Apple updated the beta version of its Pages, Keynote, and Numbers for iCloud suite today with a few new features and improvements. Notably, each application will now remember the last document you opened and settings like which interface elements were enabled or disabled (such as alignment guides and the zoom setting).
The apps will also automatically suggest your most recently used nickname when editing shared documents, improved image masking, and keyboard shortcut hints in contextual menus. These changes—especially the ability to remember your document settings between launches—more closely mirrors the functionality of the desktop software.
You can try the updated web apps on the iCloud website. The full statement from Apple is below:
Pages for iCloud now remembers your last used document settings including zoom level, show/hide format panel, show/hide guides, and more.
Numbers for iCloud now remembers your last used document settings including zoom level, last selected sheet, show/hide format panel, show/hide guides, and more.
Keynote for iCloud now remembers your last used document settings including zoom level, last selected slide, show/hide format panel, show/hide guides, and more
Additionally, today’s update includes the following improvements across all apps:
Suggests your most recent screen name when you open a shared document
Includes tips on how to cut, copy and paste using keyboard shortcuts when you right-click on objects
Includes the ability to right-click to mask images
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iCloud is finally trying to play catch up… finally!
Nice additions. It still bothers me (a lot) that I can’t control the main iCloud interface though.
Why do I have to have giant icons for Numbers and Keynote staring me in the face when I never use them? Especially if I have no documents stored in the apps, and don’t own the apps on any other platform? Absolutely nuts and tres annoying IMO.
Is it going to be in beta forever? I love what Apple has done with iWork, but this beta crap is getting old.
It’s been in beta for less than 10 months. That’s not long and it’s already matured into basically the iOS version of iWork but on iCloud (a good thing). I imagine they’ll take it out of beta this September (which is when they usually update their software – iLife, iTunes etc).
Says the person not contributing to the design, engineering, development or support of a free app.
I’m sure if you could see how the sausage is made you’d have a different opinion. Besides, in many respects all electronic devices and services are in some form of beta. Hence the need for X.1.1.5.0043 updates. There’s something that always needs tweaking, tucking and trimming, which is a never ending process.
I’m a 28 year long customer who has spent THOUSANDS of dollars on Apple products over the years. I have a right to complain. Have a nice evening!
Embedded fonts would be a welcomed feature by me.
Tapping the font library of the system I’m on is the update I’m waiting for too. But I know that means that Apple will have to create hooks into Mac, Windows, and possibly even Linux font libraries so I’m expecting them to take their sweet time to do it right (or to do it begrudgingly).
I love Keynote on iPhone, iPad and Mac but it’s completely useless in iCloud. The only animations that can be added are on slides while the assets on the slides just sit there.
I’m sure they’ll eventually add the power of the native app to the iCloud version but as of now it’s not even worth clicking on. Good thing the native apps are free (or cheap if you’re a long-time Apple device owner).
What I need is for Apple to give us the ability to ‘Share’ a folder with other people from their iCloud drive (Yosmite). This alone will allow me to ditch MS Office for my business and allow my team to save documents in a place where everyone can use them and still access them remotely. This is how / why we use DropBox. I would love to leave DP behind and only use the free version but Apple needs to help me out a little here. “Remember last saved/worked on” might be nice but it’s even better if we can share as many files as we want in a common way
I almost forgot iCloud existed.