14 DAY TRIAL // iWork fans choosing Pages, Keynote, and Numbers over other office solutions have received a new update with a bevy of enhancements that bolster collaboration, formatting, exporting, using large images, etc.
iWork in the Cloud is a web-based version of the suite comprising the Pages, Keynote, and Numbers apps that are available for desktop computers. Supporting pretty much the same feature set, the cloud-based apps are labeled as betas, or work-in-progress, as Apple continues to add new features that are essential for productivity.
Pages has just received the new ability to export documents to the ePub format, support for documents over 1 GB in size, a way to insert and edit inline tables, and more. Numbers now exports to CSV and gains more color options, while Keynote lets you insert images up to 10 MB in size.
However, the big changes are happening across the entire suite. All three apps now offer the ability to collaborate with a whopping 100 people on any document, create 2D and interactive charts, and chart formatting is offered across the board.
According to the Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc., “Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are the best way to be productive on a Mac or iOS device.”
Today, you no longer need a Mac to use iWork, as the web-based versions of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers are accessible from any modern web browser. In a way, with the release of iWork in the Cloud, Apple basically launched iWork for Windows.
“Now we’ve brought that productivity to the web — on Mac and PC. The apps make it incredibly easy to work together with people everywhere. And since it’s all powered by iCloud, your documents are always up to date on each of your devices,” says the Mac maker.
The key benefit of using iWork in the cloud is, of course, collaboration. Instead of wasting time sending a document back and forth through email (or worse, via storage media like USB drives), users can now collaborate on the same document in real time from their respective computers.
“Share document links with others instead of sending out lots of separate attachments. Then make instant progress by editing together in real time. See who’s in the document and follow their cursor as they make edits alongside you. You’ve never had a closer working relationship. With people so far away,” Apple adds.
Visit the iWork for iCloud beta page for more information about Apple’s productivity suite.