I'll have to try it. Last time I gave it a go it could open an Excel file, but only save it as a Numbers file.
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Apple Updates iWork Apps With New iOS 18.4 and macOS 15.4 Features
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This is exactly right. Excel is the best software for most users because of the functionality and like was mentioned, the ability to use across devices. Of course, Google Sheets is more than enough for most people as well and there are far more advanced programs if you need more than what Excel offers (hello Looker), but Apple has kind of given up and I wish they wouldn’t.
I do like Keynote quite a bit though, but Numbers and Pages needs some work.
You need to export it as Excel file. And when you store it as Numbers files, Numbers adds weird images to the file (>500 KB) which makes no sense at all.
I think it is nice that Apple added the LAMBDA function to Numbers though
I still have a copy of wordperfect here, and it still works on my Windows 10 computer. My sister-in-law used Lotus for years, but eventually had to change to MS Office.
I don't require MS office myself, and the free ones do what I need, i don;lt see the sense in paying out for something I don't need.
You can export, File, export to Excel is the option,
I don't know how good it is, but it is there.
I have used the export to word a couple of times in pages
Good to see the update for the iWork apps. For basic work, the iWork apps are good enough. Thought Apple Intelligence was already available for the iWork apps.
I wish Pages had a Zotero plugin.
I had to write my thesis in something else and decided LaTeX was less of a punishment than Word.
I had to write my thesis in something else and decided LaTeX was less of a punishment than Word.
I regularly exchange docx files with our writers nad I insert comments and track changes in Pages, export it back to docx and send it back to them. And I have been doing this now for years.
I use Pages daily and I prefer it over MS Word. It just feels less cramped and more focused on the writing part. And reality is much, MUCH more powerful than Word could ever be. Apple added a feature a few years back that allows you to convert the text document into what they call Page Layout and this feature alone is huge! Basicly turns Pages into a simplified desktop publishing app. Not just that graphics wont move, etc. You can control every aspect of the page layout much like in something like Indesign. Having a rudimentary desktop publishing app as part of your hardware is something that is pretty incredible.
As for writing long text and documents, niether of the two (Word or Pages) is really the tool for the task. Both are meant for less involved tasks. At least in my experience.
I also use Numbers for my personal use. I have used Excel professionally and it is indeed more powerfull, but even in that sense, you shouldn't be really using excel for those kind of work. Excel can do crazy stuff, but its a bit like sailing the ocean with a dinky boat. Personally I prefer Numbers based on how you can make things look. And the program can do most needed things. But Excel will keep its place just because of how MS is positioned in the professional enviorment.
Page Layout is the best feature of pages. It actually existed since day one of the app when it was iWork, and the Word Document style was added later on. It just became must harder to use when they did the iOS/macOS merger, especially on the iOS side.
Overall iWork is fantastic, just wish Apple's cloud services were on par with googles. I work for an Apple Distinguished School, but google dominates still even here because of that.
Unfortunately, in testing, I found that functions like Matrix Inverse only support up to 9x9 matrices - making them not useful for what I do.
Understood - Numbers has a 1,000,000 row X 65 Column limit (maybe more in iCloud version) but again ----- that is the extreme end of the use case model. Even for Google Sheets - at that size of a data set you might want to use lightweight databases.
List of functions by category
All the functions described in Formulas and Functions Help are listed by category.
support.apple.com
There are roughly 300 functions/formulas in Numbers vice 500 in MS Excel - yes a significant difference - but the impact of that difference will depend on general use cases. I would expect Apple to continue to add functions to Numbers as they make regular updates.
From a value proposition - it comes free with the MacOS/iOS/iPadOS -- and if it meets the bulk of user needs - it's additive to the Mac/Apple ecosystem.
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iWork was made "free" under Tim Cook. It was "greedy" Steve Jobs who used to charge customers for iWork apps.
That is a solid point - Apple has been working on their iCloud environment - it is better - but it still needs more work. Now as a counter point - the Google Workspace is limited as it's a browser based capability - it does not have native apps. That is one advantage for Apple's approach.
Ah yes, WordPutrid. The WORST word processor on any platform EVER.
I hated that garbage so much. Fortunately I only ever had to use it a few times, but WOW it was AWFUL. The only thing that comes close is vi. And yes, even vi is a better word processor than WordPutrid.
I'd argue that the vast majority of people that use Excel are only using it to show data. Most people use very few functions (if any). They simply want to make a home budget or track hobbies (brew batches, garden plants, etc.). And for these people, I'd also argue that Numbers is FAR superior.
Pages is Ok, and I much prefer it over Word, but as someone who cares about styles, Pages leaves me wanting.
Pages is Ok, and I much prefer it over Word, but as someone who cares about styles, Pages leaves me wanting.
Please, please, Apple. Update Pages to allow linked boxes to span pages and retain their link order. That was available in Pages '09 and after the rewrite, never returned. I'm being reasonable here. I could be asking to bring Bento back. 
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Seeing the term "iWork" makes me wonder if Apple still uses that term to refer to the suite. Albeit I'm old and remember when these things were All-In-ones (ClarisWorks->AppleWorks->iWorks)
Yes. https://www.apple.com/iwork/Seeing the term "iWork" makes me wonder if Apple still uses that term to refer to the suite. Albeit I'm old and remember when these things were All-In-ones (ClarisWorks->AppleWorks->iWorks)
I had ClarisWorks for Windows back in the day. It was such a powerhouse of an integrated app that it is what brought me to buy a Mac. As far as I remember, iWork was never an all-in-one app but separate apps and didn't have all of the functionality that Claris/AppleWorks had.
Correct. iWork was always separate. Was just pointing out the name progression.
It probably sounds crazy to anyone who hasn’t tried an AVP for longer than a few hours… but legitimately the AVP could be the ultimate office solution with just a few minor improvements.
Agreed! For my use I have never came even close to the max row and columns and your comment made want to see those are really the limits. Rows do indeed and at 1.000.000, but colums go all up to a 1.000. Still limited but plentiful for most uses.