Numbers 3.0 review: Interface update promotes desktop-device integration
Experience has taught me that when Apple ships an update and intentionally leaves the old version of the app on your Mac, it’s a strong hint that the update is going to be a very different experience. Such is the case with Numbers 3.0 for OS X Mavericks. If you’ve used Numbers ’09, changes in the Numbers 3.0 interface and functionality will be quite an adjustment. Whether you consider the changes to be good or bad depends on how you use Numbers.
Changes, for better or worse
The old layout made it easy to see the structure of a complex project.
The first thing I noticed was that the left-side panel, which showed sheets, tables, and styles, is completely gone; sheets are now listed across the top of the window, and styles appear in a new right-hand column called the Inspector. While this layout works well for simple projects, you lose the high-level overview that the Numbers ’09 sidebar provided when you’re working with complicated projects.
Also gone is the customizable toolbar; what was once home for up to 40 of your most-used features (in the order you preferred) is now a list of 13 unchangeable, unmovable icons. As someone who had relied on a heavily customized toolbar in the prior version of Numbers, I do not welcome this change.
With the new layout, you see your sheets as tabs across the top, and have to click to get a pop-up menu showing tables and charts.
The other difference is that the format bar, which lived immediately below the toolbar, is also gone. Like the left-side panel, it has moved to the Inspector column on the right, in a layout that requires more clicking.
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