I know how I'm supposed to add a section in Pages - by going to Insert Section Break. But it's always grayed out - not an active command. How do I get it active? (I noticed that Auto Page Numbering doesn't work unless I have a footer or header to anchor it - so I suspect I'm missing something else. But what?)
Thank you,
Amy
Mac OS X (10.6.8), Pages 9
Hi Amy,
First, you must have the Text Insertion cursor set in the document and flashing, so Pages knows where to put the break.
Second, you must be working in a Word Processing template. There is no reason to use a Section Break in a Page Layout template, so it's unavailable.
Jerry
A very small correction to Jerry's correct answer:
A highlighted selection (in the main text body) is an an acceptable alternative to the blinking cursor; in this case the selection will be replaced by the Section Break. (From the point of view of the application, the blinking cursor, which as Jerry pointed out is the normal way to insert a Section Break, is just a selection of zero characters)
Hi Jerry-
Thank you - it solved my question (I thought I'd clicked the "solved" button but it didn't apply to your reply -if you see what I mean).
The problem was, I used a Page Layout template to design a 32 page catalog, and it was very easy (I just had a workaround with the page numbering - had to split the file in 2 to get it right). But this makes me wonder if I should have used Word Processor template all along! What kind of template should I use to do a catalog that's both graphic-intensive and word processing? I love Pages - it got the job done easily and I like the result - but is there something more "Big Picture" that I'm missing?
Thanks for your expertise!
Amy
Amy,
I am probably reading way too much into your response to Jerry, but I wonder if you are missing that, since each page in a Page Layout document is a separate section, you can reorder them by simply dragging the thumbnails around in the sidebar.
I think the choice of Page Layout for a catalog is the reasonable approach, but there are some well-respected members of this community who think Word Processing should be used for everything.
Amy,
I think you made the correct choice when you began with a Page Layout document, but Page Layout mode requires some study to learn how to best use it. The only case that can be made for WP mode is if you need to have a Table of Contents or Bookmarks or if the size of the document is in flux. Since PL docs are typically small and of fixed length, typically newsletter or poster/flyer, there is no advantage to WP except for comfort level if you haven't learned to use PL.
It takes more skill and understanding to properly use PL-like features in a WP template, because you have to be on guard for issues that crop up on a WP doc that is loaded with graphics and text boxes.
Edit: You may find that you prefer to compose in both modes, separate documents, and combine them in PDF form within Preview.app. That way you can also combine Landscape and Portrait pages into a single file.
Jerry
Thank you, Jerrold and Jeff, for your answers. It does help me get a better sense of Pages. I dove right into my project without even knowing there are two modes. I was happy with the ease of it - but there are some features I'd been trying to use (like Sections) that I couldn't access, and now I know why. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Amy
Jeff,
Thank you for your reply! More information helps!
Amy
Insert Section Break is grayed out so I can't choose it. Why?
