Skip to content
Thoughtful, detailed coverage of everything Apple for 33 years
and the TidBITS Content Network for Apple professionals
11 comments

Pages 5.6, Numbers 3.6, and Keynote 6.6 for Mac

Apple has updated its trio of iWork apps for the Mac — Pages 5.6, Numbers 3.6, and Keynote 6.6 — with some hefty improvements. Collectively, the three productivity apps now support Split View in OS X 10.11 El Capitan, provide haptic feedback when you force-click an image using a Force Touch trackpad, add support for opening iWork ’08 and ’06 documents, enable you to preview documents on iOS and Android browsers, improve access to recently used fonts in the Fonts menu, add the capability to create table, chart, and shape styles from an image, and provide enhanced support for OpenType font
features such as small caps, contextual fractions, alternative glyphs, and more.

The three apps gain several VoiceOver enhancements, including the capability to add and review comments, plus edit chart data and chart elements. Pages also enables you to track changes using VoiceOver, while Keynote adds support for reading presenter notes during slideshows. The triumvirate also improve support for exporting to their Microsoft Office brethren (and Pages gets improved EPUB export); improve compatibility for charts, text overflows, and non-rectangular masks imported from Microsoft Office; and receive additional AppleScript options for PDF export.

Additionally, the iOS and iCloud versions of the productivity apps have been updated with many of the same features noted above (though 3D Touch replaces Force Touch for the iOS versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote). The updates for both OS X and iOS are free.

Speaking of iCloud, Michael Cohen (author of Take Control of Pages) was excited to find that Pages for iCloud now lets you view tracked changes in a document that has change tracking turned on. However, he was let down after realizing that it is truly view only. In fact, if a document has any tracked changes from Pages for Mac or iOS, Pages for iCloud won’t allow you to edit the document at all. ($19.99 new for Pages, 224 MB; $19.99 new for Numbers, 166 MB; $19.99 new for Keynote, 456 MB; all three require 10.10.4+)

Subscribe today so you don’t miss any TidBITS articles!

Every week you’ll get tech tips, in-depth reviews, and insightful news analysis for discerning Apple users. For over 33 years, we’ve published professional, member-supported tech journalism that makes you smarter.

Registration confirmation will be emailed to you.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. The Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Comments About Pages 5.6, Numbers 3.6, and Keynote 6.6 for Mac