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 Announces Special Event in New York Feature

Apple Announces Special Event in New York, London, and Shanghai on March 4

Monday February 16, 2026 6:05 am PST by
Apple today announced a "special Apple Experience" in New York, London, and Shanghai, taking place on March 4, 2026 at 9:00am ET. Apple invited select members of the media to the event in three major cities around the world. It is simply described as a "special Apple Experience," and there is no further information about what it may entail. The invitation features a 3D Apple logo design...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Aiming to Release 'Breakthrough' New iPhone Accessory

Wednesday February 18, 2026 12:43 pm PST by
Apple is looking for a "breakthrough" with its push into wearable AI devices, including an "AirTag-sized pendant," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the pendant is reminiscent of the failed Humane AI Pin, but it would be an iPhone accessory rather than a standalone product. The pendant would feature an "always-on" camera and a microphone for Siri voice...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

iOS 26.4's New CarPlay Video Feature Shown in Action

Wednesday February 18, 2026 9:29 am PST by
Back at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that it was planning to allow CarPlay users to watch video via AirPlay in their vehicles while they are not driving, and the first beta of iOS 26.4 suggests the feature may be nearing availability. There are several new references to CarPlay video streaming functionality within the iOS 26.4 beta's source code. The feature is not yet visible to users, but...
iphone 17 pro green

iPhone 17 Pro Max Curiously Becomes Most Traded-In Smartphone

Wednesday February 18, 2026 9:13 am PST by
New trade-in data indicates that Apple's iPhone 17 Pro Max has rapidly become the single most traded-in smartphone. According to a new report from SellCell, Apple's latest flagship iPhone has quickly risen to the top of the independent trade-in market, accounting for 11.5% of all devices appearing in the top-20 trade-in rankings just months after release. The analysis is based on SellCell...
Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature 1

Apple Event on March 4: Here's What to Expect

Tuesday February 17, 2026 8:08 am PST by
Apple on Monday invited selected journalists and content creators to a "special Apple Experience" on Wednesday, March 4 in New York, London, and Shanghai. At an Apple Experience, attendees are typically given the opportunity to try out Apple's latest hardware or software. Following the launch of Apple Creator Studio last month, for example, some content creators attended an Apple Experience...