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Is keynote on iOS fully compatible with iWork on OS X?

I am a teacher and use keynote on my iPad every day. I have created many presentations using the built-in templates. It is a joy to use this app. The same is true for numbers, which I use to do everything from my class registers to end of semester grade reports.


I am considering buying my first Apple computer. I read in this thread that the iOS and OS X versions of keynote aren't fully compatible. There seemed to be serious issues with graphics and fonts. That was some time ago. Have these problems been resolved? This is a critical part of my decision. I want to be able to manually edit keynote themes on a desktop and then use them with my iPad. (Currently theme editing is not possible on iOS). If I can't seemlessly edit files on one, have them update and sync to the other via iCloud, then I don't think I will bother buying a Mac.

iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G, iOS 5.1.1

Posted on Oct 22, 2012 1:24 AM

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Posted on Oct 22, 2012 6:49 AM

I doubt they will ever be fully compatible. Whether it is close enough to meet your particular needs would need probably require testing by you. This is what Apple puts out:


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4114

4 replies

Oct 22, 2012 7:47 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

Thank you, that definitely makes things clearer.


It looks like the 'best practices' are those which involve setting up the presentation to be as though it were created on the iPad. For example, only choosing themes and slide layouts that are available on the iPad.


What I was hoping was that iWork on a Mac would free me from some of the limitations of iWork on iOS, but it looks like this is not possible.


An example: I wanted to be able to edit the theme of a presentation and apply the customisation to all slides. For example, to edit the appearance of all slide titles. (Similar to Powerpoint's / OpenOffice's 'slide master view.')


Has anyone successfully done this (edites a template) on a Mac and transferred it to an iPad? Can you go as far as changing slide backgrounds?


I'm so glad I found this before buying a Mac, since it looks like I was setting myself up for a big disappointment!

Nov 3, 2012 2:46 AM in response to oldmankit

I'm using Keynote on both Mac and iPad. There are limitations, indeed, but they don't prevent you from making a nice presentation on the iPad.


I normally start creating my presentation on the Mac and than transfer to the iPad. I try to use typefaces, transitions and animations that are also supported by the iPad (for instance, action builds are not supported, nor are some of the more subtile animations). I make also sure that all graphical objects (rectangles, rounded ractanges, arrow etc.) i need are in the slides i transfer. From then on, i add slides by duplicating existing slides, thus making sure that the formatting remains consistent across the presentation. It actually works quite well, although it is not the same as having your own templates available.


In addition, you can also setup a library with photos, images and other graphical objects you need in Photos on the iPad.

Nov 13, 2012 11:19 PM in response to RNKLN

Thank you. It's not the answer I wanted, but it's the answer.


I have a bluetooth keyboard to work with my iPad, and when that's connected, making presentations is fast. I can't see that the advantage of having Numbers on a Mac computer would make much of a difference, given that the the streamlined customising of templates etc. is not possible as I had wished.


Knowledge is power. Thank you to RNKLN Tom Geweke for sharing this information!

Is keynote on iOS fully compatible with iWork on OS X?

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