How to add background image in Pages?

Question

Level 1

9 points

How to add background image in Pages?

Pages has consistently proved itself to be very counterintuitive piece of software. I searched the web for almost an hour without a good solid answer to this question.

What I want to do:

1. Add a transparent png as my background, with a cut out center to be used for my content (basically a custom document border).

2. Have that background automatically replicate itself on every following page.

3. Be able to type over the entirety of the image if I want, and after reaching the bottom of the page with my text, have Pages automatically create another page for me with the same layout.

Color me ignorant, but all of that seems impossibly hard to figure out on my own just by poking around / reading tutorials / searching the web for answers.

Help?

Posted on Mar 3, 2013 1:55 PM

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Answer 1

Eric Ross

Level 6

11,807 points

Mar 3, 2013 2:00 PM in response to Zebbler

Take a look at this link, https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3108809?start=0&tstart=0

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Answer 2

Zebbler Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 3, 2013 2:01 PM in response to Eric Ross

Thank you

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Answer 3

Zebbler Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 3, 2013 2:13 PM in response to Eric Ross

This doesn't work for me still... I select my image, go to inspector / object placement - and "floating" is greyed out.

There's no other floating anything anywhere.... And both "send object to background" and "move object to section master" are greyed out.

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Answer 4

Eric Ross

Level 6

11,807 points

Mar 3, 2013 2:23 PM in response to Zebbler

Click on the image first to select it. Then give it a try.

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Answer 5

Zebbler Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 3, 2013 2:36 PM in response to Eric Ross

I wish it was that easy 🙂 It's definitely selected....

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Answer 6

Zebbler Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 3, 2013 2:37 PM in response to Zebbler

Is there another easy way to change it to "floating" image besides doing it through inspector window? Any hidden menu option? Literally everything is greyed out for me... I can "send it to the back" or to the front... But that's about it.

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Answer 7

Eric Ross

Level 6

11,807 points

Mar 3, 2013 2:45 PM in response to Zebbler

Do you have the image locked for some reason, go to the arrange menu item then click unlock.

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Answer 8

Zebbler Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 3, 2013 3:02 PM in response to Eric Ross

No... Thought for a second that I did... But no.
Does it matter that it's a png?

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Answer 9

Peggy

Level 8

41,847 points

Mar 3, 2013 4:06 PM in response to Zebbler

I'm not sure what you mean by "inspector / object placement." Where do you find that? The object inspector doesn't have any placement options.

Use the button on the format bar or the wrap inspector as in this screenshot.

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Answer 10

Jeff Shenk

Level 4

3,005 points

Mar 3, 2013 4:16 PM in response to Zebbler

If you don't have an option to send the image to the background or to the section master, it's probably because you aren't working in a word processing document. In a page layout document each page is a separate section, so section masters would be meaningless, and there is no text layer for the background to be behind, so Send to Back accomplishes the same thing. (Text has to be in a text box, which can be brought in front of the "back" image.)

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Answer 11

Zebbler Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 3, 2013 4:27 PM in response to Jeff Shenk

My image is selected and not locked (see screen shot), both wrap inspector and the button on the format bar are greyed out though. Bringing it forward or backward doesn't change that for me. Move object to section master is also greyed out, so I can't make it appear in every following page by default as my background... Which is kind of my goal here... I already did this project via workaround (pasting image on every page and making text boxes on every page), but templating this whole process would have been immencely preferrable

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Answer 12

Zebbler Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 3, 2013 4:34 PM in response to Jeff Shenk

Ah... I am catching on. I think you are right here. I actually didn't know there would be a functionality difference between a word processing and a layout documents.

I'll try again next time with a word processing document.

This software doesn't stop being very counter-intuitive to me......

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Answer 13

Jeff Shenk

Level 4

3,005 points

Mar 3, 2013 4:54 PM in response to Zebbler

The sort of templating you are talking about can probably be done in a layout document by doing what Pages calls capturing a page. (Basically, you create your template page with the image in the back and the text boxes and so on, then capture it: Format menu > Advanced > Capture pages … Then your captured page will be available to insert from the Pages button on the toolbar.)

However, there are some features like Tables of Contents and bookmarks which are never available in a page layout document, while essentially all of the features of page layout can be used in a word processing document, so some people on these discussions think page layout documents should be avoided.

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Answer 14

fruhulda

Level 6

15,167 points

Mar 3, 2013 9:41 PM in response to Zebbler

Pages User Guide is a god source to learn more on Pages. You can download it from your Pages Help menu. Chapter 1 descrobes the two type of documents and and the tools.

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Answer 15

Oct 25, 2015 4:40 PM in response to Zebbler

Realizing being 'late to the game'.

Running pages 5.6 over OS 10.10.5.

Coming from the older Pages to the current version.

... and after ignoring the inability to do the following for some time.

I'm in a word document.

Have an image on the page.

In "Arrange".

Want to "type over" as part of the text process.

Don't want to use a 'text box".

Want to put the object/image in the background (remember that).

Read all the other questions and replies.

None seem to address this issue.

Has the simple "object in the background' concept been disappeared?

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