Q: Pages 5 features checklist

This... for sure.

I have been SO disappointed, SO angry, SO confused, SO surprised by this fiasco of a release. The right hand doesn't know what the left is doing, etc. etc. And because of this, my workflow is severely interrupted. I, too, have YEARS of work done in Pages. I am absolutely one that uses this application every single day multiple times a day and depend on it for my work. And I will NOT using Pages 5 as it is. I know, fan boys, that I can head over to Google Docs or Office if I don't like it. This isn't about that. It's about being mislead into thinking I was updating an application that, as others have said, apparently no longer exists.

I seriously have been at a loss. I have been the biggest cheerleader for iWork since day 1! I NEVER expected this. I opened so many files with Pages 5 wondering what was going on. I now have to recreate those files because headers were stripped out (they contained tables in the original document) by Pages 5. I try to open again on Pages 4.3 and nothing doing.

I'm just shaking my head because I KNOW this isn't going to be fixed for some time if at all.

Why in the world would Apple have done this?

I was able to restore Pages 4.3 but I cannot get my old Keynote and Numbers back no matter what I try.

The only way that they can fix this is to put iWork 09 back on the app store and allow anybody who purchased a copy of the new one to download them again for FREE. I PAID for all three of these new abominations because I was excited about what I thought would be stellar updates to what I was using and didn't want to wait for Apple to decide who was to get a free update and who wasn't. I have last year's MacBook Air and figured it wouldn't be free for me anyway - regardless of the fact that I had installed my old version from the DVD. Anyway, I LOVE updates to iWork but, to be sure, this is not an update.

Sad sad sad.

In the meantime, I have to remember every time I open a Pages document to open it with Pages 4.3 or I'll be screwed.

Wow. Just wow.

All of my documents in folders in Pages on my iPad disappeared with the Mavericks upgrade.  I am a writer, who does most of my writing on the iPad.  Supposedly they are in the Cloud backed up but 3 hours with the Genius Bar folks - 3 different ones, all consulting to no avail.  Hate hate hate Maverick and what it has done to Pages.  Paying for Cloud storage for what if I can't get anything back from the Cloud.  Granted, I have, rather I HAD, more than 2 gig of Pages documents on the iPad but still...  Any suggestions, thoughts, help, ideas?  And yes, I would probably be classified as a serious user.  The Genius Bar crew said they had never heard of anyone having 2 gig of documents on their iPad.  Why the heck not, I've got 65 gig on the pad and 55 gig of iCloud storage.  Should be no problem, right? NOT!

I have to agree with everyone here (except perhaps Joey!!) that this "upgrade" has been savagely mishandled.

Fortunately, it has not been the unmitigated disaster for me personally, because I was able to restore my files from Time Machine and I have deleted the new versions of the apps.

The key thing is, I think, to understand that Macs and iOS devices have different purposes and different capabilities.  That is why we spend money on Macs - to get those extra capabilities.  Therefore, it is disingenuous to downgrade the capabilities of a Mac to the level of an iOS device.

For example, although we are discussing Pages here, related problems are affecting Keynote.  I use Keynopte for much of my teaching, and I made a conscious decision to do it a MacBook Air rather than an iPad because I need to embed movies in Flash format.  Guess what?  The new Keynote has disabled Flash files, presumably because they cant be played on iOS devices.  Yes, I know I can through my 100+ Keynote files, identify and pull out the Flash files, manually convert them, etc, but that is a strange way of enjoying the benefits of an "upgrade".

Pages 4.3 is an incredibly powerful tool when it is used to its potential.  For example, I have recently finished writing and publishing the 7th edition of a 752 page book containing 1400 photos and a couple of hundred diagrams, all done in Pages 4.3 (sample pages at http://www.planetgeography7.com/PG7/Samples.html).  Without textbox linking and the many, many other features that have been deleted in Pages 5, this task would have been impossible.

I think there is a clear case for improving Pages 5 to get the compatability and collaboration priorites right for those who need them (which does not include me!), but also using Pages 4.3 (and the other parts of the "old" iWorks) as a basis for producing pro-level apps for those of us who need them.

Let's face it, I didn't buy a 27" iMac so I could do things that are possible on an iPad.

If I were using Pages as a cute little program to create one and done documents for a craft wall then this “update” isn’t a problem.

I was of the understanding that when I bought Pages I was buying a professional grade tool, not a novelty app. This is a critical tool of my trade; a word processor. The implied agreement was I could invest time and energy learning this tool and build critical documents with it that I would need to remain intact and editable for decades to come. 

