What is a NUMBERS file?
The files with .numbers extension are classified as spreadsheet file type, that’s why they are similar to the .xlsx files; but the Numbers files are created by using Apple iWork Numbers spreadsheet software. The Apple iWork Numbers is a unit software of the iWork Productivity Suite. The iWork Productivity Suite is equivalent to the Microsoft Office Suite that is used on Windows PCs. Hence, we can say the Numbers which is available for MacOS is also a competitor of Microsoft Excel. Likewise, Microsoft Excel, the NUMBERS file may also contain the tables, charts and formulas. You can find various softwares to convert NUMBERS file to Excel or other spreadsheets.
Brief History of Numbers
The first version of Numbers 1.0 on OS X was announced on 7 August 2007 and incorporated as the newest application in the iWork suite. The iPad version of this app was released on 27 January 2010.The application was later updated to support iPhone and iPod Touch.
Numbers uses a free-form “canvas” approach that downgrades the tables to one of many different media types existed on a page. Other media e.g. charts, graphics and text, are treated as peers. In comparison, the traditional Microsoft Excel uses the table as the main container, with other media placed within the table. Also the Numbers icorprates features from the seminal Lotus Improv, particularly the use of formulas based on ranges rather than cells. Therefore, it implements these using traditional spreadsheet concepts, as opposed to Improv’s use of multidimensional databases.
Numbers also includes several modish enhancements in an effort to refine the visual appearance of spreadsheets. Steve Jobs showed a more usable interface and better control over the appearance and presentation of tables of data, at the time of its initial demonstration.
Available Features with Numbers
Here is the list of some salient features offered by IWork Numbers:
- Turn handwriting into text
- Redesigned forms with more simple functions
- Add and play web videos right in your spreadsheets
- Powerful new RegEx features
- XLOOKUP to find values from everywhere in the spreadsheet
- Record, edit, and play audio directly in a spreadsheet
- LaTeX or MathML notations for mathematical equations
- Captions and titles stick with objects
- Microsoft Excel Compatibility
- Color, gradients, and images
- Offline collaboration
- Custom templates
- Trackpad support on iPad
- Worksheet links
- iCloud Drive folder sharing
