Apple Releases Updates for Pages, Numbers, and Keynote on iOS and Mac

[IJ Reilly]

That appeared to be the case when I did some experimenting yesterday but I can't replicate that problem today (and corrected my original post accordingly). So I must have been doing something wrong yesterday.

It seems that this implementation of text boxes- while different than how they did it in Pages '09- is just about as useful. However, I'm still experimenting...

I believe in Pages 09 when a text box was overflowed (full of text and then some), a new box could be created by clicking an overflow box on the (full) text box outline. I don't see that option here. Instead, you create a new text box, click one and the other to link them together, so 3 steps instead of 1. Maybe there's some more efficient way to create a new linked text box?

Yes, in Pages 4.x and earlier, a text box indicates that it is overfilled with a plus-sign at the bottom. To create a flow you click on the blue flag hanging off of the lower righthand side of the text box. The cursor shows it is loaded up with a plus-sign. You then click where on the page you want the continuation box inserted. They indicate they are linked with a blue line. They can be moved anywhere in the document and the link holds. Empty text boxes can also be linked, which is hugely useful for creating forms.

 

[cgsnipinva]

I tried Pages and Numbers when they first came out but I gave up on both. Pages didn't (still doesn't?) allow basic things like changing the orientation of particular sections in a document. Numbers is seriously limited in conditional formatting (which I use all the time because I need visual clues to better grasp what's going on in my spreadsheets).

I recently made the swith to Office 365. So much more powerful, it includes a crazy amount of cloud storage and it even looks good. I could hardly believe it but the current generation of Microsoft products (Windows 10 and Office) appears to be the first that is pleasing to the eye. Let's hope they keep it that way.

You can change orientation of specific sections of a document and do conditional formatting in Numbers. Have you checked lately?

 

[IJ Reilly]

It allows you to link boxes on your own.

That's good.

Now, if they could only bring back section insertion. In another five years, maybe?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Yes, in Pages 4.x and earlier, a text box indicates that it is overfilled with a plus-sign at the bottom. To create a flow you click on the blue flag hanging off of the lower righthand side of the text box. The cursor shows it is loaded up with a plus-sign. You then click where on the page you want the continuation box inserted. They indicate they are linked with a blue line. They can be moved anywhere in the document and the link holds. Empty text boxes can also be linked, which is hugely useful for creating forms.

Yes, I can't seem to replicate that functionality with these new text boxes. I've played with keyboard alt & control keys and tried right click options too but there doesn't seem to be that kind of shortcut here. Instead, it seems to be a process of creating a new text box and then manually link the 2 together with some more clicks. Not a terrible thing but a couple of steps instead of what used to be one step.

 

[Danoc]

No more real time market's quotes?

 

[Dranix]

No more real time market's quotes?

What do you mean?

 

[IJ Reilly]

Yes, I can't seem to replicate that functionality with these new text boxes. I've played with keyboard alt & control keys and tried right click options too but there doesn't seem to be that kind of shortcut here. Instead, it seems to be a process of creating a new text box and then manually link the 2 together with some more clicks. Not a terrible thing but a couple of steps instead of what used to be one step.

Hmm. I am downloading the update now and will give it a try.

One worrisome oddity I've noticed every time I've downloaded an update to Pages 5.x is the App Store insists that I quit Pages 4.x. It has never replaced the older version with the new one so I guess that's safe. So far.

EDIT: I see now, it works quite differently than before. The linked boxes are called "threads" and the boxes are color-coded within the threads and numbered sequentially as you link them together.

 

[Danoc]

What do you mean?

I used to have real time quotes for stocks, ETF. Now it's showing the quote as of yesterday 4pm.

 

[Dranix]

May be stupid - but what are stock quotes?

 

[Danoc]

The market valuation of companies' shares. The stock market basically. It was real time before the last update. The last update is less dynamic, you get fixed valuation from last day.

 

[kazmac]

It was ClarisWorks for Windows that pulled me away from Windows and onto Macs. Clarisworks was the only application that was able to pull me away from GeoWorks Ensemble (then NewDeal Office). Sadly, it was a short time after moving to Macs that Apple killed ClarisWorks/AppleWorks.