I have the right to expect them not to radically change the tool and make it less useful. They have the right to change it anyway. But they certainly make me skeptical to invest heavily in our future agreements if longevity is required.

Imagine Adobe stripping Photoshop of so many features and calling it an upgrade because it is more syncable.  

Yes, I saw the message. And yes, I have backups. But telling me I need to use an updated app is NOT the same as informing me that said update will strip my files of the features I use and that I will have to resort to backups to recover (and that I will never be able to work on those files in iOS again).

I"m OK with Apple changing the file format. I'm even, reluctantly, OK with them reducing the feature set - at least if they will be returned later. But Apple have handled this very poorly. While I usually support their "wait and see what we've got for you" secrecy, when it comes to modifying people's work informed consent is a must. We were not informed and so could not consent. And many have either lost information from their files, or time in trying to recover that information after the event.

At the very least, Apple should have (a) warned us that the new apps only included a reduced feature set and that unsupported features incorporated in files would be removed; and (b) imported legacy files instead of changing them, or at least asked if we wanted backups automatically created if they contained unsupported features. If this had occurred, I would only be disappointed with Apple rather than disappointed, frustrated and angry.

Apple is reading this - my reply has just been silenced.

I dittoed Peter.

Dalavia wrote:

 

...

Let's face it, I didn't buy a 27" iMac so I could do things that are possible on an iPad.

Hmm...

Apple did not take out any features at all. Pages 5.0 isn't an update of the previous version - it was a complete rewrite of the entire application. It's 64-bit. And we must remember, their goal was to obtain 100% compatibly among iOS and OS X and iCloud.com. In addition, they wanted collaboration to be compatible as well no matter what device you use. That's a HUGE undertaking, and they have succeeded in their goals.

 

So, file your feedback. I'm sure they'll prioritize their develop based on the customer feedback. We will get these features back.

How nice they met their goals. I don't care if they completely rewrote it. I don't care if it is 64 bits. I don't even care if they figured out a way to make it 65 bits. I don't want or need complete compatibility among iOS, OS X, and iCloud. I don't need to collaborate. It was a huge undertaking, all of it, for this user, completely unnecessary. I have to get my work done, I don't care about any of that stuff. If the developers really were good at their jobs and at meeting their goals, they'd do it in a way that doesn't disrupt my life.

They took down load-bearing walls, turned off my power, and drilled through the water main. But if I file a feedback form, they will put it in a stack with everyone else's, and then if the mood strikes, they may or may not repair the damage. To early to tell now. I might be able to take a shower in two or three years, if enough customers want to have the water turned back on.

Sadly, I think you might be right.

A person who is an Apple employee told me that iOS7 was the most divisive product they had ever had, and implied, indirectly, that he had removed it from his phone while it was still possible to do that. During the conversation, I observed that iOS is not an operating system, it is an infectious disease, and the iosification has gone too far already. He nodded his head sadly.

As I said way back at the beginning of this discussion, they've become Orwellian.

Dalavia wrote:

 

Pages 4.3 is an incredibly powerful tool when it is used to its potential.  For example, I have recently finished writing and publishing the 7th edition of a 752 page book containing 1400 photos and a couple of hundred diagrams, all done in Pages 4.3 (sample pages at http://www.planetgeography7.com/PG7/Samples.html).  Without textbox linking and the many, many other features that have been deleted in Pages 5, this task would have been impossible.

 

Let's face it, I didn't buy a 27" iMac so I could do things that are possible on an iPad.

THIS is the cognitive chasm: whoever decided on the Pages upgrade strategy (including its apologists) cannot (deign to) comprehend the difference between corporate memos (sans corporate logo image in the header, since they are used to print on pre-printed letterhead—if they ever actually did any printing) and a few illustrations in a show-and-tell report or childrens' picturebook, and a serious professional publication such as yours. In support, there is also the beancounter logic: it is iPods and iPhones that turned Apple really profitable and wealthy, not Mac Pros and their power users. Can't argue with the bottom line.

Sooo... Is a professional user of Pages 4.3 like you willing to gamble on Pages 5.x recovering a sufficient fraction of Pages 4.3 functionality before OSX updates render Pages 4.3 inoperable? (For, even if one does not want to upgrade OSX, a Mac will sooner or later die of old age and a new Mac will come with a new OSX!) And, since professional users of Pages 4.3 like you are a drop in a bucket of paying Apple customers, most of whom do not comprehend the power of Pages 4.3 and what it could (have) become if maintained and updated steadily... (you can complete the sentence for yourself; I'm too ticked off.)