With the release of OS X Mavericks, Apple have released a much-awaited update to the iWork and the iLife suite, which will be given away for free with the purchase of every new Mac bought on or after October 1, 2013 (and updated to OS X Mavericks) and every iOS 7 device activated on or after September 1, 2013. You are, of course, eligible for a free upgrade if you have ever purchased iWork in the past. However, If you haven’t, there is now a way to gain free access to the new iWork for OS X legally.

Disclaimer: As of the time of writing, this method is both legal and permitted. We do not know what the future may hold.

The workaround is pretty straightforward. You need to first download and install the trial version of iWork ’09, and then simply update it from the App Store. Follow the steps described below to achieve this.

Requirements

Trial version of iWorks ’09 | Mirror 1 | Mirror 2

Procedure

1. Install the trial version you downloaded.

2. If you get the error “iWork09Trial.mpkg is from an unidentified developer. Are you sure you want to open it?”, click OK to confirm.

3. Then, on the ‘iWork ’09 Trial Install DVD’ window, right-click on the ‘Install iWork ’09 Trial’ button and select on ‘Show original’ from the context menu.

4. You will be taken to a Finder window with a lone file labeled ‘iWork09Trial.mpkg’. Right-click on the file and select Open With > Installer.

Note: The above solution works for any app you wish to install that was not downloaded from the App Store.

5. Keep clicking Continue, agree to the license agreement, press install, enter your system password when prompted and click Install Software. Wait for the installation to complete, then click Finish. If you go to Launchpad (shortcut key: F4), you should now be able to see the Pages, Numbers and Keynote installed.

6. Open the App Store. If you do not know where the App Store is located, hit F4 to open Launchpad, and in the search bar above, enter “App Store” to find it.

7. From the top bar of the App Store, switch to the Updates section. You should see the three iWork apps and their available updates below.

8. Click Update All or update each app individually by clicking the Update button at the end of the app’s name, and you will be updated to the iWorks 2013 suite for free.

Enjoy your new suite. It will not be a replacement for Microsoft Office, but for casual users, it is far easier and just as capable .

[via Reddit]

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