Q: What has been lost in Numbers 3.0 upgrade?

So it seems that you can paste tab-separated-values directly into a Numbers 3.0 table but not to the canvas.

But you cannot paste comma-separated-values into Numbers 3.0. 

To get comma-separated-values into Numbers 3.0 you can:

-- First convert to tab-separated (tricky if you have commas embedded within some fields) and then copy/paste

-- File>Open or drop on the icon (sometimes resulting in formatting problems)

-- Open in Numbers 2.3 and copy/paste to Numbers 3.0

-- Open in Excel and copy/paste to Numbers 3.0.

-- Paste into Excel, run the Text to Columns wizard, and copy/paste to Numbers 3.0

-- Probably similar with OpenOffice, etc.

It seems like the usual messy CSV/TSV situation, with Numbers 3.0 weak in the CSV department.

SG

In the list of missing features, I miss two more:

Numbers 3 can no longer import Appleworks files.

Till recently I still used Appleworks. On migrating from Snow Leopard to Mavericks, I no longer can use Appleworks. But as Numbers 2 had no problems importing old Appleworks files, I saw no problem. Now, you need to keep a copy of Numbers 2 around, to be able to read your old files.

Number 3 can't accees the printer specific features.

I have a Xerox printer with 2 paper trays that can print double sided. All my customer pricelists are printed double-sided on the high quality paper from tray 2. I can't do that anymore with the new numbers.

In the normal printer dialogue, I have a whole set of predefined settings to choose from when printing. Even a program like Adobe reader, that also has a custom dialogue, at leas has an additional button on its printing dialogue to access the printer specific features.

You can no longer count on Numbers, as my wife has found out having since I upgraded her Mac to iWork '11.

As well as the other function losses, as decribed by other contributors, the main Reorganize function that (amongst other things) allowed you to sort a user-defined area of rows and columns within a spreadsheet, has also gone!

Now, with the 'much improved' Numbers, you can only sort data by an ENTIRE column. This loss of function is a real frustration because it was something that was used daily.

I like the idea that Apple has simplified the look and feel of iWork programs, but I can see no reason at all that you would take away very useful functions away with this streamlining.

I hope that Apple listens to its customers and reinstates some of these useful functions, otherwise, we will be looking at Excel for Mac.

In the meantime, we have reverted to Numbers from iWork '09, and that to me seems a retrograde step, but makes perfect sense given that the old Numbers lets you do far more.

If it ain't broke, please Apple, don't fix it!

There is no such thing as iWork '11. The new version of the iWork suite is not numbers although many of us refer to it as iWork '13.

We are all just end-users like yourself here. Leave feedback for the Numbers team using the link in the Numbers menu.

If it ain't broke, please Apple, don't fix it!

Not a good recipe for innovation. The Apple II running Visicalc wasn't broke. But Apple fixed it anyway.

Note that "multi-column and range sort" of some sort will be reappearing, according to this support document.

SG

Hi Peggy, I am less concerned with how iWork is referred to, but all I can say is that Numbers 3 offers much less functionality that its previous iteration.

I have reverted to Numbers as released with iWork '09, which I think is a real shame, but at least I can sort sections within a spreadsheet, which is hugely useful.

Uusually, software upgrades add to or enhance a program's functionality, but in this case the reverse seems to be the case. I like the cleaner interface with Numbers 3, but I would take functionality over appearance every time.

If you can throw any light on how I might overcome this problem I would be delighted to hear from you or anyone.

Kind regards

Simon

all I can say is that Numbers 3 offers much less functionality that its previous iteration.

 

It's lost a lot of features, a few of which will be added back in. But it has gained some features too, notably for me much better cross platform performance, and is being actively developed again after a long hiatus.  Meanwhile you've still got Numbers 2.3.  Not sure why using that is a "real shame." It's a fine app. You've now got two apps for the price of none. Not such a bad deal when you think about it.

SG

No, it was easy enough to retrieve my 2.3 spreadsheet via Time Machine, once I learned that I still had 2.3. I'm happy with my data and OK with the workaround.

That said, I find it odd that when I open an Excel spreadsheet, Numbers gives me a warning and lists what was lost in the translation; yet when I open a Numbers 2.3 sheet in Numbers 3.0, it just silently throws away what it can't handle. (Actually, "odd" is probably not the best word; "infuriating" is more apt.)

Not knowing that I could drag and drop a CSV file to cell A1, I was accustomed to copying and pasting. I guess it's a little late for me to learn about the feature that has been removed, but I will share one thing I did that you may find useful: instead of Paste, I used Paste and Match Style. That preserves the formatting of the cells, including the number of decimal places.

