iWorkTipsnTricks

[PeterBreis]

List individual problems, breaking down into the initial stumbling block.

[PeterBreis]

Can not select object

First make all objects visible

Menu > View > Show Layout

1. If the object has light crosses on the corners, it is locked:

Menu > Arrange > Unlock

2. If it is a background object:

Menu > Arrange > Make Background Objects Selectable

3. If it is a master object:

Menu > Format > Advanced > Make Master Objects Selectable

4. If it is buried

There is probably something on top of it.

Hold down the command key and click outside of the margins to get the pointer tool then drag select into the document. If you pick up more than one object, shift click on one to unselect it.

5. If it is off the page

As above, see if can use the pointer tool to find a corner or edge of the object

[PeterBreis]

Can not type on page

Pages has 2 modes:

1. Word Processing mode that runs text from page to page set inside the page margins.

2. Layout mode that makes individual unlinked pages with only floating textboxes and shapes on them, except any footers or headers.

The document mode is chosen when you choose a template from the Template Chooser. The mode is labeled in parenthesis after the document name at the top of the document window.

A blank Layout mode document is exactly that, it has nothing on it, not even a text box. You will have to create one to type into by clicking on the Text Box tool on the Toolbar.

[PeterBreis]

Can not create a Table of Contents (TOC)

Pages has 2 modes:

1. Word Processing mode that runs text from page to page set inside the page margins.

2. Layout mode that makes individual unlinked pages with only floating textboxes and shapes on them, except any footers or headers.

The TOC can only be created in a Word Processing mode document from text styled using the set styles in the Styles Drawer and within the standard text area between the page margins.

The TOC must be in front of the text to be indexed and indexes until the next TOC if there is one.

The TOC does not index text in floating or inline Text boxes or shapes, nor does it index Headers and footers.

[PeterBreis]

Language changes unexpectedly

1. Chose your language in

System Preferences > International > Language

and drag it to the top of the languages list. If you do not see your language, click on the Edit List… button and see if it is there.

2. Language is an attribute of the text like bold, black or font.

Select all the text and change to your language in Pages.

Inspector > Text > More > Language > choose

NB Pages has only a selected set of languages, which have dictionaries.

3. Select the changed body text and update "Body" style in your Styles Drawer:

Menu > View > Show Styles Drawer > select Body > click on little triangle to the right > Redefine Style from Selection

4. If need be save this as your starting template in Pages Preferences:

Menu > Pages > Preferences > General > For New Documents > Use template: > Choose…

[PeterBreis]

Text appearance changes when pasted into Pages

By default in OSX, the original styling of text is retained when cutting and pasting, overriding the local styling in the document.

To make the pasted text adopt the local styling where it is pasted:

+Menu > Edit > Paste and Match Style (keyboard shortcut: option shift command v)

[PeterBreis]

Can't delete/move page/pages in document

Word Processing mode documents flow from page to page, separated by section breaks.

You can only move or delete whole sections.

Separate the document into sections where needed.

Go to the foot of the page where you want a break:

Menu > Insert > Section Break

Do the same at the end of where you want to delete.

View > Page Thumbnails > click on a thumbnail

The yellow box indicates the extent of the section you are in.

You can delete the selected section by hitting the delete key.

You can move the selected section by dragging it before or behind other sections in the thumbnails.

You can also copy and paste the sections into the thumbnails of another open Pages document. It will paste after the selected section in the thumbnails.

[PeterBreis]

Everything is in a foreign language - How do I translate it?

This question is asked with far too much frequency, mainly by Mid-Westerners in the USA and British users.

The "foreign language" is Latin. Quotes from Cicero to be exact. You do not need to either translate it, nor be afraid of it because it is "different".

It is "placeholder text", text which is replaced by selecting it and either typing or pasting in new material.

It is basically "nonsense text" to show you what text looks like in that position. Anything that replaces it has the same style and appearance.

The quoted text "Lorem ipsum" has been used for a long time by typesetters to show set type without using real text that interferes with the object of showing the general appearance.

Actual English text would distract the reader from the general layout and runs the risk of being left in the layout by accident. Additionally English would be useful only to English speakers. There are obviously many more non-English speakers than English speakers and iWork is a multi-lingual set of applications.

[PeterBreis]

The page doesn't print to the edges

There are probably unprintable margins on your particular printer.

You can discover where those are and how large by completely covering a layout in Pages with a plain grey box and seeing how much of it actually prints.

[PeterBreis]

The page shrinks and there are large margins

You have comments turned on and Pages is insetting the actual layout to make room in the margins to print them.

Turn them off:

Menu > View > Hide Comments

[PeterBreis]

Can't delete page numbers & footers in converted .doc file

The page numbers and some footers in .doc files convert into floating master objects in Pages.

Menu > Format > Advanced > Make Master Objects Selectable

If you have trouble selecting them it is usually because they are under something else. To see where they are:

Menu > View > Show Layout

Hold down the command key and click and hold down the mouse outside the margins where there are no objects, then drag through the layout to lasso the object/s. If you catch something else, unselect it by command shift clicking on it. Then hit delete.

[PeterBreis]

Deleting iWork from your Hard Drive

Drag the iWork '09 folder (in the Applications folder) to the trash.

Also:

~/Library/ Application Support/iWork '09

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iWork09.Installer.plist & com.apple.iWork09.plist

where ~ is your user name or the System root, depending on whether you installed iWork for just you or for All Users.

[agt018]

Hi,

How could create 3 different tables of contents (TOC) in the same document in pages 09?
The first is general, the second figures and the third tables. I can do it on word 2010 but I hate word but in pages I can figure out how to do it. I tried page break, section and different styles.
Thanks

[PeterBreis]

Pages will only let you create a TOC that indexes everything after it until the start of the next TOC (If any).

You can get around some of the restrictions by making a TOC, exporting it and bringing it back in again in either a pdf or as text. Then delete that and do another.

[xtremepicks]

Thanks for the very good information that will be so helpful............