Friday, August 27, 2010

Can Pages create epub files?

Yes! From version 9.0.4 released in August 2010.

With the advent of iBook and the iPad, the epub file format is getting more useful, and luckily Apple released the functionality. This is one of the few major points where Pages is distinctly superior to MS Word.

Instructions, recommendation (and limitations) can be found at Apple's support site.

Friday, June 25, 2010

How do I batch transfer several Pages documents from my iPad or iPhone?

The easiest way seems to be to use iCloud. Activate it on the iPad with Settings > iCloud > Documents & Data. This will automatically send all your documents to Apple, and you can then download them on your Mac.

On the Mac or PC:
  1. Go to http://www.icloud.com. 
  2. Sign in with your Apple ID.
  3. Click on iWork.
  4. Command-click (ctrl-click) on all the documents you want to download.
  5. Do NOT click on any of the many "Download" buttons.
  6. Click on the wheel in the upper right corner and select "Download document..." 

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Pages for iPad cannot create usable PDF files

Some PDF files from Pages for iPad are distorted or unreadable when opened in Adobe Reader. They display much better in Preview, but as Windows users do not have Preview, this is not much of consolation. You can follow this thread to see other people having the same problem. If Apple releases a fix, the thread is likely to be updated by happy users.

There seem to be some dependency on which fonts are used. Trying out most of the fonts installed on my iPad, hardly anyone displayed correctly in Adobe Reader. However, all except Heiti and Zapfino were readable. Heiti and Zapfino displayed as dots: ••••


One font actually displayed as it should, and that was Apple Gothic. It is a mystery why that one of all fonts worked.

Most other fonts displayed as Adobe Sans MM. To get a consistent layout, you can try using Arial or Helvetica in Pages for iPad, as they also are sans serif fonts. You can also try Apple Gothic.

It is nevertheless good to validate the file in Adobe Reader. The final display may depend on your system or the layout of the document.


A list of embedded fonts in Adobe Reader. File > Properties > Fonts.

Pages stuck on iPad

If you start Pages on an iPad, you may get stuck without any controls and no obvious way out.

If you are in landscape mode, the simple trick is to rotate the iPad 90 degrees to portrait mode, and the controls will appear.

For other issues see: Apple's support,