How do I find serial number for iWork '09?

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Level 1

21 points

How do I find serial number for iWork '09?

I have run, and paid for, the Apple suite of word processor and spreadsheet programmes for decades. I am now using the latest (Pages 6.3.1, for example) under High Sierra. I tried to open the previous version, still in my Applications folder, within a folder called iWork '09, because I am trying to open an old file with a .cwk suffix.

But when I did I got a window asking me to enter my 'purchased serial number'.

a) Since I used the previous version for years, why am I being asked now for a serial number?

b) Where do I find such a number? I assume I purchased iWorks '09 via the App Store, but there is no trace of it there

I have read several similar enquiries from others, but haven't managed to find an answer

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS High Sierra (10.13.3), 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM

Posted on Mar 6, 2018 5:08 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Peggy

Level 8

41,607 points

Mar 6, 2018 8:27 AM in response to Kevan Pegley

Getting the request for a serial number means that at some time you had the iWork ’09 trial installed. The Mac App Store version hasn't been available since October, 2013. You need to delete the trial & then reinstall from the boxed DVD or the Mac App Store. The files to delete are the iWork ’09 folder from the main HD > Applications; the iWork ’09 folder in HD > Library > Application Support & the individual iWork application plist files found in HD > Users > (your account) > Library > Preferences for each user. The easiest way to fix the problem is to use Yvan Koenig's AppleScript that removes the files. Yvan's box.com account often is out of bandwith. I have put a copy on my Box.com account in the iWork folder. Download uninstall iWork '09.zip, decompress it, open it in AppleScript Editor and click the Run button.

You will then need to reinstall iWork '09 from the retail DVD. If you don't have the DVD you can purchase a copy from Amazon.com or eBay. If you don't have an ongoing need to use iWork '09, try LibreOffice. It can open many, but not all, types of AppleWorks & ClarisWorks documents. You can then save the files in a more universally compatible format.

Apple's support article on the subject says it's due to having a copy of the trial that is a higher version that the one you've purchased, but I'm not sure that is very common. This problem started with Snow Leopard & it seems to be some code in the iWork installers that doesn't do what it should.

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Answer 2

Mar 6, 2018 7:53 AM in response to Kevan Pegley

The serial number for your lapsed demo version will likely do you no good. Apple's registration servers probably don't exist anymore.

Apple made a right mess of the many twists and turns they concocted to install the iWork Apps.

As Peggy says, completely remove the demo version and install a DVD version which you can buy cheaply from Amazon, just make sure you update to the last update to v4.3 after the installation.

Peter

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Answer 3

Kevan Pegley Author

Level 1

21 points

Mar 6, 2018 8:38 AM in response to Peggy

Thanks Peggy. That was more helpful than 40 minutes on the phone with an Apple tech guy who was fixated on seeing my screen (pointless), telling me that I should be able to open a .cwk with the current version of Pages (wrong), and that I can't open Pages '09 in High Sierra (which I don't think is the case, otherwise the app would be so flagged).

As far as I remember I never had a trial of Pages '09. I've always used and upgraded the iWorks apps. I can't understand why I would have bothered with a trial.

After posting my question I discovered the physical DVD pack for iWork '09 that I had bought. I didn't realize that we were still installing apps from disc until so recently! But no serial number on the box!

I suppose I could hook up an external optical disk drive to reinstall from the DVD, but you know what? I can't be bothered. I have meanwhile downloaded LibreOffice (thanks for the tip) and it opened the .cwk file without a problem. Not a serial number in sight. It's a shame when we loyal Apple users have to resort to third party apps—but it seems to happen more and more often these days. (I had to switch from Aperture to Adobe Lightroom, for example.)

Anyway, thanks again for your helpful suggestions.

Best

Kevan

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Answer 4

Peggy

Level 8

41,607 points

Mar 6, 2018 9:13 AM in response to Kevan Pegley

The iWork '09 DVD doesn't require a serial number, only the trial did.

You may want to consider keeping iWork '09 installed (updated to v9.3). Pages 4.3 alone has over 100 features that are not available in the post-2013 versions. You can have both iWork '09 & the current version at the same time. You can even have them both running at the same time. Pages 4.3 & Numbers 2.3 continue to work in High Sierra with, perhaps, a few minor glitches. I use them both daily.

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