Apple introduces online editing tool iWork for iCloud

Among the many announcements coming out of Apple's WWDC, which runs June 10-14 in San Francisco, is the online document collaboration tool iWork for iCloud which will run across a number of browsers including Chrome and Internet Explorer.

Apple-has-revealed-the-online-document-editing-tool-iWork-for-iCloud-Photo-AFP

Among the many announcements coming out of Apple's WWDC, which runs June 10-14 in San Francisco, is the online document collaboration tool iWork for iCloud which will run across a number of browsers including Chrome and Internet Explorer.

Apple's new iWork for iCloud, currently in Beta for developers only, works in a very similar manner to Microsoft Office 365 or Google's online collaboration tool Google Drive.

The completely web-based version of Apple's document-editing tool, can be used to edit documents by a Windows 8 user running Chrome or Internet Explorer and of course on Apple's own Safari browser. Apple also states that support for more browsers will be added at a later date.

The tool supports a drag-and-drop system, meaning that users can simply drop a file into a browser window with iWork running and it will automatically open and the document will then be saved to Apple's cloud-based storage system iCloud. Users will also be able to edit existing documents created by rival systems such as Microsoft's Word, Excel and Power point programs using iWork for iCloud.

The new cloud-based version of the iWork software suite provides many of the original editing features found on Mac and iOS incarnations such as Keynote, Numbers and Pages. Pages enables users to create letters and reports and is supported by pre-existing Apple created templates; Numbers -- which will now support Microsoft Excel -- enables users to create and edit spreadsheets, which can support images, and comes with 250 pre-built functions for number crunching and analysis; Keynote -- which now supports Microsoft Power Point files -- enables users to create colorful presentations and again comes pre-loaded with Apple designed templates as well as a graphics management tool. Because all of these functions are stored on iCloud users can edit documents or give presentations from anyone's PC or Mac not just their own.

iWork for iCloud will be made available in fall this year.