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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

Nov 11, 2013 4:27 PM in response to j kfrommorgantown

We know it was spotted early and often.

Peter

PeterBreis0807 Author

Level 8

41,196 points

Nov 11, 2013 5:55 PM in response to PeterBreis0807

The search tool has grown more and more erratic, especially for finding updater files. The software updates are a particularly badly designed set of pages. Someone's poorly thought through idea that visual is better.

I've thought of doing screen recordings of what happens when you try to find or negotiate Apple's increasingly awful efforts. That would be the easy part and demonstrate just how badly it is working.

But then would come the difficult part. Getting anyone at Apple to even look. If you have undeniable evidence, they then label you a non-believer and walk away.

Exactly that just happened yesterday when I showed a small sampling of the flaws in Pages 5, and the App Store feedback, to an Apple rep who was proclaiming what a wonderful and popular upgrade it is.

Peter

robogobo

Level 2

354 points

Nov 11, 2013 11:12 PM in response to PeterBreis0807

And I guess you were being your usual polite, mature self while you showed off these flaws. I'm sure he walked away because of your undeniable evidence, and not because of your presentation style.

PeterBreis0807 wrote:

The search tool has grown more and more erratic, especially for finding updater files. The software updates are a particularly badly designed set of pages. Someone's poorly thought through idea that visual is better.

I've thought of doing screen recordings of what happens when you try to find or negotiate Apple's increasingly awful efforts. That would be the easy part and demonstrate just how badly it is working.

But then would come the difficult part. Getting anyone at Apple to even look. If you have undeniable evidence, they then label you a non-believer and walk away.

Exactly that just happened yesterday when I showed a small sampling of the flaws in Pages 5, and the App Store feedback, to an Apple rep who was proclaiming what a wonderful and popular upgrade it is.

Peter

jonr49

Level 1

4 points

Nov 11, 2013 11:44 PM in response to robogobo

When you talk to Applecare, the people are not programmers. They, in majority, don't use pages (or numbers etc) for 'real' work. So they have no idea what a 'mail merge' for example is. They are nice people and know how to fix stuff but they can't feedback

The frustration is that we can't talk to the idiots who designed Pages 5 (who probably use MS Word for their private and business work)

Putting stuff on 'feedback' is probably a waste of time (although I've done it).

And although I'd like to go back, this downgrade does not allow you to do this without losing everything done since the change unless you copy every new file (about 500 in my case) to an external drive.

If it wasnt going to make my MacBook Pro even slower than Mavericks has already done, I'd load up MS Office right now.

PeterBreis0807 Author

Level 8

41,196 points

Nov 11, 2013 11:54 PM in response to robogobo

Sorry robogobo

Was that you?

Should have recognised the don't know, don't want to know.

Peter

vitessa

Level 1

0 points

Nov 11, 2013 11:56 PM in response to PeterBreis0807

I tried different things out and did a lot of experimenting bit with Pages and ePub:

When exporting a larger document that I prepared for the epub-format (with images and text) as an .epub-file I get an error message like this: „There were too much images. A lot of them were not exported“ (I translated the error message to English). What’s this for a crap of information? What images were not exported? Why weren’t they exported?

I made another test and exported a larger pages-Document to .epub-format. I compared the different Pages-versions and how they handle with .epub. The results were:

original file size (.pages-document): 46 MB
.epub-document exported from Pages 4.2: 12 MB
.epub-document exported from Pages 4.3: 64 MB
.epub-document exported from Pages 5: 117 MB

It has already been getting worse from Pages 4.2 to Pages 4.3. The problem is the size of the embedded images. Exporting from Pages 4.2 to .epub was acceptable, but the export to .epub in Pages 5 is definitely worthless, in my test it produces a file-size, that is 10x larger. I have to look for another solution.

Does anybody have experiences in creating .epub-files with Nisus Writer? Is that a good way?

vitessa

Level 1

0 points

Nov 12, 2013 12:35 AM in response to vitessa

vitessa wrote:

.epub-document exported from Pages 5: 117 MB

It's getting ridiculous:

After using „Reduze file-size“ in Pages 5 the exported epub will be even larger. It increases up to 121 MB…

robogobo

Level 2

354 points

Nov 12, 2013 1:41 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

Well, if your caustic attitude on these forums is any evidence, I can infer plenty. Why should I assume you behaved any more maturely when discussing the same issue with an Apple rep? You really expect us to believe he just walked away because you presented clear objective evidence without your typical snide remarks punctuating every point you made? That is why you will not achieve any results the way you argue. People will just walk away.

