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K09 Tip: What happened to the package format?
Posted by | Posted in Tips | Posted on 01-07-2009
If you’ve already moved up to iWork 09, you may have noticed something interesting: The default .key file format is no longer a package. For most users, this isn’t a big deal. For some though, this means you can’t crack open the package and copy out raw source files or mess with the XML file.
Thankfully, Apple say fit to give us an option. If you visit the Keynote prefs panel and General tab, you’ll see a new item called “Save new documents as packages.”
If you check this box, any new documents you create will automatically be saved in the old package format. If you’ve already created files with this preference off, it appears that simply doing a Save As doesn’t resave as a package. We found we had to create a new file (it’s best to use the same theme too) and then drag all the slides from the old document to the new one. Once we saved the new document, it was correctly created as a package file.
One a side note, those of you using Stage Hand to control your presentations from your iPhone will NEED to do this trick or Stage Hand won’t be able to find the presentations. We tested this and were able to use Stage Hand with Keynote 09 once our presentations were saved as packages (Stage Hand has since been updated to fix this issue).
UPDATE: Now that SlideShare.net supports Keynote 09 files, it’s likely that it ONLY supports the new zipped format. If you’re planning on sharing files online, we suggest NOT turning on the package format. If you need to crack open a package, you can add .zip to the end of the file name (name.key.zip) and double click it. Your file will be magically unzipped and you’ll be left with a .key package (make sure it ends with .key or it will break and turn into a plain folder).
I wonder if this wasn’t done to facilitate using iwork.com. Uploading a package usually requires making a .zip file first. Documents are easier to work with.
—Tim
I suspect so too. Too many people had issues with key files breaking when you emailed them. Apple had to do something.
Yeah, I think the new single-file format is an improvement for users. We are intending to upgrade Stage Hand as soon as we can, but in the meantime the “Save new documents as packages” seems to be a good workaround for people who’ve upgraded to iWork ’09 already.
I did test Keynote ’09 using the Apple-endorsed “Remote” app on my iPod touch ($0.99) without that package preference changed, and it works fine. Did have to broadcast my ethernet connection over Wi-Fi to connect, but I was able to find and control the slideshow, as long as it was an ’09 presentation.
Nothing very special about the new format – try a unzip -l filename.key and you’ll find out that it’s just the same as .zip. Keynote basically does, what Mail.app did all the time when you were sending a .key-File out. But for compatibility reasons across file systems definitely a good idea.
Ryan: The Apple remote works fine, it was made for Keynote 09. Stage Hand is the one with the problem.
Die: I wondered if it wasn’t just a zip file. I think the iPhone apps use this same technique.
This will probably make the “content version control” people happy, too, as this is similar to the way OmniGraffle solved the problem with THEIR files. Of course, the CORE issue is with SVN, but no one wants to hear that
Die Stimme der freien Welt: Tried the tip with unzip but it did not work here ..
just change the file name from name.key to name.zip or even name.key.zip. Then double click the file and it will unzip and leave you with the regular package formatted .key file. Nice.
brianpeat: Thank you, now it worked
Hi Brian
Any suggestions for an XML editor? I have a number of apps that will open these files but none that colour and format…
Best
Alastair
Hey. This bugged me too as I needed to get a copy of a quicktime that was embedded into a keynote presentation given to me. In Keynote 09 you can drag the file right out of keynote 09 to the desktop from the inspector — Cool