Pages 5 features checklist

You have to hand it to DEAF and BLIND customer support re iWork '09 verses todays iWork software (2014).

In 5 years they have mananged to remove many essential features: leaving Pages, Keynote and Numbers producing incompatible files with vastly reduced functionality. This is the technological 'progress' they are trying to market today. It beggers believe that they cannot see the problems they created for us.

As the teenagers like to say today: "FAIL!"

I gave them the lowest rating possible, which is 1-star. Pages 6 deserves considerably less than this rating.

I haven't had to mail merge in many, many years. I think the last time I did was around 20 years ago & I used AppleWorks.

In searching for another file this morning I found this list that I made back in May, 2011. I'm sure I sent it as feedback to Apple. We now know none of it will ever happen.

Things I want to see in the next version of iWork (mostly Pages)

open second view of same document using a new window & splitting the window as in AppleWorks & Office

a true database similar to AppleWorks, though basic relational would be good.

this database can open AppleWorks databases & retain layouts & formulas

Numbers:

if not a true database, open AppleWorks databases in Numbers with field names in header row

text styles like Pages

Keynote:

linked text boxes

text styles like Pages

Pages:

built-in imposition for booklets

merge more than one record per page to do labels, a directory, etc.

open AppleWorks draw files in page layout mode

page layout similar to AppleWorks draw with option for multiple pages across & down

images can cross page borders.

open Microsoft Publisher files

true interactive check boxes like AppleWorks

Common requests by other users, though not high on my “wants”

table cells break across page borders

open AppleWorks paint files

Very good list, Peggy!

That reminds me of all the improvements we have hoped for in Pages since 2005 - oh, the time of our youthful optimism!

Even though most users of this forum will not care about it, let me just reiterate the old request for vertical writing as well, for Japanese and some other languages.

1. Despite best intentions, Apple is no longer able to be professional software applications company. Its leaders had to make a hard choice. Whoops, wait a minute, they were NEVER A PRO SOFTWARE company. Apple is a PROFESSIONAL AND CONSUMER hardware and OS company. Beyond that they now aspire to be a CONSUMER SOFTWARE company to help sell their hardware. (This all started due to the rocketing success of the iPod and then the iPhone and now the iPad. Any professional, like a school teacher, who got invested into Keynote or Pages was just another person bamboozled by what Apple does well into thinking it can do it ALL well. No apologies or we'll address this from Craig though. He's sticking to his guns of sacrificing PRO users on the altar of lowest common denominator CONSUMER users.

2. Apple is losing its way as far as listening to its customers any longer - NOT until the news media starts in on them. Apple used to listen a whole lot better. Well it was never perfect. But it was BETTER than now. When Steve was around, he would even occassionally reply to user questions himself. Steve knew very well that Apple's roots were all about esthetics AND capability AND listening to users. Unfortunately for Apple's pro-user future, the directive to balance "capability" and "good taste" has changed. Success with the low end consumer products has created a boiled frog laboratory out of their software apps team. Pros will want the hardware and OSX for sure, just like I do. Apple is #1 in this. But the money is all in selling a premium product to lowest intelligence fattest pocketbook consumers. All software that cannot be operated by a 5 year old will be dumbed down so it can. Nowadays literally thousands of negative feedbacks are dismissed as merely unintelligent. No one really reads this stuff at Apple until it hits the news in ways Apple stings from. Talk about proactive... NOT! I know exactly who at Apple is really to blame for this, but will remain silent on naming names.

I really do feel badly for the longevity of Steve's leadership legacy now that Apple is jumping the shark on listening to any professional users any more (except themselves of course as they think they already have all the professionals they need). Apple's desire to ultimately unify OSX and IOS apps is partly to blame for this, and they started this "normalizing" of their so called flagship software apps to IOS consumer user demographics RATHER than OSX pro user demographics. Its an INSANELY badly timed move. WRONG strategy. But they'll never admit it. **** will freeze over first (well unless they feel enough heat from the press messing with their brand reputation - they they will tack).

If Tim, Eddy and Craig could only appreciate how much backfire this will create over the next few years they would reconsider the overly hasty retreat from professional capability in order to "unify" OS's -- which is really behind this badly executed dumbing down of the now half mast flagship apps. But if they indeed no longer feel ANY value or need to cater to professional users (except to claim their software can make nonpros FEEL like a pro) well then, we all know what they have become - a CONSUMER AND PRO HARDWARE company (as always) and a lowest common denominator CONSUMER SOFTWARE company. But FORGET about Apple themselves being a professional software app maker. ITS OVER. Their plate is simply now too full of catering to what makes the most money, and serves the dumbest and youngest monied consumer. Its sad to see Steve's bold and beautiful vision for its "flagship apps" facing such terrible erosion. Hope those consumer users are happy with the apps we are now disgusted by. Apps we once worshipped as freedom from Microsoft Powerpoint prison for example. But I will still be buying their insanely great hardware FOREVER.

Sorry Steve. They're just not you. We really miss you now. SERIOUSLY.

Apple updates iWork suite for OS X and iOS with new features, bug fixes

(I apologize if this has already been addressed)

When working with a numbered item list, how can I modify an isolated/singular list element? I want to change an item that is automatically labeled "4" so that it will be labeled "3.a.," and to change the item after that from its current label of "5" to "3.b." Is there any way to do this?

Thank you for any help.

Restarting the numbering just puts it back at 1. It only allows me to modify what comes directly after the list number, but I need to modify the number itself.

This is what I end up with:

1.

2.

3.

1. 3.a.

4.

This is what I need:

1.

2.

3.

3.a.

3.b.

Do you have any advice? Thank you again.