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Open older iWork files in newer versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote

Find out what to expect when you use iWork for Mac to open documents created in older versions of iWork, or when you export documents to iWork '09 format.

iWork '09 is not compatible with macOS Catalina 10.15 and later. To continue using your iWork apps with the latest operating system, update to the latest versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote.

Open an older iWork document

Current versions of iWork for Mac apps can open documents created in any version of iWork. To open an older iWork document in Pages, Numbers or Keynote, double-click the document or open it from within the app:

  1. Choose File > Open.

  2. Select the document.

  3. Click Open.

If you see a Warnings window

When you open an older iWork document, you may see a Warnings window. This window displays a list of features in your document that are supported in the older version of the app, but aren't available in newer versions of iWork for Mac.

Numbers Warning

Read about the changes that happen when you upgrade an iWork document.

Save an older iWork document

The first time you save or edit an older iWork document, you will need to confirm how you want iWork to handle the updated document:

Numbers
  • Click Upgrade to convert the existing document to the new format.

  • Click Cancel to cancel the save or edit, leaving your original document unchanged.

  • Click "Edit a Copy" to convert a copy of the document to the new format and keep the original in the older iWork format.

Revert an upgraded document

If you've already upgraded your document to the new iWork file format and want to change your document back to a version compatible with earlier iWork apps, use one of these options:

Revert to a previous version

  • Choose File > Revert To. This removes any changes you made and restores the version of your document that was saved in an earlier version of iWork.

Save a copy in iWork '09 format

  • If you've edited the document and want to keep the edits you've made, you can save the file as an iWork '09 document. Choose File > Export To. Then choose Pages '09, Numbers '09 or Keynote '09 as the file format. See changes that occur when exporting to iWork '09 for information on possible changes to the document.

Changes that happen when you upgrade an iWork document

All apps:

  • Rotation will be removed from tables and charts.

  • Table fills will be removed.

  • Grouped wedges in pie charts will be ungrouped.

  • Spotlight metadata will be removed.

Pages:

  • Change tracking isn't supported in tables, headers, footers and section layout objects. Tracked changes in these locations will be accepted as final.

  • Links to other Pages files will be removed.

Numbers:

  • Table Categories

    • Collections of rows in a table with categories will now be referred to as "groups".

    • A new column containing group names will be added to the table. The column will only be shown if categories are turned on. This does not affect column addresses in formulas or charts.

    • Function names in calculations for each group will now appear in separate label rows.

Keynote:

  • The "Require password to exit show" setting will be removed. To set a new password, choose Keynote > Preferences > Slideshow, then select "Require password to exit slideshows". Enter a password when prompted, then click Set Password. This password will apply to all presentations that are played on this computer.

  • Slides indented more than six levels will be promoted to level six.

  • Links to other Keynote files will be removed.

  • Rotation will be removed from object placeholders.

  • Transitions that aren't available in Keynote for Mac will be converted to Dissolve.

  • The Revolve transition will be renamed Object Flip.

  • Convergence builds will be converted to Dissolve.

  • Builds will be removed from slide layouts and chart legends.

  • Smart builds will be converted to image galleries.

Changes that happen when you export to iWork '09

All apps:

  • Drop caps styles will be removed.

  • Auto-fit for series value labels in charts will be turned off. Labels may overlap.

  • Auto-fit for error bars in charts will be turned off. Error bars may overlap.

  • Charts showing a representative sample of their data will show all data points instead.

  • Curved shadows and contact shadows will be converted to drop shadows.

  • Comments on objects will be removed.

  • Anchored objects will be converted to floating or inline objects.

  • Formulas that aren't available in iWork '09 will be removed. The last calculated values will be exported.

  • Interactive charts will be converted to normal charts.

  • Bubble charts will be converted to scatter charts.

  • Doughnut charts will be converted to pie charts.

  • Drawings will be converted to groups of lines and shapes.

  • Image galleries will be removed. One image from each gallery will be exported.

  • Right-to-left tables (such as Arabic and Hebrew) aren't supported.

  • Vertical text (such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean) isn't fully supported in iWork '09.

  • Replies will be removed from threaded comments.

  • Rounded corners in charts will be converted to square corners.

  • Equations authored in Pages, Numbers and Keynote will be converted to images when you export to iWork '09.

  • Gradient text fills will be converted to solid colours.

  • Image text fills will be converted to solid colours.

  • Non-solid text outlines will be converted to solid outlines.

  • Embedded web videos will be converted to images that link to the videos online.

Pages:

  • Tables of contents will be converted to plain text. They aren't updated automatically in Pages '09.

  • Right-to-left text (such as Arabic and Hebrew) isn't fully supported in Pages '09.

  • Annotations will be removed.

  • Page backgrounds will be removed.

  • Links to pages will be removed.

  • Captions will be removed from tables placed inline with text.

Numbers:

  • If a document contains "OR" filters within a column and "AND" filters across columns, all filter rules will be exported; "AND" filters will be converted to "OR".

  • Duration-based filters and conditional highlights will be removed.

  • Right-to-left sheets (such as Arabic and Hebrew) aren't supported.

  • Table Categories

    • Categories that group by day of the week will be changed to group by unique values.

    • Chart references to summaries will be replaced with the last calculated values.

    • Charts that refer to a range that includes cells in multiple groups will use the last calculated values instead of references.

    • Formulas that refer to a range that includes cells in multiple groups will be replaced with the last calculated values.

    • Formulas that refer to summaries will be replaced with the last calculated values.

  • Inline objects will be moved to sheets.

  • Links to sheets will be removed.

  • Captions will be removed from tables and charts.

  • Pivot tables are converted to standard tables.

Keynote:

  • Transitions, build-in effects and build-out effects that aren't available in Keynote '09 will be converted to Dissolve.

  • The Object Flip transition will be renamed Revolve.

  • Emphasis builds will be removed.

  • Comments on table cells will be removed.

  • Inline objects aren't supported and will be removed.

  • Videos and audio will not play during the transition from one slide to the next.

  • Live video will be removed.

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