Equivalent of MagicScore for MS Word for Pages?

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Equivalent of MagicScore for MS Word for Pages?

A while back, I discovered a plug-in for MS Word that allowed me to insert several lines of music notation into a Word document. I haven't used it recently. But, now that I have an iMac and I have Pages, which I consider to be superior to MS Word, I would like to create more documents like that. Is there an add-on for Pages that works that way?

I know that there are work-arounds but they are all kind of cumbersome.

Also, how popular would this feature be if it were included in the next update of Pages? Would it be popular enough for Apple to consider adding it to Pages?

Thanks for any and all thoughts.

Alan Sharkis

Posted on May 21, 2019 7:00 AM

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Answer 1

asharkis Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 12, 2019 6:23 PM in response to asharkis

I found two solutions to the problem. One, which somebody else mentioned is a called TypeMyMusic. The other, which contains more music symbols, is Cavatina. Neither is as easy to use as MagicScore for MS Word, but they will work for me. Thanks to all who answered.

By the way, I took a file that was created in MS Word that contained some snippets of music notation and opened it in Pages. The file displayed just fine and the music notation was intact. In spite of the usual warning about missing fonts, Pages supplied a very close font of its own.

So now I'm wondering why some in the Apple Support Community are knocking Pages as compared to MS Word?

Alan

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Answer 2

VikingOSX

Level 10

124,862 points

May 21, 2019 7:55 AM in response to asharkis

Pages is not a Word clone, and uses the ultimate in obfuscated internal document formats whose decoding Apple does not share with third-parties. This is the principal reason that you won't see Word-specific plug-ins developed for Pages, as the market is too small, and the pain too high for product justification.

Word is a modern, feature-packed submarine. Pages is an older class submarine that already leaks on the surface, and that you dare not dive in because it has a screen door.

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Answer 3

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,566 points

May 21, 2019 7:41 AM in response to asharkis

Unfortunately Pages is actually inferior to Word (or even the free clone LibreOffice) for a good number of professional requirements. Yours is probably one of them, but someone may have a suggestion.

Bear in mind that Windows machines cannot read Pages docs, you have to export to Word format first, and the fidelity of such exports can be unpredictable depending on the content.

To ask Apple to add the feature you want, visit

http://www.apple.com/feedback

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Answer 4

asharkis Author

Level 1

4 points

May 21, 2019 10:21 AM in response to VikingOSX

OK, now I know how hard it would be to code an add-on to Pages. I guess I'll rely on those work-arounds that I mentioned. Basically, I have another iMac on which I run a variety of music-related software. One of my scoring apps allows me to convert a small piece of music notation to a graphic and I can then paste that graphic into a Pages document. But unless I get highly organized, I'll be running from one iMac in one room to the other iMac in another room to get the job done :-)

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Answer 5

May 21, 2019 3:59 PM in response to asharkis

There are music fonts, and any music notation that you have created elsewhere can be exported or printed to pdf, which can be dragged into Pages as a Graphic.

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Answer 6

May 21, 2019 9:11 PM in response to asharkis

https://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/list/find_fonts?q%5Bterm%5D=music&q%5Bsearch_check%5D=Y

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Answer 7

asharkis Author

Level 1

4 points

May 21, 2019 10:14 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

OK, you're the first to state that Pages is inferior to MS Word, but I don't intend to do anything fancy with it except to include some lines of music notation as illustrations in a mostly text document. I guess I'll have to rely on those work-arounds to get the job done,

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Answer 8

VikingOSX

Level 10

124,862 points

May 21, 2019 10:34 AM in response to asharkis

Toss your graphic on iCloud Drive on the first Mac, and then access that same graphic via iCloud Drive on the other Mac. Or use AirDrop for file sharing.

I keep source code to several different types of scripts and code in a separate folder on iCloud Drive. When in a public Wi-Fi setting, or on another network remotely, I can still access this content on iCloud Drive (using appropriate Virtual Private Network connection for privacy protection from public networks).

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Answer 9

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,566 points

Jun 12, 2019 6:47 PM in response to asharkis

asharkis wrote:

So now I'm wondering why some in the Apple Support Community are knocking Pages as compared to MS Word?

It all depends on the particular requirements of your work whether Pages can substitute for Word or not. But in a more general sense, if the people who are grading your academic or professional output are using MS Office, it normally makes sense to use that yourself, rather than risk the unpredictable compatibility issues that can occur when you have to translate iWork formats into Office formats.

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Answer 10

asharkis Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 12, 2019 7:02 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

Hello Tom,

I retired from teaching in 1996. Right now I'm enjoying my hobbies, so my need for MS Word is rapidly decreasing. However, I am running Windows 10 in Parallels Desktop, and for the time being, I'm keeping my MS Office and a few other things alive. In about a year, all my Windows programs and anything I created with them will either be moved to the iMac or discarded.

Thanks.

Alan

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Equivalent of MagicScore for MS Word for Pages?

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