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Apple's iWork for iCloud Apps Gain New Collaboration Features

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Apr 12, 2001
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When Apple launched its new iWork updates at its October iPad-centric event, it also officially debuted iWork for iCloud, which is a browser-based version of its Pages, Numbers, and Keynote productivity software. Files edited in iWork for iCloud are designed to sync with the Mac and iOS versions of Apple's iWork software.

During the event, Apple showed off some impressive real-time collaboration features within the software, allowing multiple users to work on a document simultaneously and share changes easily.

As noted by 9to5Mac, iWork for iCloud today gained some new features to enhance its collaboration tools, including a list that displays all users currently editing a project, plus the ability to toggle on "cursors and selections" for each person to see changes in real time.

newicloud.jpg
The apps have also received new folders to make file organization simpler, printing can be done directly from the Tools menu, and it is now possible to skip slides within Keynote during playback.

The iWork for iCloud software is available to all users for free, and it can be accessed through Apple's iCloud.com website. Collaboration through the software is simple and can be initiated through sending a simple link to another user.

Article Link: Apple's iWork for iCloud Apps Gain New Collaboration Features
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/11/14/apples-iwork-for-icloud-apps-gain-new-collaboration-features/
scbn

scbn

macrumors 6502
Jul 25, 2010
272
22
I love it. Cooperation has become much easier with iWork for iCloud.
 
D

danielsutton

macrumors 6502
Jun 13, 2011
388
161
Very Reasurring

Apple is beginning to add more advanced features to their iWork lineup, and this is a very reassuring thing to see. Would be very nice, though, if they would add some security to the sharing features, as anyone with the link to the document can access and edit it. Permissions would be welcome, being able to set access passwords and privilege levels (read, write, read & write) would make it safer to share and collaborate. Over the next 6 months we will be seeing more features come to the iCloud, iOS, and OS X versions of the iWork programs, which will be very helpful. I think that since Apple owns FileMaker, Inc. (author of database software), the company should include FileMaker in its iWork offering, to create more parity with Microsoft Office, since that suite includes Access (another database offering). Apple will likely also add scripting support to its iWork software, and this will also be a nice addition. I am looking forward to seeing what Apple will do with its productivity software going forward.
 
R

rockland

macrumors newbie
Jun 17, 2008
27
0
Google Docs?

Um, isn't this exactly what Google docs has been doing (quite well) for several years now? I am glad Apple is doing it finally, but it's not like they have just invented sliced bread.

Pages has been such a disappointment so far. I've been longing to find an easy solution to migrating/working on docs across Apple platforms, when logged in or not. So it's good to see they are stepping up their game here, even though it is very late indeed in that game.
 
S

ScrewedDK

macrumors newbie
Nov 14, 2013
3
0
What about sharing across different Apple id's on iOS devices and not only through a link which requires a desktop.. Then I could share spreadsheets with others on an iOS device. This really is a missing and obviously feature..
 
CyberBob859

CyberBob859

macrumors 6502a
Jun 13, 2007
584
442
Still in Beta?

The icons on my iCloud home page for the iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) still have a "beta" label attached to them. Anyone else see this? Do these apps still have a beta tag to them?
 
Nunyabinez

Nunyabinez

macrumors 68000
Apr 27, 2010
1,758
2,230
Provo, UT
I am still not 100% happy with the way Pages handles word documents. I was incorrectly assuming from what I heard in the keynote that Pages would work natively with .doc and .docx formats.

I live in a world where I often have to send a document to someone else, and that assumes it will be either a word doc or a PDF. Pages is making progress as it is easy to expert to those formats, but I don't want to have to open an app when someone asks me to send them a document. And then delete it afterwards.

It is nice that in iCloud it asks you what format you want to download it in or what format you want to mail it in through iCloud, but that is not my typical work flow.

I really want to get away from Office, but it's still more hassle than it's worth given my situation :(.
 
LukasValine

LukasValine

macrumors regular
Nov 5, 2013
158
706
I'm not a big fan of web apps. Something about not being able to use software without an internet connection troubles me. But still, collaboration is a nice feature to have, and Apple's implementation of it is really nice.
 
nagromme

nagromme

macrumors G5
May 2, 2002
12,546
1,196
rockland said:
Um, isn't this exactly what Google docs has been doing (quite well) for several years now? I am glad Apple is doing it finally, but it's not like they have just invented sliced bread.
Click to expand...

This. I don't understand why Apple would EVER release any feature that has ever been seen before on Earth. ALL features of ALL products should be first-time exclusives. What is Apple thinking?!?


troop231 said:
With the amount of money and developers they have, this would've been done by now.
Click to expand...

Unless other things were done first instead. Like starting fresh (something hugely beneficial that few companies dare to do) and creating a unified three-platform file format and Mac/iOS code base. THEN build from there. Which seems like the most sensible order of things by far.

Lots of money and lots of people can still only do finite work, and that work is best done in reasonable order. Apple's crime against humanity in this instance is simple: they should have been slightly more explicit in reminding people that the old iWork versions remain installed, so that you lose nothing during this transition. Some people didn't notice that, and their pain and suffering until they figured it out is something we should all sympathize with. All the new capabilities are great, but they don't make that pain go away.
 
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ArtOfWarfare

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,558
6,058
Does this work with the OS X and iOS versions, too? If so, that's amazing. Native apps are a lot nicer because they load a lot faster and you don't have to log into them.
 
indychris

indychris

macrumors 6502a
Apr 19, 2010
688
1,484
Fort Wayne, IN
Better collaboration is great, but it just seems a bit out of order to me. I've got to assume that the majority of those who will utilize collaboration are business/professional users; however, the long list of features removed from iWork '13 are those that most negatively effect those same users according to the complaints on the various threads I've read (and for me personally as well).

What's the point of collaboration if professionals don't have the tools necessary to collaborate WITH?
 
IJ Reilly

IJ Reilly

macrumors P6
Jul 16, 2002
17,909
1,496
Palookaville
Nunyabinez said:
I am still not 100% happy with the way Pages handles word documents. I was incorrectly assuming from what I heard in the keynote that Pages would work natively with .doc and .docx formats.
Click to expand...

The only app that can work "natively" with Word docs is Word, or a maybe one of the Word clones. If they don't support the same feature set, then the document container you shove the data into provides compatibility in name only. The problems you describe can even occur when you shift documents between different versions of Word, especially if your use ventures beyond the basic features. Pages is just making explicit that something happens to your document when you save it into another document format; it is correctly informing you that you may be losing document formatting features specific to Pages. Apple has done a lot of things wrong with this version of Pages, but this is one thing they got right.
 
Nevaborn

Nevaborn

macrumors 65816
Aug 30, 2013
1,086
327
Until I cqn alter the horizontal and vertical margins and insert tables in to pages in Pages I cant use it for work which sucks.
 
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