Q: pages file is missing its index.xml file?

You have 2 versions of Pages on your Mac.

Pages 5 is in your Applications folder.

Pages '09/'08 is in your Applications/iWork folder.

You are alternately opening the wrong versions.

Pages '09/'08 can not open Pages 5 files and you will get the warning that you need a newer version.

Pages 5/5.01 can not open Pages 5.1 files and you will get the warning that you need a newer version.

Pages 5.1 sometimes can not open its own files and you will get the warning that you need a newer version.

Pages 5 can open Pages '09 files but may damage/alter them. It can not open Pages '08 files at all.

Once opened and saved in Pages 5 the Pages '09 files can not be opened in Pages '09.

Anything that is saved to iCloud is also converted to Pages 5 files.

All Pages files no matter what version and incompatibility have the same extension .pages.

Pages 5 files are now only compatible with themselves on a very restricted set of hardware, software and Operating Systems and will not transfer correctly on any other server software than iCloud.

Apple has not only managed to confuse all its users, but also itself.

Note: Apple has removed over 100 features from Pages 5 and added many bugs:

http://www.freeforum101.com/iworktipsntrick/viewforum.php?f=22&sid=3527487677f0c 6fa05b6297cd00f8eb9&mforum=iworktipsntrick

Archive/trash Pages 5, after exporting all Pages 5 files to Pages '09 or Word .docx, and rate/review it in the App Store, then get back to work.

Peter

I'm having exactly the same problem, but mine is in transferring files from my ipad to laptop. All my Numbers files provide the same insipid and uninspiring message of the missing .xml. The note above explains it: that "great" invention, iCloud, has mucked up perfectly good files, with no way of getting them back. If you are lucky, you have Microsoft applications. Then you can "share" a copy with yourself by transferring the file to Exel or Word. Then the file can be opened and overwritten by the right version of Numbers and Pages that will continue to work for you. Days like this make us all wonder why we decry Microsoft and embrace Apple.

Oh, Just tested it. You can actually skip the whole Exel/Word step. Pages and Numbers will open files with microsoft extensions, and the data comes across nicely, although some formatting may be lost (frozen panes were lost in the transfer from Numbers to  Exel to Numbers).

I was pretty frustrated with this whole issue too. What I finally did was open Pages from the Applications menu FIRST, then I was able to open what I wanted. It happened on my husband's MacBook Pro and my iMac for the first time today, on both computers. I won't be double clicking on the saved documents until l know the problem is fixed.

right click on the file and choose which version you want to open with

or open from Recent

Peter

Looks like you've made comprehensive research and testing. Thank you very much! When I face PC-problems, I search the web; often I find solutions in help forums. In this case I know: I don't have to look further. There is no solution. Apple ruined it. It's not my fault when I cannot get it running.

"Apple has not only managed to confuse all its users, but also itself." Hartmut, Quedlinburg/Germany

bick-aus-bremen wrote:

 

…It's not my fault when I cannot get it running.

You can run both Pages 5.2 and older versions in Mavericks. So you have the choice.

Peter

PeterBreis0807

You have saved me a ton of work right now.

Thanks for being a legend!

THANK YOU!

On Yosemite with Pages v5.5.1, its default file save format is a Single File (compressed folder with .pages extension). When you attempt to open this file with Pages '09, you get the dialog, "The required index.xml file is missing." and the document couldn't be opened.

Pages v5.5.1 also offers a Package file format (folder) obtained via File > Advanced > Change File Type > Package. When Pages ’09 tries to open this document, you get the now familiar dialog, "You need a newer version of Pages to open this document."

In order to access either of these documents in Pages ’09, you will need to first export to Pages '09 format from Pages v5.5.1.

Thank you so very much for this explanation!

It's hard for me to accept the fact that Apple has about lost my loyalty by doing things like what they have done to Pages and Numbers.  My loyalty goes back to 1984 when I purchased 9 Mac Plus computers for my university department.  Over the next 16 years I probably added another 100 units as we upgraded, etc.  I always bragged that people could learn to use Macs without a lot of help.

I fear for the future of Apple computers.

Maybe they will just become a watch maker like Timex.

Do we know what version of Pages is current? It seems like 5.2.2 is the latest on Mavericks, and an update is available for Yosemite which I haven't been bold enough to install yet. I only had this problem inadvertently opening the iwork '09 version of Pages which for me is 4.1.

Thanks for being spot on with your diagnosis.

See my Nov 30 post below.

The last Pages update for Mavericks was v5.2.2. For Yosemite only, it was v5.5.1.

Any Pages v5 and derivative update version document that you attempt to open in Pages '09 will report a missing index.xml file. This is because the v5 documents do not use index.xml internally.