Comments on: Of Packages and File Compatibility: iWork ’08 and iWork ’09

By: Leo Canale

Leo Canale — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 23:08:39 +0000

By the way for any one interested, .docx file format is the same thing. The docx can be renamed to a .zip and then extracted to view the contents. This is probably, more the reason that iWork09 adopted the same format to be compatible with Office products. ODF is an open format that OO uses, but Open Office can not open docx format either where as iWork09 can. My 2 cents.

By: File Compatibility Between Numbers ‘08 and Numbers ‘09 | Numbers Templates

Wed, 27 May 2009 21:34:11 +0000

[...] did Apple do this? Tom Reestman gives a good explanation of the Apple Blog. The short answer: it makes files easier to share across systems via [...]

By: Matt Hoult

Matt Hoult — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:36:31 +0000

Just in case anyone was interested, there was a hint put on MacOSXHints.com today about the file formats and how they work. Good to know though not relevant to the larger conversation. Find out more here: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20090225034801527

By: mactheknife

mactheknife — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:20:45 +0000

It strikes me as more than coincidental that iWork.com requires iWork ’09. The file format is probably an important part of this.

It should also be noted that all of the apps in the iWork ’09 suite are capable of saving files in iWork ’08 format for backward compatibility:

1. Choose File > Save As… >
2. Check the “Save copy as:” box
3. Choose “iWork ’08″ from the pop-up menu
4. Click the save button

By: Matt Hoult

Matt Hoult — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:36:20 +0000

@robert I don’t know why Apple didn’t use ODF, you make a good case for it. One thing I would argue is that I think you are giving too much credit when you call it deliberate. One thing Apple are doing is playing catch-up with collaboration. They know they need it, they know they need to do better than Microsoft and Google to stand a chance of getting a userbase. What they don’t know is how to do it, as proved with iWork.com.

With that evidence, I don’t see a reason they would deliberately break read abilities at least – they just might overlook it while looking at other things, or not worry about it in a “greater good” mentality. As I said, I wouldn’t give them too much credit.

By: robertsoakes

robertsoakes — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:30:30 +0000

With all respect, this is a move worthy of Microsoft. They did exactly the same thing. In Office 2007, they moved from the .doc format to .docx format – which is technically superior and universally reviled. In the cases of both companies, there are good reasons for the switch but the end result is the same. Apple (deliberately) ensured that people who use iWork 09 and those who use iWork 08 are unable to collaborate with one another. There is an important difference, however. Microsoft created a translator so that users of older versions of Office could read and write to the new file format. Call me cynical, but I think it unlikely that Apple will do the same thing.

Which is where I find the irony. Apple is standards compliant on nearly everything in their operating system, why did they not go for a standard format in iWork as well? Pages could have used the ODF format (which is also an zipped folder with an XML spec) without much trouble. Why go the proprietary route at all?

By: Robert Floyd

Robert Floyd — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:10:45 +0000

To clarify: I don’t expect forward compatibility (old versions of programs shouldn’t be expected to handle new versions; anyone who’s dealt with Microsoft Word knows this all too well). The reason for my concern about the viewers is this:

Apple is presenting a vision of a fully portable computing experience. I love the way I can use my iPhone as an always on information appliance. In this, I believe Apple has changed the game and has pointed the way to the future of information access. Part of that is being able to view my documents on the go.

My iDisk has become a reference library of sorts for those things I need to view on a moment’s notice. Several of those are Numbers documents. Requiring an older version of iWork to use those documents is counterproductive, to say the least. Saving in an older version or as a pdf is not a long term solution. I love Apple’s vision; when their execution catches up, it’s going to be a beautiful thing to see. Until then, we need to encourage them to live up to the vision.

By: Matt Hoult

Matt Hoult — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:59:34 +0000

I don’t think anyone is saying it’s a bad thing. Some people simply believe that there was cause to write the code for iPhones and iWork ’08 users to be able to view the documents created in iLife ’09. It’s not a case of working with them per sé, it’s more a case of making these older apps/other devices into readers of the file format.

In this case it may have been a little harder than releasing a few lines of code as an update though. Either way I agree that you shouldn’t expect full compatibility with older versions; that’d be crazy. I personally don’t think it’s a huge deal but more on that can be found in my discussion with Adam on his website if you are interested.

By: jsk

jsk — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:15:12 +0000

I not quite sure I understand the grip here.

How, exactly, is an old version of a program suppose to open a new version’s files if the new version added features the old version isn’t compatible with?!? Surely you wouldn’t expect Word v4 to be able to open a v2004 file would you? Why would you expect 3rd party or other apps by Apple to be able to see into the future either? Were you expecting Apple to delay the release of iWork ’09 until everyone else in the world updated their software first? Also, I would think the fact that they changed the file format to a zipped folder vs. a package so files wouldn’t get bunged up by email system is a good thing.

By: Tom Reestman

Tom Reestman — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:48:50 +0000

Robert,

It’s possible the iPhone developers didn’t know (I’ve seen this kind of thing at software companies before), and it’s entirely possible they did. I’m not sure we’ll ever know the answer to that one for sure.

As for it being a Bad Thing, I agree. While it’s one thing to expect iWork 08 to open (and edit) the new format, it’s quite another to expect Apple’s own VIEWERS to support it. Obviously, they must.

I also haven’t heard they’re working on a fix. Then again, I wouldn’t expect to. It’s not like I have any pipeline to Apple Dev or Support. But Apple’s not stupid (no, really) so I have zero doubt the viewers will be updated.

It could be argued the update should have come with the iWork release, but coordinating an iPhone update and iWork release at the same time would have rushed one or held up the other by too large an amount of time. Further, I don’t see Apple releasing an iPhone update primarily for this anyway, so there are undoubtedly other features/fixes scheduled to be rolled into the update as well.