You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

NurseMarci Author

Level 1

10 points

Pages error: "The required index.xml file is missing."

I am trying to open a document in Pages 5.2.2 that I have used and opened multiple times before and I'm getting an error message that states "The required index.xml file is missing." There is no option on how to fix this issue and I have no idea what it means. I've been searching to see if there is a later version of Pages that I need to update to but so far I've found nothing. Can anyone help me? I'm a basic user and don't have a lot of technical knowledge but I can follow instructions if someone knows how to fix this. FYI the document was originally created in Word on an old computer but it was literally about 6 years ago an I've been using it in Pages for the last 5-6 years. Thank so much!

Pages-OTHER, Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on Apr 17, 2015 9:45 AM

Top-ranking reply

VikingOSX

Community+ 2024

Level 10

116,597 points

Posted on Jan 4, 2017 3:14 PM

No version of Pages, Spotlight, or the Finder's Get Info will inform you about the version of Pages that created the document. Today, I tossed together an AppleScript that generically pops a display informing about a selected Pages document:

Pages '09 or older
Pages v5 or newer

Although I wrote a Python script that digs into the Pages documents and extracts the explict version information of the application that created, or edited it, the intimidation factor of the code would likely gather more attention that its utility. The AppleScript will suffice for generalities.

One copies and pastes the code into (launchpad : Other : Script Editor), and runs it.

-- pversion.applescript -- Select a Pages document, and receive a dialog containing the filename and its general version -- Revision: 1.2 -- VikingOSX, Jan. 4, 2017, Apple Support Community property pages_record : {pyy:{key:"89", value:"Pages '09 or older"}, p56:{key:"56", value:"Pages v5 or newer"}} property pages_type : {"com.apple.iwork.pages.sffpages", "com.apple.iwork.pages.pages"} set default_path to (path to desktop) as alias set pages_doc to (choose file with prompt "Select Pages document" of type pages_type ¬ default location default_path without invisibles, multiple selections allowed and showing package contents) tell application "Finder" to set its_name to name of item pages_doc set formatted to its_name & return & what_pages(pages_doc) display dialog formatted with title "Pages Document Version" with icon note giving up after 10 return on what_pages(afile) set pf to false tell application "System Events" to set pf to package folder of afile tell application "Finder" if pf then if exists file ((afile as text) & "index.xml.gz") then set status to value of pyy of pages_record else set status to value of p56 of pages_record end if else set theFile to (POSIX path of afile)'s quoted form try set z to (do shell script "zfgrep -m1 -c \"index.xml\" " & theFile) as integer if z = 1 then set status to value of pyy of pages_record on error -- trap 0 result if not found set status to value of p56 of pages_record end try end if end tell return status end what_pages

View in context

22 replies

Aug 31, 2015 11:34 PM in response to VikingOSX

Thanks for the explanation, but unfortunately this doesn´t help:

"There have been occasions where Pages v5.2.2 on Mavericks, when double-clicking on a known Pages v5 document, will still refuse to open it and tell me that I need a newer version of Pages. This is temporary, as I either do an open with, or after 3 or 4 tries, the document opens as it should."

In my case this behavior is not temporary: Even trying to open it multiple times (more than 10 times) the problem remains. (Still asking for the "newer" version that doesn´t exist since I already use the latest).

"Pages v5.5.n documents by are by default, single file format documents (zip/compressed and renamed folders). These are incompatible with Pages v5.2.2 on Mavericks until one uses the Pages v5.5.n File menu ▸ Advanced ▸ Change File Type ▸ Package, and then explicitly saves the document."

Since I´m unable to open the document, I can´t apply this.

Further ideas?

Martin

Sep 11, 2015 6:25 AM in response to NurseMarci

Just had the same problem - and solved it by closing numbers totally and reopen the proram

Now it works fine again🙂

Sep 11, 2015 10:18 AM in response to NurseMarci

Thank you! I've worked for DAYS on a document that refused to open, and now I can! I didn't realize I had two versions of Pages until now!

ozone46

Level 1

0 points

Sep 24, 2015 7:26 PM in response to VikingOSX

I updated to '09 this week, opened a blank pages doc, worked on it, and closed out. When I go to close and save, I'm asked if I want to update the doc to pages '09

* I'm already updated to pages '09 and creating - supposedly - this new doc in that version. If so, why am I getting this request?

When I attempt to open the same pages doc next time, I receive the "required index file" missing message and it won't open.

When I follow the "open with" instructions, the drop down menu says that the 5.3.3 version is the default and by choosing that, the doc will open.

* Doesn't the "default" designation mean that's the version automatically used when opening a pages '09 doc? If so, why must I select it?

(Then there's the need to take five steps to highlight text in numbers, replacing the simple one click in the tool bar method in the earlier versions...but that's another story.

Page '09 and newer Apple software products are driving me nuts. More like the dreaded MS every day.)

Sep 25, 2015 1:55 AM in response to ozone46

Again:

PeterBreis0807:

You have opened a Pages 5.5.3 file with Pages '09. They are both on your system.

Pages 5.5.3 is in your Applications folder.

Pages '09 is in your Applications/iWork folder.

Right click on the document and chose the correct version to open it with.

Peter

You are converting your older Pages '09 files to the newer format by opening and saving them from Pages 5.5.3.

Then you are getting the problem when you open them the next time with Pages '09 again.

Peter

ozone46

Level 1

0 points

Sep 25, 2015 7:45 AM in response to ozone46

Again:

PeterBreis0807:

You have opened a Pages 5.5.3 file with Pages '09. They are both on your system.

Pages 5.5.3 is in your Applications folder.

Pages '09 is in your Applications/iWork folder.

Right click on the document and chose the correct version to open it with.

Peter

You are converting your older Pages '09 files to the newer format by opening and saving them from Pages 5.5.3.

Then you are getting the problem when you open them the next time with Pages '09 again.

Peter

Hi Peter,

Sorry for my ignorance on this. Despite being able to use my Mac, I'm out of my depth in software matters such as these.

When I posted, I assumed that '09 was the latest version since I just updated it this week per Apple prompting, and have been creating new docs within pages as I've always done. And the issue I'm having has been related to these latest docs.

Reading your post again...I gather that 5.5.3 is a newer version than '09. (Just assumed that Apple would always recommend upgrading to the newest version.) I went to the Apple store and see a for-fee pages 5.5.3.

If I update to that version, I assume (again) that that would eliminate the "open with step" on newly created docs, however....would I still be able to open all of my older pages docs dating back a few years?

Thanks for your help, Peter.

Jan 2, 2017 10:01 AM in response to Squeezeman

Not quite sure what you have done there, but if you are "exporting" from Preview then it will be a graphic, not editable text or layout.

Peter

Pages error: "The required index.xml file is missing."