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PeterBreis0807 Author

Level 8

41,196 points

Pages 5 features checklist

As you go through the new Pages 5 can you please add an added, missing or altered features here please.

I will start with some culled from the general discussions and if you could correct any errors add them:

Added

1. Right to Left text ie Arabic, Farsi & Hebrew. Uncertain about Pashtu

2. Single model templates. You turn off document text to get rid of the default. Not sure if this then can be mixed and matched with Word Processing templates

3. Able to share outside iCloud

Missing

1. Selecting non-contiguous text gone

2. Outline view appears gone

3. Customizable Toolbar is gone

4. Many templates appear gone

5. Captured pages gone

6. Reorganize pages by dragging gone

7. Duplicate pages gone

8. Subscript/superscript buttons gone

9. Select all instances of a Style is gone

10. Retain zoom level of document gone

11. Facing pages gone

12. Endnotes gone

13. Media Inspector can't find iPhoto library on external drive

14. Update is missing for older installations, Apple is reportedly working on a solution via a redeemable code or update on the ir Support Download site

Altered

1. Language set under Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Show Spelling and Grammar now document wide

2. Subscript/superscript text is now a convoluted route Gear > Advanced options > Baseline > Subscript/Superscript

3. Header appears to be multi-column

4. New file format (but still .pages?) not backwardly compatible

5. Page numbering method changed

6. T.O.C. appears buggy

7. Template file storage location moved - to where?

8. Imported older .pages files are not translating properly

9. Text language is detected automatically now

Letting you know I can't test or verify any of these as I haven't got Mavericks yet.

Peter

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Oct 22, 2013 7:57 PM

1,554 replies

PeterBreis0807 Author

Level 8

41,196 points

Oct 23, 2013 4:53 AM in response to dwb

That'll be A$20.99 thank you!

Oct 23, 2013 5:10 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

Character styles are GONE

Why in the name of Steve Jobs would they remove character styles?

I was really looking forward to using Pages on my Mac and iPad both, and really like the full compatibility, so I'll have to give some thought to my workflow. But, I'm very close to going back to Word

PeterBreis0807 Author

Level 8

41,196 points

Oct 23, 2013 5:14 AM in response to Gregory Lawhorn

If Character Styles are gone, have List Styles gone as well?

I have been scouring what passes for a Pages 5 online manual and can't see any mention of either.

Peter

PeterBreis0807 Author

Level 8

41,196 points

Oct 23, 2013 5:32 AM in response to cheekyjeremy

cheekyjeremy wrote:

Love it. I wrote a review in the app store just politely (not dramatic, not crude etc) mentioning some of the feature changes that have happened with this release, and that if those specific functions are important to you, be careful with the upgrade. Apple deleted my review

Should Apple do that here, I have (from experience) kept a full record and it will be posted verbatum onto the iWorksTipsnTricks forum and anywhere else where "Free" isn't just a slogan.

Peter

T2YUKI

Level 1

95 points

Oct 23, 2013 5:34 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

AppleScript Library for Pages 5 has changed and many classes and commands are gone.

PeterBreis0807 Author

Level 8

41,196 points

Oct 23, 2013 5:57 AM in response to T2YUKI

Guess that makes sense, going from what we have seen.

Am surprised that Pages 5 is still scriptable!

Peter

Oct 23, 2013 6:04 AM in response to Gregory Lawhorn

As Edward Cross penned in a different thread: "Character styles are still there. Highlight some text and in the TEXT inspector to the right look directly under where the Bold, Italic and Underline buttons are."

Oct 23, 2013 6:13 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

We aren't as stupid as Apple apparently thinks we are.

They improved iOS Pages (Pages Jr.) and ported it to the Mac. That's great, and there is a need for that. However, there is still a huge need for the features in Pages '09, which they have been neglecting, apparently because they didn't realize we were using it.

If Apple had any sense, they'd keep the new degraded version of Pages, then rename Pages 09 and continue it as a separate, professional-level product.

Some people need one, some people need the other, and some people need both.

houltmac

Level 1

0 points

Oct 23, 2013 6:18 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

Missing: Layout breaks and corresponding options such as Layout Margins etc

PeterBreis0807 Author

Level 8

41,196 points

Oct 23, 2013 6:35 AM in response to houltmac

What has happened to:

Organisation Charts with Connection lines between Shapes and TextBoxes

Document Warnings

Insert Files

Background Objects

Show Invisibles/Layout

Links to Video Tutorials

or any other useful stuff that doesn't get a mention in Pages 5 documentation

Peter

PeterBreis0807 Author

Level 8

41,196 points

Oct 23, 2013 6:39 AM in response to Kenneth Collins1

Kenneth Collins1 wrote:

We aren't as stupid as Apple apparently thinks we are.

They improved iOS Pages (Pages Jr.) and ported it to the Mac.

Why not just do the bleeding obvious and let us run iOS Apps natively in OSX?

For a start it will make it easier writing, designing and testing the Apps in the first place.

Peter

Oct 23, 2013 6:59 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

If I'm being charitable—speaking as an engineer myself—I'd say that Apple decided that Pages needed to be completely rearchitected and rewritten from the ground up in order to facilitate parity with the iOS versions moving forward. Clearly this is their goal, and I agree with this approach in principle.

If Pages 5.0 had been advertised as a "Beta" or a preview of the new direction (as Apple is doing with the web apps), with Pages 4.3 still fully supported, I'd be much more understanding of this direction. Instead, new buyers of Macs will not get Pages 4.3, which is reasonably feature-complete; instead they will get Pages 5.0 and soon discover that complex documents (most of mine, for instance) are simply not possible using Pages 5.0. They will then look to Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, etc. to provide what they need.

Thankfully, I still have Pages 4.3 and I have reasonable optimism that Pages 5.x will eventually reach feature parity with 4.3. But how long will this take and how many sophisticated users will simply abandon Pages as a professional tool in the mean time?

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

118,388 points

Oct 23, 2013 8:03 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

Missing: RTF export and import?

Oct 23, 2013 8:17 AM in response to Don Nelson

Seems like a reasonable guess as to what happened, and I agree with your suggestions. Re-brand or go with beta, or something like that. But they completely botched this...

Oct 23, 2013 8:19 AM in response to Don Nelson

Sounds like the FCP X problem.

I just CAN'T believe that you can't move Pages around or duplicate them. The app is CALLED PAGES!.

And others have said, this is just a port of the iOS version. I like the layout overall, but the lack of pro features is a disturbing trend as of late.

Pages 5 features checklist