iWork for iOS Updated with Enhanced Usability and Graphics Improvements

[RaduTyrsina]

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Last week, we finally saw Microsoft unveil its Office apps for the iPad, but a big number of iOS users has already become accustomed to iWork apps, especially now that they are free. Now, Apple has come up with some fresh improvements for its iWork apps which make the tools even better. All three applications – Pages, Numbers and Keynote gained new Retina display-ready graphical assets and the ability to open files directly from iCloud Mail. Also, users can now share documents with a ‘view only’ security setting.

Here are the new features and improvements in the Pages iOS app:

• New “view only†setting lets you share documents you want others to view but not edit
• Search documents by name
• Inline images and shapes in table cells are preserved on import
• Better placement of inserted and pasted objects
• New Arabic and Hebrew templates
• Improved support for bi-directional text
• Word count for Hebrew
• Improved ePub export
• Control the z-order of bubble chart labels
• Usability improvements

Numbers, Apple’s equivalent of Excel also comes with some important updates:

• Search spreadsheets by name
• Progress indicator for calculations
• Control the z-order of bubble chart labels
• Faster CSV import
• Improved Microsoft Excel compatibility
• Usability improvements

And finally, Keynote also contains a big list of positive changes:

• Use your finger to illustrate on slides as you present
• New “view only†setting lets you share presentations you want others to view but not edit
• New portrait layout option in presenter display
• Search presentations by name
• New transitions and builds: Object Revolve, Drift and Scale, and Skid
• Control the z-order of bubble chart labels
• Export to PPTX format
• Detailed presentation import feedback
• Improved animation performance
• Improved bi-directional support: switch direction for text, lists and tables
• Usability improvements

To download the update apps from the iWork suite, follow the links from below.

Source: Pages, Keynote, Numbers

 

[s2mikey]

Great news. The Microsoft release has caused apple to kick it up a notch. Sounds good to me since for now I'm staying with the apple office products.

 

[twerppoet]

I'm pretty sure these updates were in the pipe long before the MS Word release. It generally takes more than a week for an update like this.

Besides, this is Apple doing nothing more than what they promised. When the major iOS 7 update of the iWorks suite came out it was missing a lot of features. Features Apple promised it would be adding back over the next year. And a few all new goodies too, it seems.

Though it would not surprise me to find out Apple knew about the new Office apps long before Microsoft submitted them.

Hold in mind that Apple's motivation here is not to crush Office. All they want is a strong alternative so that Microsoft can not dictate terms for essential apps. It's much like their relationship with Google. Having the apps is fine. Depending on the other company is not.

 

[n4uau]

I got iWorks free with the new iPad Air. Been playing with it and it will do a lot. I did find some issues when importing to PC as W4W doc (using Open Office). Layout was scrambled. importing as a PDF worked fine. The document i'd made in pages included every odd ball feature I could use and was not a 'normal' document.

Except for business users I can't imagine paying for W4W.