At its fall event last month, Apple announced updates to its long-in-the-tooth iWork apps (Pages, Numbers and Keynote). While a couple of highly-requested features arrived in the new iWork for OS X and iOS (namely iCloud syncing and collaborative editing) arrived in the new suite. Several features were removed in the process, and loyal users got extremely upset about the changes.
Several threads in the Apple Community forum are tracking features that were removed in Pages 5.0 and Numbers 3.0 for OS X. While iWork apps are used by a relatively small group of users compared to the dominant Microsoft Office suite, they're a passionate and loyal bunch. After all they stuck with iWork through four lean years with little updates or attention and almost no new features being added.
There is a method to Apple's madness however. In order to get full file compatibility between the OS X and iOS versions of iWork to enable to the requisite syncing and collaboration features, Apple abandoned the legacy OS X code and used the iOS version as a basis for the new OS X version. That's right, Apple ported the iOS apps to OS X, and it trimmed a lot of desktop/OS X features in the process.
The complaints were growing so loud that they prompted Apple to do something that it rarely does -- pre-announce a series of features that will be coming (back) to iWork. To appease an increasingly disgruntled user base Apple published a list of features coming to iWork in the next six months in the form of a knowledge base article called "About the new iWork for Mac: Features and compatibility."
On Apple's short list for inclusion are the following:
Pages
Customize toolbarVertical rulerImproved alignment guidesImproved object placementImport of cells with imagesImproved word countsKeyboard shortcuts for stylesManage pages and sections from the thumbnail viewNumbers
Customize toolbarImprovements to zoom and window placementMulti-column and range sortAuto-complete text in cellsPage headers and footersImprovements to AppleScript supportKeynote
Customize toolbarRestoring old transitions and buildsImprovements to presenter displayImprovements to AppleScript supportWhile it's a step in the right direction, is it enough to keep you from defecting to an open-source alternative (like NeoOffice or OpenOffice) or the $219 Microsoft Office for Mac?
Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 17 years.
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