iWorkTipsnTricks

PeterBreis · Site Admin Joined: 13 Aug 2009 Posts: 188

If you are using an Avery label or Business Card sheet you can DL the word template from the Avery template site and open it in Pages.

Pages can merge address information from a Numbers spreadsheet or entries from Address Book.

Normally it only merges one set of addressee data (them) and one set of addressor (you) per page. If it has more than one set of addressee data it will make a page for each set and fill in the information.

To make more than one set of data per page there are a few techniques but probably the easiest is to use a Numbers spreadsheet and an AppleScript written by Yvan and available from his iDisk /For_iWork/iWork '09/for_Numbers09/for_labels.sparseimage.zip

If you want to reproduce the same label or business card design on a sheet remember they are just rectangles of the appropriate size.

You make one label or business card the way you like it, and duplicate it:

1. Select all the Label/BCard and Menu > Arrange > Group

2. Select the group and hold down both shift and option keys and drag a copy sideways.

3. Select both copies and hold down both shift and option keys and drag copies down until you have filled the page.

4. Space and Align them using either:

Inspector > Metrics > Position or

Menu > Arrange > Align/Distribute objects

spydereye · Joined: 23 Nov 2009 Posts: 1

In a 13 Aug 2009 posting, PeterBreis mentioned an AppleScript by Yvan that allows one to make more than one set of data per page. I've looked through those AppleScripts but am uncertain which script to download and use. I would greatly appreciate it I could be pointed to the appropriate script.

PeterBreis · Site Admin Joined: 13 Aug 2009 Posts: 188

I have corrected the 1st post to have the full path and name of the file.

Ben of BenandJacq · Joined: 01 Dec 2009 Posts: 1

Not sure I know what to do with the script from that link. I downloaded it, and have a Numbers sheet ready, and the avery template ready. Can you tell me specifically what to do with the script? I am very much a novice here.

PeterBreis · Site Admin Joined: 13 Aug 2009 Posts: 188

I have not used the script myself and you should talk to Yvan about it.

I believe what the script does is simply create more field names so that there are FirstName1, FirstName2, etc. all within the one record which is all that Pages allows per page.

You run it in Numbers when you set up the Numbers file that is to be merged.

To have an AppleScript appear as a menu item (usually the right most menu with a scrolled paper icon):

Open Applications/AppleScript/AppleScript Utility > check Show Script in menu bar

Luissaez72 · Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 1

Im very disappointed with iwork 09 for business card, I have the same problem to not be available to duplicate my sample.
I when to the other apple script and also dosen`t help.

PeterBreis · Site Admin Joined: 13 Aug 2009 Posts: 188

What can you not manage to do with the instructions at top?

You can create a template with your design repeated, not a difficult task, and merge to that. Or simply duplicate a finished design as a plain document.

There is no magic button in Pages (nor most DTP software) to duplicate items.

There is dedicated software for that, like BusinessCard Designer.

Yvan has supplied the AppleScript as is with minimal French explanations, if you want him to provide better instructions, as I try to do, speak to him in the Apple Pages forum.