line spacing: Word vs. Pages

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Level 2

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line spacing: Word vs. Pages

With the same text, I am getting different line spacing in Word and Pages. The two applications do not get the same amount of text into the same amount of space.

For example, here is a text in Word:

I duplicated the document and opened it in Pages. This application displays the text with this line spacing:

As you see, Word can get the word "hereinafter" into the second line, where Pages does not. By getting more text into each line, Word can produce a shorter document than what I get in Pages.

Both documents have the same page setup: letter sized with one-inch margins. Both have the same font.

Is there something I am missing in Pages? Something that would allow Pages to arrange the line spacing as Word?

Posted on Jul 15, 2019 12:00 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

VikingOSX

Level 10

124,034 points

Jul 15, 2019 12:44 PM in response to R_55a

Pages is not a Word clone, and has its own document layout engine that is different than Word. When you open a Word document in Pages, it is translated into the internal Pages document format, and that process has no Apple accuracy promise. This translation is reversed when exporting to Word and the same caveat is in force. There is no end-user control over the translation process.

Also, understand that Pages will attempt to substitute a font if the font reference in the Word document is not physically installed on the Mac. That might offer additional explanation for the appearance of the text and word placement in Pages.

If you want to open, edit, or save a Word document on the Mac in its original document format, then use one of the Office365, Office 2016 for Mac, or Office 2019 for Mac choices, and completely avoid inaccurate document translation altogether.

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line spacing: Word vs. Pages

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