iWork for iCloud Gets Another Update
Apple has once again rolled out new versions of its Web browser-hosted iWork for iCloud apps, much as it has done several times since it first released the completely revamped, iCloud-friendly iWork last October (see “New Free iLife and iWork Apps Share across Devices and Platforms,” 22 October 2013). The latest update affects all of the iWork for iCloud apps but, unlike previous updates to the browser apps, this one does not require updated versions of the Mac or iOS iWork apps in order to maintain compatibility.
A number of the changes affect all of the apps:
- The capability to collaborate with as many as 100 people on the same document simultaneously.
- The inclusion of nearly 200 new fonts.
-
The addition of more color options in the Format Panel.
-
The capability to create and format both 2D and interactive charts.
Changes that affect individual iWork for iCloud apps include the following:
- Pages: Documents can be exported as EPUBs, and the stacking order of objects on the page can now be controlled.
-
Numbers: Spreadsheets can be exported in CSV (comma-separated values) format.
-
Keynote: Slide numbers can be revealed or hidden.
Along with these changes have come slight tweaks to the user interfaces of the apps. For example, the Help command in Pages for iCloud documents, which had migrated from the document toolbar to the Tools menu in a previous release, has migrated back to the document toolbar in the latest iteration.
You will doubtless encounter other changes, so be wary of relying on habit or muscle memory. However, you will at least have some warning that things have changed: the first time you open one of the revised apps, you’ll see a page listing the changes. If you summarily dismissed that page because you just wanted to get on with your work, don’t worry: Apple has a What’s New in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote page that summarizes all the changes to all the apps — iCloud, iOS, and Mac — that have been made since their initial releases.
Would like to see a search function for iWork documents on the iPhone and iPad. Now, finding a document involves scrolling, a lot of it, when there are lots of files.
If you mean being able to find a particular document on an iWork app's document manager screen, you can. This tip is from my pre-book, Take Control of Pages, but it applies to all the iWork apps:
Drag down in the document manager screen to see both a search field and the sorting controls for your documents. (If a folder is open, you will need to drag twice—the first drag closes the folder.) You can search for documents by name, and you can sort documents and folders by name or by the date each item was last modified.
For all the changes and improvements they can make in iWork, why can they not add the ability to lock cells in a Numbers spreadsheet? Or am I missing something? Don't want to have to use a Table to do this. In a spreadsheet with many cells containing formulas, one inadvertent click or entry renders the spreadsheet useless.
Have you submitted feedback to Apple about this?
In any case, unless for some reason your copy of Numbers lacks the Undo command, or the Revert command, "one inadvertent click or entry" should not render a spreadsheet useless.