Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are all part of Apple's iWork suite, and some of the best ways to manage documents, edit spreadsheets, and create presentations on an iPhone or iPad. When you make Pages, Numbers, or Keynote files, however, you're not locked into Apple's iCloud online storage. You can move anything you create to any other storage app that supports the basic file types. That includes Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, and more!
How to upload Pages, Numbers, or Keynote files to other cloud storage apps on iPhone and iPad
- Launch Pages, Numbers, or Keynote on your iPhone or iPad.
- Open the document that you'd like to open or transfer to a different App Store app.
- Tap the Wrench icon in the upper right hand corner.
- From the popup menu choose Share and Print.
- Choose Open in Another App.
- You'll now be asked to choose the format you'd like to save the document in. Tap on the type you'd like.
- Tap on Choose App.
- Tap on the app you'd like in the Share Sheet. In this example, I'll choose Google Drive.
- Your file will now launch in the chosen app.
If you use another app to store your files but prefer iWork's set of tools for editing and creating, this is a great way to mix the two together.
While it'd be nice to have integration right inside iWork, this is about the best we can do for now. If you use Dropbox or Google Drive or anything else to store files, give this a try and then let me know what you think in the comments!
Reader comments
How to move Pages, Numbers, or Keynote for iPhone and iPad files to Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, and more
I use this and generally move files to Box, but I have a fee other services too.
Similarly, iWork files can be moved to other apps on iOS devices, which keeps them organized and available even without data connections.
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Okay, this SOUNDS great but when I click on the Wrench in Numbers on my iPad Air, I don't have a Share & Print, just a Print option.
Under tools, there is..
Find
Settings
Set Password
Print
Help
Am I missing something?
Okay, I found it.
It's not under the Wrench, you have to click the Share icon which is to the right of the Wrench.
You must be running an older version. In the current version it is indeed under the wrench.
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With the update to Pages and Numbers today, the Open in Another Application has moved to the Share icon. The problem I am having with opening in Box is the file saves over as a .zip file which Box will not open - Preview Not Available. In Dropbox, it appears to open but displays nothing. Maybe the Box and Dropbox apps need to be updated now.
But can I open files from dropbox, drive, or box in iWork?
yes, use the Open in... function.
Why are we moving files around? Why keep track where they are stored? The purpose of iCloud is to not track where your files are placed. With documents in the cloud, your documents follow you.
Thanks for sharing this tip!
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Great guide Allyson!
Do you happen to know of way to automatically back-up iWork files to other services every day or so?
On the mac, they are stored in a folder. You could run Automator or an app called Hazel to copy every time there's a change. Additionally, Time Machine works within the open dialog window.
Hopefully Microsoft will add Open In to Word, Powerpoint and Excel.
Thank you, Allyson! One would think it would be easier to click and drag docs from iPad to iMac and back again, but noooo... Your solution did the trick. A few extra steps, but a 45mb file transferred perfectly in under 5 minutes.