages 09 itself still hasn't quick managed all the features of AppleWorks when it replaced it, which was funny, because AppleWorks/ClarisWorks never managed to achieve all the features of MacWrite II. I'm damn sure that there were MacWrite II features that have still not made it back.
On the other side of the fence, MS Word can still load documents from over 20 years ago. To the cloud.