Pages 5 features checklist

Peter,

That is not what I intended to say. What I intended to say was that Apple has made a big investment in Pages 5, and that they see some future for Pages. Nothing more.

I have not changed my other opinions: One should never keep any document in only Pages format, regardless of version, but always keep a backup in other formats. Apple will probably abandon Pages one day (even if it will not be in the near future), and that will leave piles of unreadable documents on hard disks all over the world just like for HyperCard, AppleWorks and the rest. I have never used Pages as my main word processor and that will not change with Pages 5.

Magnus

Magnus Lewan wrote:

[...] One should never keep any document in only Pages format, regardless of version, but always keep a backup in other formats. [...]

Brilliant suggestion in principle—always have a "Plan B" transition option open, but how does that work in practice? How do you do this for documents that use Pages '09 functionality to the hilt (say, a newsletter/report with text columns linked accross pages, some charts rotated and tables with in-line images, and "mail-merged" to be mailed to a list of customers, for starters)? Would you mind sharing your other-format backup strategy? Which other OSX (or Windows or Linux) programs include all the Pages '09 functionality and permit a lossless format translation?

The readers of this Forum would appreciate concrete solutions.

[Seems like a functionality and format-translation comparison would be really useful (in a separate location).]

PeterBreis0807 wrote:

Actually Magnus I'll give my understanding of what Apple is doing with the new iWork.

They are using it as the bait for iOS users just as they used it as the bait for OSX users.

The iOS users are new to Apple and know nothing of it's history of abandoning users, without notice when it suits it.

They are fresh meat, and easy pickings. They haven't heard the spin a dozen times before and won't wake up before they too get it in the neck.

Peter

You really are into conspiracy theories.

Tristan,

There is no magic bullet, I'm afraid. My personal strategy is to stay away from features that do not translate to other products. That's why I'm not sad to see linked text boxes or mail merge disappear. I would never have used Pages for that in the first place.

To be fair, this is not only an Apple problem. I have been burnt by Microsoft as well in the past. I have lost incompatible macros and my attempts at using Word's "master documents" have been a complete failure.

For some reason I trust Adobe and InDesign's file format with linked text boxes, but they may also burn me one day. Who knows?

Magnus

Hirschkorn wrote:

I use Pages for work (work meaning "making money with it") and, even if it wasn't officially designated so by Apple, it is a pro app for anyone that really knows the app's actual capabilities. With these changes from version '09 to version '13, I have two options: clinging to '09 and hoping they will eventually update '13 to include everything they removed, or moving to another app (not really a word processor, more like a DTP app): InDesign or Quark.

And that means losing time and money (buying apps, time needed for learning them exhaustively) and my whole Pages work archive becoming useless.

More than that, Apple is keeping mum on the future: they'll add "some" functions back but, beyond that, it's just "hey, take a wild guess, guys!"

To all pro users of Pages '09: please understand that you will never be able to make lite (& non-)users understand this crucial point; don't waste your (virtual) breath and bandwidth. So, could we please fous on the original intention of this thread—cataloguing the functionality gained/lost/changed in the Pages '09 → Pages '13 upgrade, and explore possible workarounds? Thank you, all.

Magnus Lewan wrote:

There is no magic bullet, I'm afraid.

Alas, I thought so; whether translating the Pages '09 document into Pages '13, Quark or InDesign (or...) document, there will be blood, sweat and tears. (My apologies for a leading question.)

PeterBreis0807 wrote:

I am working on the last point but it is a huge job. Building a safety net out of whatever is available.

Thank you! (I see that there is a pretty good reason for you having 100x more kudos points than bumble lil' ole me, myself and I together 🙂.)

Are you kidding?

you said:

...I have not changed my other opinions: One should never keep any document in only Pages format, regardless of version, but always keep a backup in other formats.....

First, do you actually run a business? or are you like these kids who write these programs? Nobody in a practical sense has time in a daily workflow to created docuements under time restraints and then create backups in various forms through other wordprocessors.

And in addition.... how? None of the formats are compatable with other formats. So you add yet additional time (billable time to the company) recreating the same document as a 'backup' in some other software. No matter how you try, the documents won't be the same anyway.

Tristan

you wrote.... So, could we please fous (sic) on the original intention of this thread—cataloguing the functionality gained/lost/changed in the Pages '09 → Pages '13 upgrade, and explore possible workarounds?

The fact that this posting is going on the way that it is, indicated the reality that there is no functionality gained.... only lost or changed.

So my issues concerning what was lost:

No vertical ruler in a word processor is a bit childish.

No inspector? Are you kidding? That was one of the most functional assets of the program that has been lost.

Unsuspecting users could open a document only to find that they have destroyed hours of work, simply by “NuePages” recreating, changing, and in some cases destroying the document. That’s pretty unfair of Apple. Literally a dozen documents that were highly important to us were destroyed. Fortunately one of our employees discovered that “Pages” was still on our computers and not overwritten by “NuePages”. Probably because this is not an upgrade.... it’s a completely different program. We’re slowly restoring from backup drives, the documents that were destroyed, now that we know we can open them in Pages.

It would have been nice if documents created in Pages would open in Pages and documents created in NuePages would open in NuePages. But when you click a file in Finder and it opens in a completely Nue program.... work is lost.

Something the left winger radical kids at Apple should learn.... in business the time it takes us to retrain employees costs us money!!! But they’re too busy riding their bikes, playing video games, and creating new apps to tell them where to find Starbucks.

What frustrates older users and business users is that a bunch of kids in an Apple convent that looks like a space ship on the left coast have written a program geared to teenagers and colleges students..... not those of us who have a vested interest in the smooth transition toward new tech.

This is not an issue of people not liking change. I would gladly look for an update of Pages that could incorporate better stability, functionality, and improvements. But when you lose dozens of key functions that businesses use every time they open Pages, this can’t be considered an update.