iWork

iWork '09 For Dummies

iWork '09 is the latest version of Apple's office suite: Pages (for word processing and page layout), Keynote (for presentations), and now Numbers (for spreadsheets such as you've never seen before!). They're all totally integrated with the Mac OS X features and resources and, of course, they boast the powerful and elegant Mac OS X interface. With iWork '09, there's even a way to share iWork documents -- including revisions and comments -- through iWork.com.

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iWork.com

With an Apple account and an Internet connection, you can share your documents with people you choose. That's "share" not in the sense of emailing them or posting them on iWeb (both of which you can do), but "share" in the sense of posting them to the iWork.com public beta site where you can allow individuals to view them, comment on them, and even download them in formats like PDF and Microsoft Word. Now, working together on documents (Numbers, Pages, or Keynote documents) is easier than even before.

Presenting Keynote

Keynote was the first iWork application. It was first used by Steve Jobs in his presentations to developers and the public at MacWorld conferences. Not only was it designed as a powerful communication tool, but it also showcased Apple's technologies and commitment to sophisticated design.

Paging Through Pages

Pages is the word processing and page layout app in iWork. One of the great advantages of iWork is that when the people at Apple started work on it, they had already learned from AppleWorks and from all the other applications that have been developed over the last quarter century (yes, that's how long we've had personal computers!). When it comes to documents, people sometimes want word processing documents where the software takes care of page numbering and page breaks, but sometimes they want to design individual pages such as flyers or posters.

Counting on Numbers

Yes, it's a spreadsheet, but what a spreadsheet! The designers at Apple started from the iWork basics -- a blank canvas onto which you can place content that you control. One form of content is a table with all the spreadsheet tools you expect such as formulas and computations. But that canvas can also hold text images, and active hyperlinks. By starting from the solid iWork framework, all of these tools work together.