The greatest impediment to using iWork is shifting FROM an MS Office mindset TO the iWork mindset. The two software packages have different approaches to tasks and a lot of the frustration of users comes from attempting the MS Office approach to a task rather than to understand and relearn the iWork style.

It took a while for me, but the effort has really paid off. For documents that I create, with extremely rare exceptions, I am able to do the things in Pages that I need to do. I have MS Office around for those times when I need to interact with others who use Office. The similar experiences are true for Numbers and KeyNote.

KeyNote is probably the easiest of the 3 apps to switch over to because it straight-up knocks PowerPoint out.

Numbers is a bit more of a challenge, but I'm making progress there too.

If you don't give up quickly when you get frustrated, and work things through, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Always appreciate your posts. I will try to wrap my brain around Pages. I would like to be Office free on my iPP.

Thanks for the response.

 

[cgsnipinva]

My concern is - why is it taking so long for them to update it? Why not update it regularly, like 4x a year instead of every 4 years?

I would agree there was a while there when it took a while. But this is the second significant update in two months and the third in about 6 months. It seems the pace is picking up.

 

[sracer]

I would agree there was a while there when it took a while. But this is the second significant update in two months and the third in about 6 months. It seems the pace is picking up.

It wouldn't surprise me if it were a result of Microsoft's screen size dividing line for Office for iPad being 10.1. The 10.5 Pro is going to be the focal point for iPads for the next few generations. With the 9.7 iPads (Pro and non) they had full free access to MS Office for iPad. Less need to have a free capable productivity suite.

But now, there is a greater need for an alternative. That's one possibility.

Perhaps it's that Apple sees that they need to "lead by example" of what the hardware and updates to iOS can do. (Years ago they understood this, but with the success of the iPhone they seem to have forgotten)

 

[DanielDD]

Some tidbits:

- Equation editor now closes tags automatically (see attached file)
- Ability to insert equations within tables

 

[cgsnipinva]

That's good.

Now, if they could only bring back section insertion. In another five years, maybe?

I think we are going to see more updates in iWork for all platforms (MacOS, iOS, and iCloud). The pace is picking up ---- so I am cautiously optimistic about the future of these applications.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I think we are going to see more updates in iWork for all platforms (MacOS, iOS, and iCloud). The pace is picking up ---- so I am cautiously optimistic about the future of these applications.

Would be nice to think so, but after years of waiting for some key features to return, I am not holding my breath on the ones that few even discovered in the legacy versions. The ability to capture pages and save them for section insertions was so totally awesome that it immediately became part of my work flow. All of the templates I've created and carefully maintained with this feature are totally hosed by Pages 5.x. So while the return of linked text boxes is a positive development, I still cannot use Pages 5.x for any of my most important tasks without starting pretty much from scratch with an inferior implementation. So I expect to have to stick with Pages 4.3 for the foreseeable future.

 

[NapoleonIV]

I have been encountering some lagginess on this update, unfortunately.

 

[Geurt]

There you go, when both programmers are at the office things can go fast.

 

[campyguy]

I believe that your iWork '09 apps should function perfectly fine with 10.13. However, from what I remember, they are 32-bit apps, so the end of the line is coming soon. With 10.14, Apple will "aggressively warn" you when you open them and there may be compromises. I would imagine that they will drop support in 10.15.

However, I wonder if you could just run Sierra or High Sierra in Virtualbox (or other virtualization product) to take advantage of these old, but useful apps? That's what I am going to look into for Office 2011 since it will not run past Sierra. I have no desire to buy Office 2016.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate your time here. I suspected/expected as much.

My plan here is to put a fairly-clean install of OS X 10.10 or .11 on an SSD and install both iWork '09 and GarageBand 6.0.5 on it. I can't live without Magic GarageBand and Pages '09, both apps are "sweet spots" for me. Cheers, and thanks!

 

[Traverse]

It wouldn't surprise me if it were a result of Microsoft's screen size dividing line for Office for iPad being 10.1. The 10.5 Pro is going to be the focal point for iPads for the next few generations. With the 9.7 iPads (Pro and non) they had full free access to MS Office for iPad. Less need to have a free capable productivity suite.

