iWork 09 apps cannot be opened because of a problem.

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Level 1

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iWork 09 apps cannot be opened because of a problem.

I recently installed a new hard drive and in the process did a clean install of OS 10.8.4. I previously had iWork 09 installed on the old drive (from the app store operating in OS 10.6) and copied this over from a Time Machine backup.

I can now no longer open Keynote, Pages or Numbers. Instead I get the message: "Keynote cannot be opened because of a problem." I cannot seem to reinstall the apps from the App Store as they are not listed in my purchases. (Not sure if this only lists purchases made after upgrading to 10.8?) I've already tried removing the preference files from my library—they apparently don't exist so can't be removed—and running an update to iWork 9.3 (from http://support.apple.com/downloads/#iwork).

Any ideas? Any help to avoid repurchasing the apps is much appreciated!

iWork 09-OTHER, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Jun 13, 2013 4:56 AM

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Answer 1

braden85

Community Specialist

Jun 15, 2013 11:51 AM in response to Hector_81

Hi there hector_81!

If you are having trouble with your copies of iWork '09 and you purchased them from the Mac App Store, you can always just delete them off of your computer and download them again from your Apple ID purchase history in the Mac App Store. We have an article that can explain a little more about this process to you, and it can be found right here:

iTunes Store & Mac App Store: Seeing your purchase history and order numbers

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2727

Another option you can try is to test and see if the applications will open under another user account. This is an important step of troubleshooting to determine if there is an issue with your user account preferences and the application software. Take care, and thanks for visiting the Apple Support Communities.

-Braden

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Answer 2

Hector_81 Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 16, 2013 5:56 AM in response to braden85

Thanks for your reply Braden. Unfortunately, this didn't work. The apps are not listed in my previous purchases—possibly they were acquired on another account—so I've had to buy them again.

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Answer 3

donnyh15

Level 1

14 points

Jun 2, 2015 12:54 PM in response to Hector_81

If anyone comes to this thread, I did on 06/02/2015, the answer seems to be replacing /Library/Application Support/iWork '09/ with a newer version of the frameworks (everything in that folder.) I did a clean install of iWork '09 on a 2011 MacMini and the iWork apps all displayed a dialogue box saying " (App) cannot be opened because of a problem." When I copied the support folder noted from another Mac in our office, the new install opened perfectly.

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