iwork '09 and '08 not compatible?

[keanja]

I recently bought a new MacBook Pro and used the iWork '09 trial that was offered - and thought it was great. I made lots of new documents in the trial period but at the end of it, I thought I would see if I could install my old version of iWork 08 from a previous computer. I found that I could do this, but it would not open any iWork '09 files, so I had to buy iwork '09 anyway as I had done so much work with it. I got caught out I think! Did anyone else find this too?

 

[maflynn]

While I have no personal knowledge of iWork 09 vs. iWork 08, its not surprising. Many companies tweak a file format from one version to the next and it should not come as a any surprise that apple did this with iWork 09

 

[PeggyD]

Compatibility depends on what you want to do. The iWork applications allow saving as an earlier version although iWork '09 only can save as '08. iWork '08 can save as either '05 or '06. The newer versions can open older versions.

Very rarely will you find software that is "forward compatible." New features are added & others "tweaked" & the older version can't "understand" them. The same thing applies to opening or saving files as a different program's format - the results are not always the same because feature sets are different or "missing."

 

[keanja]

Thanks

Thanks for your help! I will know better next time!
Cheers!