Can't open an iOS Numbers file

Question

iOS apps are now updated automatically. That's fine. But when I try to open a file on my Mac that was updated on the iPad, it tells me I need the latest version of Numbers. I don't want to spend $20 on such a low rated application. Is there anyway to be able to open that file on my Mac short of having to pay the money or retype it in?
I stay with the iPad because of the vaunted Apple "ecosystem." but if this means I have to pay money for things I don't want just to get the ecosystem to work, I feel really ripped off. The Numbers page in the App store says the app is installed, but it's a 2.x version not 3.0. It doesn't indicate any way to buy or update to the new version.

Answer 1

Hi Susan,
If you have the old Numbers 2.3 on your Mac you can download Numbers 3.0 for free from the Mac App Store. It's a free upgrade. Maybe you can try logging out of the Mac App Store and logging back in and see if shows Numbers 3.0 as a free download. It should.
After the download Numbers 3.0 does not replace the old version of Numbers. You're getting a new free app but still keeping the old. After the download, Numbers 3.0 will be in your Applications folder and Numbers 2.3 will be in a subfolder with Applications named iWork '09 or similar. You can run them both at the same time.
If you've worked on a document in iOS or Numbers 3.0 you can File>Export to..>Numbers '09 from the menu.
For me Numbers 3.0 is syncing very smoothly with the new Numbers on the iPad. It's a huge improvement from syncing the old Numbers and the old version on the iPad. That part of the ecosystem is finally coming together in a way that has already been very useful to me, and should get better over time. Now Apple just has to add back in some essential features to Numbers 3.
SG