Apple updated its iWork for iCloud services today with several features that it had previously announced were on their way. These center around a bunch of new collaboration tools that aim to make it a good alternative to Google Docs offerings for iCloud users.
Numbers, Keynote and Pages in iCloud were all updated and you can see the new stuff now at iCloud.com (https://www.icloud.com/). The full list of changes differs slightly for each product but is mostly the same. The collaboration features include a list that shows who's editing the document currently. That list can be used to navigate to the portion of a doc that they're editing by clicking on their name. You can also see some of the editing capabilities like moving images or reformatting happen live as the collaborators do it.
Here's the full list of changes from Apple:
Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for iCloud beta:
- Collaborator list: View the list of collaborators currently in a document.
- Collaborator cursor: See cursors and selections for everyone in a document.
- Jump to collaborator: Instantly jump to a collaborator's cursor by clicking their name in the collaborator list.
- Collaboration animation: Watch images and shapes animate as your collaborators move them around.
- Printing: Print your documents directly from the Tools menu.
- Folders: Organize your documents in folders.
Numbers for iCloud beta:
- Reorder sheets: Change the order of the sheets in your spreadsheet, right in your browser.
- Links: Create links using the HYPERLINK function.
Keynote for iCloud beta:
- Skip slides: Right-click any slide in the navigator to skip it during playback.
Note that if you open a document in the new iWork for iCloud, you may end up seeing a message notifying you that your file will be converted. You're given the option to copy your document or open and convert the original. If you do so, Apple notes, you may lose some bits that aren't compatible with the new format.
The new format, of course, was part of Apple's overarching updates to iWork across all of its platforms including OS X and iOS 7. That's now unified and the new apps, though shy on some features (http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/26/stop-freaking-out-about-iwork/), are now in lock step. Apple recently announced several features (http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/06/apple-addresses-iwork-for-mac-criticism-by-pre-announcing-the-return-of-many-features/) that it would be adding back to iWork over the next few months, in response to some vocal criticism.
(http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Techcrunch?d=2mJPEYqXBVI) (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Techcrunch?d=7Q72WNTAKBA) (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Techcrunch?d=yIl2AUoC8zA) (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Techcrunch?i=6WLmoWaD3LI:VIdknDNfFJ0:-BTjWOF_DHI) (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Techcrunch?i=6WLmoWaD3LI:VIdknDNfFJ0:D7DqB2pKExk) (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Techcrunch?d=qj6IDK7rITs) (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~4/6WLmoWaD3LI)