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Level 1

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iWork not iWorking on SMB in Mavericks

I had to apply a hack to get SMB (to Windows Server 2008R2) to even work in Mavericks, but now I have encountered a new problem:

Any file I open in Pages or any other iWork app from an SMB share becomes unsavable, as soon as anything is changed in it.

It starts with an Autosave error: "The document could not be autosaved. You don't have permission to write to the folder that the file is in."

From there, I can't even duplicate it, export it, or anything. Everything I do gives me a "The location of the document xxxx cannot be determined."

Even if I try to do a "Save as", I get the same "You don't have permission to write..." error (even to my own desktop!).

If I try to "Duplicate" the file- I lose all embedded elements (images) and most of my formatting.

I don't recall having this problem before, but I just started testing the iWork applications again since upgrading to Mavericks. I have been looking for an alternative to Microsoft Office for my company's staff, but this really makes iWork "not ready for prime time" in a business environment. I hope this has something to do with the SMB2 issue, and it will be resolved soon, but I am open to any suggestions to try to fix the problem.

iWork-OTHER, OS X Mavericks (10.9), MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Oct 25, 2013 1:46 PM

75 replies

Oct 31, 2013 7:59 AM in response to Wolf.NBM

Having issues in Keynote 6? Read this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5471047?answerId=23510879022#23510879022 and watch this trainwreck where the Keynote file gets replaced on the Samba server with a folder of junk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxKLcYgKlyg. Thanks Apple!

Wolf.NBM Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 31, 2013 8:52 AM in response to straightnorth

This is the problem that is happening with all iWork apps on SMB shares right now. Similar issues with MS Office and Adobe CS-X, except it doesn't turn into the mess iWork does.

Nov 5, 2013 8:34 AM in response to Wolf.NBM

I'm having the same problem too. Looks like we'll be sticking to iWork '09 for a while! I've filed a bug at bugreport.apple.com so let's see what they say.

Llanos

Level 1

0 points

Nov 14, 2013 3:42 AM in response to Wolf.NBM

😟 So frustrating, I have gone crazy for 2 days until I found the problem was iWork!

Now I can't go back to the '09 version... not available in App Store anymore!!

dwb

Level 7

32,920 points

Nov 14, 2013 3:51 AM in response to Llanos

If you had the original iWork installed on your computer, the new versions didn't delete them. Look for a folder called iWork in your Applications folder. You should find the '09 version there.

Nov 14, 2013 4:01 AM in response to Llanos

Go back to Pages '09:

http://www.freeforum101.com/iworktipsntrick/viewtopic.php?t=432&mforum=iworktips ntrick

For a full list of the Additions/removals and changes in Pages 5:

http://www.freeforum101.com/iworktipsntrick/viewforum.php?f=22&mforum=iworktipsn trick

Review/rate Pages 5 in the App Store.

Peter

pruppert

Level 1

9 points

Nov 18, 2013 10:10 AM in response to Wolf.NBM

Same problem here. I submitted feedback to Apple through the Pages application menu. I suggest others do the same.

Wolf.NBM Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 18, 2013 11:55 AM in response to pruppert

It's been submitted as Feedback, submitted as a bug report (by at least one person), and I have complained about it to my Apple Business reps. The problem affects Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. They are either ignoring the problem or working on a fix. Unfortunately with Apple- there is no way to tell which.

RBuday

Level 1

5 points

Nov 22, 2013 6:54 AM in response to Wolf.NBM

Still no joy in Mudville. I downloaded and installed iWork 5.0.1, but the ability to work across corporate Windows SMB networks remains broken. This is frustrating. iWork is almost—but not quite—ready for prime time. Back to iWork 4... again.

Petie81

Level 1

18 points

Nov 23, 2013 2:03 PM in response to RBuday

Very frustrating!

I use this as workarround: copy the file to the desktop, edit it, copy it back again (replace).

Since I updated to Mavericks on my MacBook Pro, when I try to use it after it's been in sleep mode, it takes "for ever" to reconnect to the NAS and the internet, while the Wifi is connected. It looks like I can speed things up by turning Wifi off and on again. Is this a same sort of issue as the SMB issue?

Peter

Wolf.NBM Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 25, 2013 7:14 AM in response to Wolf.NBM

Apple updated iWork over the weekend. Didn't fix this problem!

Also- SMB seems to have gotten even more unstable, although I'm not sure why since I don't believe it is tied to a Mavericks update. I frequently lose my connections to SMB shares now, and the only way I can reconnect is to log out and log back in, or reboot. I tried CIFS as an alternative- and it was even worse (random disconnects), and didn't have any affect on iWork. iWork is completely unusable unless I only work locally.

Yes- I've submitted all of this in Feedback as a Bug Report. They just seem to be ignoring the problem. I guess when you give something away for "free", you don't have to support it anymore. Very dissappointing.

RBuday

Level 1

5 points

Nov 25, 2013 7:19 AM in response to Wolf.NBM

We're using the latest version of Tuxera NTFS to connect Mavericks to SMB drives without any problem (except for new iWork apps). Have you tried that?

Dec 3, 2013 11:11 PM in response to Wolf.NBM

Same problem here. On Mavericks clients that will default to SMB connections I have instructed fileshare users to use "Go" > "Connect to Server..." and manually enter afp://servername_or_ip . to force AFP connections. I have created aliases for those shares once connected.

Also cannot send/receive the new iWork file format as an attachment from gmail, haven't tested other email servers.

Petie81

Level 1

18 points

Dec 12, 2013 1:42 AM in response to kginger_consulting

What is the difference between AFP and SMB? Or, more important: does the use of AFP has any disadvantages?

Wolf.NBM Author

Level 1

0 points

Dec 12, 2013 6:54 AM in response to Petie81

AFP only works on servers/NAS devices that support it. It is Apple's proprietary network file protocol, and I believe they have abandoned it in favor of SMB2. If you use Windows-based servers or NAS devices that only support SMB- it isn't an alternative.

CIFS is an alternative that forces the use of SMB1 in Mavericks, without using the SMB1 hack (earlier in this discussion). For whatever reason- it seems to actually work worse than the old Mac SMB implementation.

iWork is still useless on network shares, and CIFS/SMB1 still randomly disconnect and cause permission corruption for all of our users who we upgraded to Mavericks. For the record- we had random and infrequent permission corruption in earlier versions of OS X, but with Mavericks- we can count on it on a regular basis.

I'll look at Tuxera, but as a rule- we try to keep things as "native" as-possible to avoid future compatibility issues. This is a problem Apple needs to get fixed if they really want to make serious inroads into the Enterprise, which they claim they do. In many ways- their competition is self-destructing and becoming desperate- they should be taking advantage of it. I had to buy six new Windows computers this month for my company, which could have been MacBooks if it wasn't for these problems.

iWork not iWorking on SMB in Mavericks