Can't remove ghost object in Pages doc imported from Word

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Level 1

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Can't remove ghost object in Pages doc imported from Word

Hi there,

I imported a Word .docx into Pages '09 for it's better layout and figure handling capabilities.

I ran into a few issues with page numbers from Word being converted to background/master objects, but overcame that pretty easily.

The problem I now have, is that it seems one of the figures from the Word document has become some kind of unselectable ghost object. Which is only apparent because text is inexplicably wrapping around an empty space.

I've tried all the tricks I've found to select background and master objects with no luck. Has anyone encountered this before?

I'm attaching a jpeg of a screenshot of what the document is doing. Invisibles are on, so you can see that there aren't spaces, tabs, etc or an object. Yet the text is wrapping as if an object were there.

I've already made edits to the file, so I would really prefer not to have to delete figures from the Word file and re-import to Pages to fix this...

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks very much!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Apr 23, 2012 9:48 AM

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Answer 1

fruhulda

Level 6

15,161 points

Apr 23, 2012 10:45 AM in response to eebick

I wonder what it could be. Have you tried to select it?

You could try Arrange menu > Make Background objects selectable and Format > Advanced > Make Master objects selectable

Double click on the area again and see if it gets selected

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Answer 2

eebick Author

Level 1

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Apr 23, 2012 10:52 AM in response to fruhulda

Yes, I have tried selecting it. I've set Background Objects selectable, and Master Objects Selectable, and there's still nothing to select.

I've even tried the command+click in the margin, drag into the document trick. Nothing.

It's very perplexing. Pages doesn't think there's an object to select, and yet it's wrapping text around something.

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Answer 3

fruhulda

Level 6

15,161 points

Apr 23, 2012 10:54 AM in response to eebick

You never know with Word documents. Could you send me the word and the Pages document to me and I will try to fins the problem? Click on my alias name and you'll see the mail address.

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Answer 4

Apr 23, 2012 11:01 AM in response to eebick

Tried stripping off formatting from the Word document by importing into TextEdit and exporting as .rtf?

Then bringing it into Pages.

Peter

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Answer 5

eebick Author

Level 1

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Apr 23, 2012 11:25 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'd first like to exhaust all options to simply remove the ghost object from the exisitng Pages document. I've already made signifcant edits to it, and I don't want to re-import and repeat all the formatting unless I absolutely have to.

I'll keep stripping off Word formatting and re-importing as a backup plan though, thanks.

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Answer 6

fruhulda

Level 6

15,161 points

Apr 23, 2012 11:34 AM in response to eebick

Ok, I g ot the Page document. It seems that Export to Rtfd gets rid of the ghost. Exporting back to Word didn't help. So eebick Export to Rtfd.

Some of the images in the document moved to the end, so you have to do some editing though.

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Answer 7

eebick Author

Level 1

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Apr 23, 2012 11:45 AM in response to fruhulda

Ah great, it worked!

A warning to others, exporting to Rtfd and re-importing to Pages seems to have removed many of my tables and figures from the original document, in addition to the weird ghost figure. I was planning on cleaning up the figures anyway, so this is not a problem for me, but others who try this should be prepared to lose many (but not all, oddly) of their inserted objects.

Thanks very much Fruhulda!!

eebick

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Answer 8

fruhulda

Level 6

15,161 points

Apr 23, 2012 11:52 AM in response to eebick

You are welcome!🙂

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Answer 9

Jul 3, 2012 2:27 PM in response to fruhulda

fruhulda, you saved my bacon with the "make master objects selectable" tip. i woulda never looked there.

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Answer 10

Sep 20, 2017 2:05 AM in response to eebick

I just had this issue in Pages 6.2 . For me, quitting Pages and re-opening it solved the problem, in that the ghost object was now showing up and selectable again.

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