How do you make the top margin .5" on page 1 and 1.0" on all of the following pages?

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Level 1

8 points

How do you make the top margin .5" on page 1 and 1.0" on all of the following pages?

I have been a PC user since 1987 and find the iWorks programs far less intuitive than the MS Office products. I have been using a Word doc template, which I customized back in 1990, and all of my client records use this template. So, as I am converting to Apple, I need to find a way to adapt the iWorks Pages to accomodate my doc needs, if that is possible. As indicated in the question, I need to set the top margin on page 1 to .5" and, using either a section break or a page break, enable the top margin to be 1.0" on all of the following pages. I read somewhere on the net that this might be accomplished by using a layout break but, when I tried that, the margins on all pages seemed to still be connected to each other. Is there a way to accomplish my objective?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2), Pages

Posted on Feb 4, 2012 3:34 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 4, 2012 3:41 PM in response to ram 46

The margins stay the same throughout the document but you can work within that, so you need to allow the narrowest overall and then find ways to adjust where you want inside that.

Layout breaks subdivide what happens within the overall document layout.

Page breaks just force the text to the next page.

Why the narrower margin on the first page? What you want to achieve may be achievable bt different menans.

Peter

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Answer 2

ram 46 Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 4, 2012 4:01 PM in response to PeterBreis0807

When you describe this as being narrow, I just want to be clear that you are not referring to the width of the page, created by adjusting the left and right margins, but, rather, to the height, which is adjusted by the top and bottom margins. All pages, except page 1, have headers. When the pages are printed out, their tops line up, provided the margins on pages 2 etc are .5" larger than on the first page, thus allowing for the header. If you are advising that the top margins must be identical on all pages, then I am lost and will just have to live with it. But, that would suggest that the Apple software is inferior to the Microsoft software. I hope that isn't the case. Also, in Word there is a "Painter" function, which allows me to copy the formatting of an item or group of items and apply it to another item or group of items. Is there anything similar to that function in Pages?

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Answer 3

Feb 4, 2012 5:07 PM in response to ram 46

Narrow margin is narrow irregardless of vertical or horizontal orientation. I did understand what you said.

If you just want a Title page with no header that can be achieved with a floating textbox at the top of the page and the header empty on page 1.

An unusal layout but do-able.

Pages has Menu > Format > Copy/Paste Paragraph/Character Style (see the menus for keyboard shortcuts)

Styles is a better method and easier to maintain on a large document and reuse elsewhere.

Peter

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Answer 4

ram 46 Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 4, 2012 5:34 PM in response to PeterBreis0807

Okay, narrow is narrow. Just need to make sure we're clear on the point that we're discussing the top and bottom margins.

I just found another post that led me to "Defining Layout Margins" in the Pages help files. Between that post and the information in this help message (specifically item #4), I was able to deduce that Pages does enable me to do exactly what I need.

1 - set the page margins on page one;

2 - create a layout break at the bottom of page 1, which will effect the next page;

3 - with the cursor on page 2, open the inspector;

4 - go to the layout inspector;

5 - change the "before" margin.

In the layout inspector dialog box, "before" = "top" and "after" = "bottom", not as in paragraph or line formatting. I don't know why it couldn't just say top and bottom. That would eliminate a lot of confusion.

This has enabled me to have one top margin on the first page and a different top margin on all other pages. However, as nothing is perfect, this process must be repeated on each page. A little more work but definitely worth the effort, if you need this type of formatting. Better than not at all in other words.

Thanks for your time and help.

Ross

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Answer 5

Feb 4, 2012 6:13 PM in response to ram 46

As I said use the layout break within the document margins. You have to work inwards, you can't work out.

Layout has a Before and After because that is exactly what it is, wherever it is. The before/after is before/after the Layout breaks and has nothing to do with document pages, other than the layout break fits inside those.

As the beginning of the document usually starts with a title page of some description, whether that is free standing title or simply an enlarged head, why can't you do that using the Header on page 1. It doesn't have to contain the same running headers as the following pages if there is a section break.

Even without a section break you can have:

Inspector > Layout > Section > Configuration > First page is different

Peter

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Answer 6

fruhulda

Level 6

15,167 points

Feb 4, 2012 11:40 PM in response to ram 46

Hi!

I didn't use the layout break here. Sorry about the misspelling. You have to have the insertion point on the second page when changing the layout margin.

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Answer 7

Jeff Shenk

Level 4

3,005 points

Feb 5, 2012 4:19 AM in response to fruhulda

Fruhulda,

You didn't change the top margin after the layout break; you added a one inch space at the start of the new layout. (The setting is for "Before" not "Top"). Following pages will continue to use the top margin set in the document settings.

I haven't found a way to have different top margin settings in a document, but I haven't really needed to, either. As Peter said, having a title page appear different is fairly easy.

Jeff

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Answer 8

fruhulda

Level 6

15,167 points

Feb 5, 2012 4:31 AM in response to Jeff Shenk

I told you that I did not use Layout break! If you go on writing on the second page and comes to the end and still go on writing you will automatically get a third page with the 1" top margin!!! So you are wrong, the document will have a 1" margin even though the document setting is 0,5". I don't think you have tried my instructions but I have.

If you want a third page with jet another top margin you add the page again by using section break or the section icon in the tool bar. Set the layout margin to i.e. 3" and the following pages will have that margin until you do new changes as described above.

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Answer 9

Jeff Shenk

Level 4

3,005 points

Feb 5, 2012 4:38 AM in response to fruhulda

Have you tried it?

I used a section break (which includes a layout break). The third page (still in the second section) does not have a one inch top margin; it has the 0.5" margin set for the document.

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Answer 10

fruhulda

Level 6

15,167 points

Feb 5, 2012 4:46 AM in response to Jeff Shenk

Yes, I have tried what I have described.

Section break and layout break isn't the same.

The document will have the 0,5" document margin on all pages in the document! The point is that if you use the layout margin you will get the margin you are asking for. So please try it out. Make sure you have Show Layout checked so you see the layout margins just as I have in the posted image.

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Answer 11

Jeff Shenk

Level 4

3,005 points

Feb 5, 2012 5:00 AM in response to fruhulda

A section break is basically a page break combined with a layout break, but that is not important here. To get a different layout between pages you must have one or the other.

The OP wants to have 1" top margins on all pages except the first, which will have 0.5" But the second arrow in your screen shot doesn't point to a setting for that, it points to a setting to place a 1" space at the beginning of that layout. Subsequent pages will not get that space.

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Answer 12

fruhulda

Level 6

15,167 points

Feb 5, 2012 5:12 AM in response to Jeff Shenk

Jeff, stop arguing. The subsequent pages will have a 1" top margin!

Section break creates new sections and starts a new page. Layout breaks does not start a new page. You can have several Layout break on one page. And I did not use any layout break.

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