Numbers terminal command options documentation

Numbers 14 on Mac OS allows more than one document to be opened at the same time. No change from before.

Numbers 14 does not allow one document to be opened more than once at the same time. No change from before.

I do not know terminal commands to open documents but you can click on documents in Finder to open them. No change from before. I assume terminal commands will work like they always have.

You should be able to make a shortcut to open a specified Numbers file in Numbers (or the "default app"). I tried it, it works. If you have made a shortcut to open Numbers without specifying a file, opening the same document(s) that was(were) previously open is normal. There is a system setting that changes that but I don't know where Apple hid it in their latest Mac OS when they totally redid the System Preferences(Settings) stuff and made some settings harder to find under headings and sub-headings that don't quite fit or make sense.

Edit: It is under "Desktop & Dock" in the section heading by "Windows" and is called "Close windows when quitting an application". Check that box and it will not restore the windows/documents you had open before. What does this setting have to do with "Desktop & Dock" you might ask. Absolutely nothing.

> AFAIK, macos Numbers does not allow more than one document to be opened at once (2025!!! dumbed down to iOS ?)

I have 5 separate Numbers documents open right now. mostly because I'm lazy about closing them. Maybe I should be more disciplined... either way, that renders this statement incorrect, and likely renders the rest of the post moot...

> A work around was terminal

What 'workaround' are you talking about. As I mentioned, File -> Open has always worked for me. Not sure why invoking the terminal would be any different/better.

> but that is now also broken in the name of security

Without knowing what 'workaround' you were using, or how it's changed, it's impossible to confirm or deny this one, other than the fact that Numbers has always (that I can recall) been able to open multiple documents, and therefore this is likely moot anyway.

> The shortcut app can be used but it always launches a new instance of the last opened file …

that likely depends on the setup of your shortcut...

> What are the command line options for numbers, and in particular, to launch and go to file > open ...

Numbers is a GUI app that doesn't have any command-line options. There are some standard command line commands such as 'open', which can use Numbers.app as a parameter/argument, but it's not related to Numbers directly.

To use 'open' to launch an application:

open -a <appname>

e.g.:

open -a Numbers

To open a document in the default application:

open /path/to/document

e.g.

open ~/Desktop/my.xlsx

to open a document in a specific application, combine the -a switch with the document in question:

open -a Numbers ~/Desktop/my.xlsx

But this is still no different from opening the document using File -> Open.

The only thing that comes to mind when you say you can only open one document at a time is if you're running in full-screen mode, where the document takes up the whole screen, meaning you can't see other documents. If that's the case, move the mouse to the top-left corner of the window until the close/minimize/zoom buttons appear and click the green button. Does that reveal the other open documents?

Do you mean Numbers does not allow more than one window on the same document to be open at one time.

If so, then your observation is correct. It has always been that way (unlike in Excel)

Viewing different parts a document at the same time is difficult. The only workaround I can think of is to duplicate the document and open the duplicate at the same time you have the original open. Once you've finished, you close and delete the duplicate (without confusing it with the original!).

SG