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

Oct 25, 2015 7:27 PM in response to Cymru Mike

The key is the Arrange menu ▸ Section Masters ▸ Move Objects to Section Master.

I usually place a rectangular shape in Layout mode, and scale it to fit the document boundary. Then, I switch to the Style tab, select Image Fill, Scale to Fill, and choose my image which is placed nicely inside the shape. Whether an image filled shape, or if the image already fits in your document, such as a logo, or other artifact, then you can just Move it to Section Master. In either case, they are in the background, and text is now free to be entered normally above your image. This effect will be replicated in your document.

You may wish to choose an image that is sufficiently light that the text is legible, or you can reduce the opacity of that image inside the Shape — before you move it to Section Master.