But now, there is a greater need for an alternative. That's one possibility.

Perhaps it's that Apple sees that they need to "lead by example" of what the hardware and updates to iOS can do. (Years ago they understood this, but with the success of the iPhone they seem to have forgotten)

Hmm, this is an interest point. I hadn't considered it in this light. I'd be ecstatic to see Apple really take this a step further and innovate...or update. They've been improving but some basic functions are still missing.

Office is a respectable piece of software, but people simply assume market share = better. MS office was the most flexible for corporate users so it became the standard. That flowed down to individuals as business pushed it to schools and people stayed with what they're familiar with.

While some companies do really need Office, I bet the vast majority of users would be happy with iWork if they were starting from ground zero without one large clunky monopoly. It seems though that Office is loosing its position as other cloud options slowly creep into businesses.

 

[BWhaler]

It would be great if "show print view" would return to Numbers. It was really easy to get my Numbers documents print ready. Now, it's trial and error. The way iWork did page layout (for both Pages and Numbers) was one of the primary reasons I started using iWork to begin with.

Yes, yes, yes. The lack of this feature makes me wonder how many people at Apple really use iWork.

 

[Glassed Silver]

95% of people use Excel to display data and generally only use some very basic functions. For this crowd, Numbers is superior. The fact that you can have multiple, independent tables on the same sheet is really nice.

But yes, Numbers needs better conditional formatting, and for many, pivot tables.

This, it's rather close to perfect home office software.

And one cannot underestimate the utility and design advantage of multiple, independent tables per sheet.

It may sound crazy, but it's absolutely ridiculous nobody else seems to adopt this concept, because it gives you so much freedom through a very simply concept. Probably one of Number's best features.

Also makes your documents look a lot lighter and they become easier on the eyes.

Glassed Silver:mac

 

[EliasM]

You can change orientation of specific sections of a document and do conditional formatting in Numbers. Have you checked lately?

I didn't know about the orientation - that must be a recent addition. I'm aware that conditional formatting exists in Numbers but it's not quite as powerful as it is in Excel.

 

[IG88]

I see people around my office inside Excel constantly. Its is hardly dying. It has much more sophisticated conditional formatting than Numbers has. It has much more robust formulas. Its ability to display Spark Lines has made it a go to tool for statisticians in many fields. Those people would never consider using Pages for the work they do.
Personally, what I do can easily be done with Pages and Excel is overkill. But I wish it has Spark Lines.
It really comes down to "know multiple tools, and know when to use the right one at the right time." Don't limit yourself because of bias.

Agreed. I use Excel everyday. Numbers is a kiddie app compared to Excel. Myself (and others I know) have created VBA macros that allowed some game changing work flows, turned all day tasks into less than 30 minutes.

 

[mtngoatjoe]

I didn't know about the orientation - that must be a recent addition. I'm aware that conditional formatting exists in Numbers but it's not quite as powerful as it is in Excel.

The conditional formatting in Numbers isn't bad, but it isn't complete either. It's close to complete, but not quite. And conditional format editing isn't available in the browser or iOS versions. The conditions work when the sheet is opened in the browser or in iOS, but you can't edit the condition.

I'd also like to be able to lock certain cells in a table.

One the whole, I'm very pleased with Numbers. Pages is good as well, but I don't need to use that as much. I've created a budget in Numbers with checkboxes that track when I'm paid and when bills are paid. I can look at my budget and see exactly how much I need in my checking account to pay my bills for the month. And with the new collaboration features, my wife and I can have the sheet open at the same time. Very nice!
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Agreed. I use Excel everyday. Numbers is a kiddie app compared to Excel. Myself (and others I know) have created VBA macros that allowed some game changing work flows, turned all day tasks into less than 30 minutes.

Apple doesn't need it's own version of Excel, it needs a lighter version that looks and works better for most people. And that's what it has. I'd pay for Excel if I needed it, but I don't. And neither does 95% of the population. Numbers works great at home. No one has ever suggested it will replace function heavy Excel spreadsheets.