Numbers for iPad: Use iCloud with Numbers

Use iCloud with Numbers

iCloud stores your spreadsheets and keeps them up-to-date on your computers and iOS devices that use the same iCloud account. You always see the latest version of your spreadsheet, no matter where you made your last edits.

For seamless sharing and syncing of spreadsheets, use iCloud Drive, iOS 8.4 or later on your devices, and OS X v10.10.4 or later on your computers.

You can also use Numbers for iCloud on the web to create and edit Numbers spreadsheets using a supported web browser on a Mac or Windows computer.

Set up Numbers to use iCloud Drive

To use iCloud, you must sign in with your Apple ID in Settings, and make sure iCloud is turned on for Numbers.

  1. Tap Settings on your Home screen, then tap iCloud on the left.

  2. Sign in to your account using your Apple ID, or request a new Apple ID, then sign in.

  3. Tap iCloud Drive and turn it on.

  4. Turn on Numbers.

    This setting allows Numbers to store spreadsheets in iCloud.

  5. In the list on the left, scroll down to the apps at the bottom.

  6. Tap Numbers, then turn on Use iCloud.

When iCloud is turned off for Numbers on this device, edits you make or new spreadsheets that you create aren’t saved to iCloud, and spreadsheets that are newly created or changed on other devices or on your computer aren’t available in Numbers on this device.

Access the Numbers for iCloud web app

Spreadsheets you create on the web using Numbers for iCloud are automatically available in Numbers on your Mac or iOS devices that are set up to use iCloud—and vice versa: If you create a spreadsheet using Numbers on an iOS device or a Mac, the spreadsheet appears automatically on the web in Numbers for iCloud.

  1. Make sure your iCloud account is upgraded to use iCloud Drive and that you’re signed in using your Apple ID.

  2. On your Mac, go to iCloud.com and sign in using the same Apple ID.

  3. Click Numbers.

See Numbers for iCloud Help for more information about using Numbers for iCloud.

Tips for managing spreadsheets across devices

Here are a few things to keep in mind about using iCloud to manage your spreadsheets across devices:

If you edit and then close a spreadsheet when you’re not connected to the Internet, you see a progress bar at the bottom of the spreadsheet thumbnail. The next time you connect to the Internet, the edited spreadsheet is saved to iCloud.

If you edit a spreadsheet on more than one computer or device at the same time, you will see conflicts. Make sure the app has had time to save your changes to iCloud before editing the same spreadsheet on another device. If you do get a conflict, you can choose to preserve any or all of the spreadsheet versions.

If a spreadsheet is shared with collaborators and is open in Numbers on your Mac, it’s periodically updated with the changes made to it on the web. For this reason, it’s best not to edit the spreadsheet on your Mac while others are editing it on the web because the spreadsheet may become out of sync.

If you delete a spreadsheet, it’s deleted from iCloud and from Numbers on all your devices.

If you use folders to organize your spreadsheets on one device, the same folder organization applies on all your devices.

If you add a password to a spreadsheet on one device, it’s required to open the spreadsheet on all your devices.

If you’re using older versions of Numbers and OS X on other computers, or haven’t upgraded your iCloud account to use iCloud Drive, syncing won’t work in all cases. See this Apple Support article for more information.

Last Modified: Jun 6, 2016
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