Can we edit simultaneously in Pages for iCloud and Pages for OS X?

Question

Can we edit simultaneously in Pages for iCloud and Pages for OS X?

I know that it's possible for multiple users to edit a document in Pages for iCloud (beta). But what happens if one user is using Pages for iCloud, and another person is editing the same document in Pages for OS X? Will the changes be updated in real time? Is there a danger of creating two different documents, as sometimes happens in Dropbox?

I ask because Pages for Mac still offers more features and tools than Pages for iCloud. So some users may be able to work in the iCloud version, but at least one of wants to use the OS X version to make the final graphic tweaks and edits. Is this possible, or are we asking for trouble by using two different editions of Pages?

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5), 2.2 GHz Intel i7, 16GB RAM

Posted on Feb 21, 2015 9:57 AM

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Answer 1

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Feb 21, 2015 9:59 AM in response to Adam J. Bezark

I don't think that 2 users can open the same document without one of them getting a refusal, or a copy.

Pages doesn't do multiuser, that's Excel.

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Answer 2

Feb 21, 2015 10:10 AM in response to Csound1

I assume you're speaking of Pages for OS X? Certainly Pages for iCloud does do multiuser collaboration - that's one of its key features. I'm trying to find out what happens if Pages for OS X (or iOS, for that matter) can join the collaboration fun, or if we all have to use the iCloud beta.

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Answer 3

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Feb 21, 2015 10:21 AM in response to Adam J. Bezark

Not in my experiece, if two users open the same document they work from their local copies, the second save brings up a conflict.

Pages does not do collaborative editing on any platform, only sequential.

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Answer 4

Feb 21, 2015 11:04 AM in response to Csound1

I'm doing collaborative real-time editing in Pages for iCloud right now.

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Answer 5

Feb 22, 2015 12:04 AM in response to Csound1

Well... it looks like you were right. While Pages for iCloud theoretically supports simultaneous editing, in actual practice it's very difficult. There's no way to add comments or chat (as Google Docs allows), so it's hard to discuss what each of us is doing. And certain UI elements work differently in the OS X vs. iCloud versions, so results can be unpredictable.

iWork for iCloud will only succeed when all versions of the iCloud apps (OS X, iOS and iCloud) are 100% compatible with each other. Fingers crossed.

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