Most recent discovery here is the loss of Devon Wordservice services in the File > Services menu. It's a Numbers 3.0 issue, not a Mavericks issue. Devon Wordservices are still present in Numbers 2.3 under Mavericks.

Here's the current scorecard:

Function or feature or issue

• Applescript support has been reduced or eliminated (To be improved by  May 2014 - full restoration not mentioned)
• Can’t open Numbers 08 documents. Must have access to Numbers iWork'09 to serve as a bridge.
• Categories View gone
• Cell border custom line weight is sometimes lost when using Filter Rows
• Character Styles are limited to 7, no way to create more. (There is a plus-button but it is inactive)
• Charted Dates don’t display properly when used as X-Axis values - hope this is just a bug
• Chart Linking, Charts in Pages Updated from Tables in Numbers, is gone
• Comments can’t be Printed
• Comments can’t be repositioned
• Comments can’t be resized
• Comments only display as Tool Tips now, can’t be static displays
• Conditional Format with Dates doesn’t support all date formats (perhaps just a bug)
• Contacts; Drag and Drop into Numbers from Contacts no longer supported
• CSV file import seems to be limited to dragging a CSV file to the Numbers Dock Icon. Pasting to a table or the canvas is gone
• Custom Formats gone
• Filter action no longer moves content below the table up or down to account for the length of the table being filtered.
• Find and Replace Results Pane is gone - was a great navigation tool
• Find and Replace can no longer be used to modify formulas
• Formula Bar is gone, replaced by a field at the bottom of the Numbers window in which the expression is displayed but can not be edited
• Formulas and Functions user guide PDF, easily searchable, is gone, replaced by web help page, so not available when working offline.
• Formula List is Gone
• Graphics Inspector no longer treats a Table as an Object that can be formatted by the Graphics Inspector tools. Or, looking at it from the Table perspective, there is no way to add Shadow effect to a Table’s outline
• Hyperlink click no longer takes user directly to URL. Instead user must first click, then choose Edit or Open.
• Insert > Date and Time is gone
• Insert > Filename is gone
• Keyboard Shortcut reminders have been removed from Drop-Down Row and Column menus
• Media Browser no longer includes a Search field
• Move and Mark for Move are gone from the Edit Menu
• Numbers User Guide PDF is gone, replaced by web help page, so not available offline.
• Page Headers and Footers are gone (To be restored May 2014)
• Page Margins can’t be adjusted
• Print Preview view not available while editing (Zoom and Windowing to be improved in some way by May 2014 - Editing in Print Preview View not mentioned)
• Pop-Up Menu Format no longer expands with a click of the Spacebar
• QFX Financial File Exchange, bank and brokerage files, import is no longer supported
• Reorganize Panel gone, no multi-level sort. (Multilevel Sort to be restored by May 2014)
• Return key option to set the behavior while editing a cell is gone
• Services are curtailed. Devon Wordservice services, in File > Services menu, are absent in Numbers 3.0.
• Share Menu is gone, and Export to PDF not longer has the option to make a PDF in Sheet View mode with no page breaks.
• Show Autocompletion List in Table Columns is gone (To be restored May 2014)
• Sort Selected Rows is gone (To be restored May 2014)
• Sorting detector now stops cell references from following the sort movement. This loss a PLUS.
• Split Cells is gone
• Table Fills are not supported
• Toolbar Editor(add, delete, rearrange tool icons) is gone. (To be restored May 2014)
• Trendline Equation and R-Squared values are fixed in place now - formerly were movable.
• Values sometimes replace expressions when V2 documents are opened in V3

That said, I find it odd that when I open an Excel spreadsheet, Numbers gives me a warning and lists what was lost in the translation; yet when I open a Numbers 2.3 sheet in Numbers 3.0, it just silently throws away what it can't handle.

I'd been wondering about that too.

They're more likely to get more new users for Numbers 3.0 from among MS Office users than from among Numbers 2.3 users, simply because there probably just aren't that many Numbers 2.3 users relative to Excel users.

So perhaps it's not that odd (though certainly not nice for their existing users) that they seem to have put more resources into polishing the Excel import than the Numbers 2.3 import.

SG

Please I need the Organize Panel back!!!!

Dino,

Use the Feedback tool in the Numbers menu and write a Mac App Store review on Numbers. Those are the only ways to get apple's attention. Posts here are to be kept to technical issues, users helping users. The Apple personnel who read these discussions do so only to enforce the etiquette.

Jerry

This may be useful for those who are not working in a networked environment where versioning does not work.

Pasting from Excel to Numbers doesn't work, i have imported now the Excel in Numbers and then copied the rows.