PollyFK

Level 1

8 points

Nov 12, 2013 6:55 AM in response to robogobo

Can anyone tell me why I can't unsubscribe to this discussion which has veered tragically off course from its original stated purpose?

I changed my settings to receive no emails and now I get emails that look like this:

Re: Pages 5 features checklist

created by robogobo in Pages - View the full discussion

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Polly

crumvoc

Level 1

4 points

Nov 12, 2013 8:14 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

You kids! Go to your room!

Here is the "tale of the tape":

App store Pages 5 ratings

1 - 2 stars 71.4%

3 stars 6.1%

4-5 stars 22.2%

What more needs to be said?

PeterBreis0807 Author

Level 8

41,196 points

Nov 12, 2013 10:24 AM in response to robogobo

robogobo wrote:

Well, if your caustic attitude on these forums is any evidence, I can infer plenty. Why should I assume you behaved any more maturely when discussing the same issue with an Apple rep? You really expect us to believe he just walked away because you presented clear objective evidence without your typical snide remarks punctuating every point you made? That is why you will not achieve any results the way you argue. People will just walk away.

Actually it happened after he came up to me because I was spending so much time in Pages 5 trying to resolve problems from users here.

When I responded to his upbeat "Checking the great new features in Pages?" by saying I was actually trying to work out the bugs and missing features.

His response was robogobo like "Well Apple has had to completely write Pages from the ground up, yada yada…"

When I pointed to the screen and said "Have you actually looked at it?" He immediately and suddenly lost interest.

I have been an Apple customer for 29 years but never drank the KoolAid.

Now there is a newer younger generation that thinks of it as Mother's milk. Sadly they really don't know that much, but think they do and that everything is a matter of opinion.

It isn't, but they will never know because they aren't going to look.

Peter

PeterBreis0807 Author

Level 8

41,196 points

Nov 12, 2013 10:33 AM in response to crumvoc

crumvoc wrote:

You kids! Go to your room!

Here is the "tale of the tape":

App store Pages 5 ratings

1 - 2 stars 71.4%

3 stars 6.1%

4-5 stars 22.2%

What more needs to be said?

Previous reply got deleted.

So here we go again.

58.9% of those are one star which by the App Store score is "I hate it".

Due to the averaging effect it only takes a few 5s to swamp a lot of 1s.

I note those 5s are very vague, non specific, just a bit of gushing "Wow", "It's terrific" etc.

The 1s go into detail and as they are the more recent reviews seem to be after people have actually used it.

Peter

Nov 12, 2013 11:01 AM in response to PeterBreis0807

Speaking of the MAS, with iWork in mind, the MAS shows me that Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are now $19.99, not free? And, it is showing this for the New Versions.

Peter, does the MAS show you the iWork Apps as FREE?

Mavericks still shows as Free. Are the iWork apps only free if you have Mavericks? I've never installed Mavs. But, I do have iWork installed.

When it was first released, I saw that iWork was free, but I did not download or install it.

Nov 12, 2013 11:08 AM in response to crumvoc

crumvoc IDAHO

Not shure what you're looking at. But your numbers are totally off. 1,122 one stars vs 360 five stars.... doesn't bode well for Pages

Here's what the TALE OF THE TAPE actually says:

PeterBreis0807 Author

Level 8

41,196 points

Nov 12, 2013 11:08 AM in response to linda2009

In the crazy bureaucratic stuff up that Apple seems to perpetually throw iWork, yes it is still chargeable for some people.

You are exempted if you have made a recent purchase and there is a separate webpage, the Apple Up-To-Date Program that tells you how to get around the charge if you previously owned a copy of iWork:

http://www.freeforum101.com/iworktipsntrick/viewtopic.php?t=429&sid=e58110a9db34 407d1090a5582c184c63&mforum=iworktipsntrick

Peter

Pages 5 features checklist