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How do I change the default save location for new files in Pages back from iCloud to my Documents folder?

I just upgraded OSX to Mountain Lion and Pages to 4.2, and because OSX is syncing with my iCloud account, when I go to save a new file in Pages it defaults to try to save to my iCloud account rather than giving me the folder structure on my hard-drive that I prefer. It requires two extra steps to save to the proper place in my Documents folder on my hard drive.


Is there a way to reset the default so that when I go to save a new file, the folder structure opens to the last saved folder (like it does in other non-iCloud applications) rather than defaulting to my iCloud, and to do it without just removing documents from my iCloud account entirely?


I checked the Preferences for both Pages and iCloud and found nothing about this.

Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Jul 28, 2012 8:14 AM

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59 replies

Jul 30, 2012 8:30 AM in response to JGinDC

I'm having the same frustration with the Save dialog - I'd like to keep iCloud active for documents so I can use it if I (occassionally) want to, but I want to have the default be a local save. The iCloud default is doubly frustrating for me since I use the expanded save as dialog, which gets turned off when you go to iCloud. So I need to change from iCloud to my hard drive and click the expand button every time I save a new file in TextEdit, Pages, Keynote or Preview. Grrr...


Other than carping, I had two useful things to add. First, you can change the default in the Open dialog box - look for the two buttons at the upper left of the dialog. Click "On my Mac" instead of "iCloud" and future calls to Open should default to your local drive. (All the stranger then that there's no counterpart in the "Save As..." dialog.)


Second, I would leave feedback for the OSX team, not the Pages team. This is, I'm guessing, OS level funcionality that basically says "If this program supports iCloud, show this form of the dialog box". At the very least, it's an Apple/OSX-level rather than Pages-level decision about how these dialogs will work, since it's the same in all the programs I mentioned. Heck, start at the very top and email Tim Cook directly!

Aug 3, 2012 10:37 AM in response to techmoddly

I think this will work for me. iCloud isn't a good place to save documents anyway, since I use SugarSync. If I save a document to a folder I'm syncing, it doesn't need an explicit save to the cloud to get there. iCloud is great for someone who just bought his first Mac yesterday, but I didn't.


I have 4,400 documents on my computer. What use is "All My Files"? Do they really expect me to drag and drop 4,400 icons to make pseudo folders only one level deep? Why are all my icons white rectangles in Open and Save dialog boxes? There are some things that even Apple doesn't get.

Aug 4, 2012 2:17 PM in response to Parrish Jones

Just keep scrolling down. The headings are:


  • Mac
  • iPod and iPhone
  • iPad and iOS
  • OS X Apps


Under OS X Apps, Mac OS X is the fourth from the left on the top row. Click on that.


The best thing to do is to turn off documents and data in iCloud. It warns you darkly that it will delete the files on hour computer, but it means the copies stored in the Library forlder somewhere. The copies in the regular folders are unaffected. The Open and Save dialog boxes return to normal, except you see white rectangles instead of the icons (and have no choice about it, either)


Apple doesn't "get" the cloud yet. Eventually they will.

Aug 4, 2012 4:53 PM in response to Kenneth Collins1

The best thing to do is to turn off documents and data in iCloud.

This is obviously the best solution if you have no need for iCloud's document support - but I do want to be able to use it occasionaly to facilitate the transfer of Keynote and Pages documents between my Mac and iPad.


I don't expect iCloud to ever be a full-fledged alternative to my local disc (I think I've got your file total beat by about an order of magnitude), but as an accessory system it seems like a fine idea. I just wish it didn't try so hard to make you use it all the time.

Aug 4, 2012 5:40 PM in response to Alistair Cullum

What I meant is turn off Documents and Data in iCloud in OS X. Keep it on on your iOS devices. iCloud will sync documents between the iOS devices and make them available on the iCloud web site, but it won't mess up iWorks' open and save dialog boxes. It also won't assume that you want all your documents in iCloud, which I think is undesirable anyway.


Keep iOS and OS X separate, and use the web site to move files between the two as necessary.


iOS iWork is different from OS X iWork. There are fewer fonts on an iOS device. iOS iWork programs have slightly different feature sets than OS X iWork programs, and the file formats are different. iCloud automatically converts the file format when necessary, but if you make a habit of saving things directly to iCloud, you are limited to the lowest common denominator between the two versions of iWorks. So why would anyone want iWork on the Mac to open and save documents on iCloud by default?


If you want to store files in the cloud and sync them on your Macs, SugarSync is a much better solution. It lets you choose your sync folders, it doesn't make you reorganize your files, it lets you sync all file types, it doesn't convert files to a different format and back, and it stores everything in the cloud, too. Just the simle act of saving a file backs it up and syncs it. I wouldn't live without it. iCloud is best with iTunes purchases and synchronizing Mac settings and iOS files; I woudln't live without it. The two make an unbeatable combination.

Aug 5, 2012 6:01 PM in response to Kenneth Collins1

I would probably use iCloud for a few files, so to have it auto sync in the background to ~/Library/Mobile Documents is a benefit I want to keep.

The idea of iCloud is it is a syncing service which keeps the latest copy of you docs on all devices - very handy.


Note that the Lion versioning is only local to the machine, and not pushed to the iCloud, so it won't be available on other devices / machines.

How do I change the default save location for new files in Pages back from iCloud to my Documents folder?

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