Why can't I open documents from Pages ?
I downloaded the new Pages software, but can't seem to open any documents previously created - still is telling me I have to download pages?? Help
The best advice is to exclusively use Pages ’09 if it was installed prior to the Pages v5 upgrade downgrade. The older Pages will be found in /Application/iWork '09. Any double-click on a Pages document will invoke Pages v5.
I would bet that you had Pages ’08 or ’09 previously installed (now moved to /Applications/iWork '0?). Pages v5(.2) dropped support for Pages '08 and RTF documents. Pages v5(.2) document architecture is incompatible with Pages '09 while still retaining the .pages extension — just to keep you guessing.
If you attempt to open this new document architecture in the older Pages application, it will not tell you about this incompatibility, and just remind you to that you need the new Pages version. It is too stupid to notice that the latest Pages v5 application is installed. If you open a Pages ’09 created document with that application, you will get the same warning, because Apple thinks you should use Pages v5(.2) instead.
Pages v5(.2) will be all too glad to open a Pages ’09 document without any acknowledgement that you are entering the Twilight Zone, and that this document has quietly been transformed into a Pages v5 document architecture — no longer compatible with Pages ’09. Although there is an Export > Pages ’09 feature, the significant differences in application feature support means that you likely will not get a 1:1 correlation export compatibility with Pages ’09.