Apple today updated its iWork for iCloud software suite, adding new features to Pages, Keynote, and Numbers (via The Loop). All three cloud-based applications now remember a user's last used document settings and a user's most recent screen name when opening a shared document.

iworkforicloud
The apps also now include tips on how to perform certain actions using keyboard when right-clicking on objects and they've also gained the ability to mask images with a right-click. Here's a list of the updates to each app:

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.

Prior to this update, iWork for iCloud was last updated in May, adding several new collaborative features. Apple has promised to continually improve iWork for iCloud and its other iWork apps for iOS and Mac in an effort to bring feature parity to the software across all platforms.

The iWork for iCloud software is available to all users for free, and it can be accessed through Apple's iCloud.com website.

Top Rated Comments

jayducharme Avatar
152 months ago
Slowly but surely, iWork is regaining some important functionality. I'm still miffed that Pages no longer allows flowing between text boxes. But I wouldn't be surprised if that extremely important and useful feature resurfaces soon. I do love being able to work on a document on any device at any time, and I'm glad that it looks pretty much the same on all of the devices. It's just a shame that iWork had to be "dumbed down" first.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
152 months ago
Slowly but surely, iWork is regaining some important functionality. I'm still miffed that Pages no longer allows flowing between text boxes. But I wouldn't be surprised if that extremely important and useful feature resurfaces soon. I do love being able to work on a document on any device at any time, and I'm glad that it looks pretty much the same on all of the devices. It's just a shame that iWork had to be "dumbed down" first.
Agreed. It seems that Apple's method of operation is to have something that is feature rich and well-liked, completely overhaul it to run more efficiently and strip away loads of features, and then slowly add the features back as people come out of shock. :apple:
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PocketSand11 Avatar
152 months ago
First things first, fix the GUI. Of all the things could have fixed with the iWork '09 GUI, they tried to fix things that weren't broken and messed it up. I'll stick with iWork '09 until they fix this mess and then add all the features that Numbers was always missing that Excel always had.

----------

Agreed. It seems that Apple's method of operation is to have something that is feature rich and well-liked, completely overhaul it to run more efficiently and strip away loads of features, and then slowly add the features back as people come out of shock. :apple:
I'm still waiting for iMovie to catch up to iMovie HD '06. So far, it hasn't happened, and iMovie '08 definitely did not run more efficiently than iMovie HD '06.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
152 months ago
Slowly but surely, iWork is regaining some important functionality. I'm still miffed that Pages no longer allows flowing between text boxes. But I wouldn't be surprised if that extremely important and useful feature resurfaces soon. I do love being able to work on a document on any device at any time, and I'm glad that it looks pretty much the same on all of the devices. It's just a shame that iWork had to be "dumbed down" first.

Agreed. It seems that Apple's method of operation is to have something that is feature rich and well-liked, completely overhaul it to run more efficiently and strip away loads of features, and then slowly add the features back as people come out of shock. :apple:

Way too slowly, if you ask me, pretty much on all fronts. They have a long way to go before Pages 5 is anywhere close to as functional as 4.1.

Is it really about feature parity? I wonder. If so, it seem odd to me how Apple doesn't seem to have a problem releasing (if only as a beta) iCloud versions of these apps that don't come anywhere close to feature parity with the mobile and desktop versions of the apps. This is an issue with real-word consequences, as anyone who's tried them has likely discovered.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
152 months ago
The truth is it didn't.

No support (or equivalent in this case) for VBA macros (Swift should come rescue us), no pivot tables (!!!), a lack of versatility regarding the styles, a lack of user-friendly mathematical formulas built-in in Pages (it's already in Apple's Grapher, why not in Pages ?), the absence of many important mathematical functions in Numbers, the absence of many graph types, the lack of compatibility with other apps, the lack of collaborative work, a lack of synthax analysis (at least in French), ... too many elements where Word and Excel... well, excel over Pages and Numbers.

If you need any or all of these relatively obscure features, sure. The workflow I was able to establish with Pages is second to none in my experience. Sadly Apple decided to delete many of the features of Pages that beat Word cold. They seem unlikely to return.

Compatibility has never been a problem for me.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 18 Pro Max Rumored to Deliver Next-Level Battery Life

Friday February 6, 2026 5:14 am PST by
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker. Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...