Pages won't open document

Just saw your message - thanks for replying so promptly!

The dialog says "The file "Name of whichever file I'm trying to open" cannot be opened.

Yes, I'm using Pages 5.1, and this is the one that will not open ANY pages files all of a sudden. I do have two versions on my mac (thanks for reminding me) but I am definitely using the new version. It's the only one I have on my dock. As I read this, I just tried to open the old Pages and I get an upgrade to 5.0 dialog. I plan to let that sleeping dog lie, since, as I mentioned before, once I upgraded from the old Pages I was getting those dialogs to upgrade the documents to the new format, and it warned me they would no longer be able to be opened in the old program.

These files were created on this computer, or on its predecessor (I replaced it at the end of 2013) and have never been emailed at all.

And OMG, I have just discovered an extremely distressing new problem, which is that I cannot save the invoices created with the new Pages template I just created! I get a dialog: “Hannah West Design_3-24-14_statement.pages” couldn’t be moved because you don’t have permission to access “Christina Duane”. Now I just checked the permissions for that folder, which of course I have always been able to access since I created it and I own it, and it everything looks the same. I haven't changed anything in my computer when it comes to security or access permissions for any files. WTH is going on? HELP!!

OK, I'll do that now. Incidentally, I was able to open one invoice, edit it, and save it first thing this morning. I haven't had any problems saving the open work log documents I mentioned either as I make changes. Also just ran a virus scan on the folders that contain Pages documents just now and it didn't find anything.

I'll be back to report what happens after repairing the permissions. Looks like I will be opening docs in Preview to take screenshots of all my client information before things get any worse!

Interesting what you said about the upgrade notice on the old version of Pages. It was asking if I wanted to upgrade to 5.0. Tempting.

Can't find Disk Utility!! Is this because my new computer doesn't have a cd/dvd drive?

Just found I could open older files in Pages 4.1, but not the newer ones (message says they are missing the index.xml file). Those simply cannot be opened. I should also mention that I found today I can save a newly created file as a pdf, just not as a Pages file. And I have now wasted an entire day of work on this issue! Falling back to opening all files that won't open in Pages 5.1 and taking screenshots of the contents.

Thanks for all you're doing to help get this issue resolved, Peter.

BTW, I and my family have stayed in Aus several times (usually in Queensland, but we've also driven from there south to Melbourne and stayed in a small town outside Melbourne for several months once. Beautiful the whole way...). We love it there. Hope things go well for you, wherever you are DownUnder.

Thanks Peter, not sure why I couldn't find it any other way, it's not in my applications (or at least not visible there). Am repairing permissions now. I've found this morning that only Pages 5.1 is having this problem. Pages 4.1 is opening and saving to the same folders without any trouble. Let's see what happens after the permissions are repaired....

Well, it's all done, but Pages 5.1 is still refusing to let me save anywhere onmy computer. Other permissions were fixed, though...a good thing...

The capital is beautiful, but you'll have plenty to see on your road trip. 🙂

Hi Peter,

I am a PC user, but just started MacAir with OS X 10.9.2

I have same problem and very simple.

I simply opened the pages icon on my dock (I don't know what version - why can't I find that easily??). It's the version with a black ink bottle and pen. I opened new blank document and typed several sentences of text. I then saved this pages document to my Desktop. I did not change versions, export, email, nothing. Just SAVE. Then tried to open the pages document later and got the stupid error: The required index.xml file is missing.

Finally discovered I had **2** versions of Pages on my Mac. one hidden. I opened the new, hidden, latest(?) version (again - why don't they make the version obvious to find??) It is the version with gold sunset on a page with text, and a gold pen. This version opened the document.

BUT I DIDNT USE THIS VERSION TO CREATE OR SAVE the document! It is even worse with Numbers. I am having to guess with each document I open, what version it is, and what version of Numbers to open.

This is maddening. Apple is supposed to be seemless and easy. Microsoft versions, as bad as they are, are at least forward & backward compatible.

I am extremely angry. Today a Pages document of 24,000 words became corrupted. I can't open it at all. It represents work covering November 2013 to end of March 2014.

Computers: MacBook Pro running Mavericks; also iPad Air running current iOS7; brand new iMac running Mavericks.

The Pages file was stored on iCloud so I could work from all three machines at different locations.

I was lax in making backups because I thought copies were stored on the HDs and iCloud.

Wrong, it seems.

Today I did a bit of work on the file on the MacBook. I closed the file and then tried to open the file on the iPad. It wouldn't open. Message: This file can't be opened. I have tried to open the file on all three machines. I've tried to open it in other apps like Preview, even TextEdit, Word and BBEdit. No result.

The revert to version command on Pages doesn't give me any options.

My last backup was about two months ago and I have lost more than 8,000 words. This represents a lot of time and hard work and at the moment it seems all gone.

Has anyone yet found ways of recovering text from these bad files?

Here is another scenario.

I had closed the current document that was opened in Pages ’09 v4.3, but did not close this application. I looked up something in the browser, and then the Finder, and had forgot that the earlier version of Pages was still running in the background.

Double-clicking a Pages v5.1 document then told me I needed a newer version of Pages to open this document. My first instinct was not to recall that Pages ’09 was still running, and would service that double-click event. I thought that Pages v5.1 was acting up, and could not open its own document.

However, I recalled that Pages ’09 was still running and quit the application. A subsequent double-click of the Pages v5.1 document opened it without issue.