Collaborate in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote
Apple has built a feature into Pages, Numbers, and Keynote that lets you work on files with other people in real time. This allows you to work on text files, number tables and presentations with others at the same time. This can be done from the iWork apps on iOS and Mac, but also from iCloud.com. In this tip you can read how this function works.
- Collaborate iOS
- Collaborate Mac
- To look at
- Stop collaboration
- More iWork tips
Collaborate in iWork on iOS
To share a file with other people so you can work on it together, all you have to do is create a document and invite people. You can also set as the creator whether people can only view the file or can also make changes. To start sharing and collaborating on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, do the following:
- Open a file in Pages, Numbers, or Keynote, or create a new one.
- Tap the doll icon in the top right corner.
- The Add people screen appears.
- Choose how you want to send the invitation.
- If you want to adjust editing settings, choose Sharing options at the bottom.
- Here you can choose who can access the document: only the people you invite or everyone who has the link. You also set the permission here: read only or also make changes.
- Then send the invitation via iMessage, Mail, WhatsApp, Telegram or any other chat app. You can also copy the link to your clipboard.
Collaborate in iWork on Mac and iCloud.com
On the Mac, starting a collaboration in iWork works in a similar way:
- Open a file in Pages, Numbers, or Keynote and tap Collaborate at the top.
- Click Continue and set the permissions under Sharing Options.
- Choose a way to invite other people, such as Mail, Messages, Facebook, or copy the link.
Collaboration is only possible with documents stored in iCloud. If this is not the case, you will receive a message and you can move the document if necessary.
View collaboration in iWork
You can see in the document who is editing what. For example, when someone is adding text to a Pages file, this is shown with a colored arrow. Everyone who collaborates on a file is assigned their own color. As soon as someone performs an edit, the colored arrow will appear in that spot. You can tap it on iOS and click it on Mac to see which name goes with the color. You can also tap the Collaboration button again to see who got what color.
If you want to hide these colored arrows, you can do that too:
- iOS: In a file, tap the three dots in the top right, followed by Collaboration Activity. Turn off the switch there.
- Mac: From the menu bar, select View > Hide Collaboration Activity.
Sometimes you’ll run into conflicts if you’ve been working on the document on different devices and the changes haven’t synced yet. Normally this should work fine though. You can determine which version you want to keep based on the last modified date.
While collaborating, all basic actions are allowed, such as adding text, images, and more. However, some tasks cannot be edited, such as footnote settings or page numbering settings. If you still want to edit this, stop sharing the file first and do the editing. Below you can read how to end the collaboration. In this article you can read what is not possible during collaboration.
End Collaboration in iWork
To stop collaboration in iWork, as an owner you can remove people yourself. Anyone who collaborates on a document can also remove themselves from the collaboration:
- iOS: In a file, tap the Collaborate button at the top. Then choose the person you want to remove and tap Remove access. If you want to leave the collaboration yourself, choose Remove me. To stop sharing as an owner, choose Stop sharing.
- Mac: Click the Collaborate button at the top right and click the three dots behind the person you want to remove, followed by Remove access. For yourself, click Remove me. To stop sharing, click Sharing Options > Stop Sharing.
More tips for iWork
We have even more tips for getting the most out of iWork:
- iWork: everything about Pages, Numbers and Keynote from Apple
- Save storage space by removing iWork and iLife apps
- Download iWork, Garageband and iMovie for free on iOS and Mac: for whom and how?
