How do I add an indent?

There is no keyboard shortcut to add a paragraph indent, as there are in some other programs, but apart from that it works like almost every other word processor.

Display the ruler, if it is not already displayed. (⌘-r)



Drag the small blue rectangle in the ruler so it is to the right of the blue triangle to create an indent.



Drag the small blue rectangle in the ruler so it is to the left of the blue triangle to create a hanging indent. You may have to move the blue triangle first.



You can achieve the same thing by typing numbers in the inspector.

You can also make the paragraph look like it has an indent by starting it with a tab or a couple of spaces, but then you will have to repeat that for every new paragraph. The easiest thing is often to use the ruler or inspector to create an indent, and then to create a new style from the current text, so you can reuse exactly the same format at other places in the document.

Pages prints to the wrong printer. Why?

Some people have reported Pages to print to the wrong printer all the time. They set up one default printer, but Pages insists on printing to a different one. Apparently Pages sometimes saves printer information in a file or template, so the files want to print on a particular printer. Perhaps this happens after one has changed some printer dependent page setup parameters.

The solution can be to copy the content of the file to another file - preferably one created with another template.

How do I exchange files InDesign, Publisher or other DTP applications?

There is no easy way to export a file from Pages so it can be opened by Desktop Publishing Applications like Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Publisher or Quark Express. Neither is there any elegant way to export from those applications so one can open the file in Pages.


Let's just look at InDesign as an example of the problems.

From Pages to InDesign

If you copy formatted text from Pages to InDesign, it will loose all the formatting - font, size, typeface and so on.

If you copy a Text Box from Pages to InDesign, it becomes a graphic. You can no longer correct spelling mistakes or change fonts.

If you copy an image with an alpha channel for transparency and the setting Wrap text to follow the contour of the object, and paste it to InDesign, it will be pasted correctly with a transparent part - however, you will have to set the wrap setting as you want it manually - for each image obviously.

From InDesign to Pages

If you copy formatted text from InDesign to Pages, it will keep part of the formatting, like font and size. However, some features that are not supported by Pages, like kerning, will obviously be discarded.

If you copy a Text Box from InDesign to Pages, it becomes a pdf graphic. You can no longer correct spelling mistakes or change fonts.

If you try to Select All in InDesign and copy it to Pages, it will become a non editable pdf graphic of that page.


Solution

If you have a document in the format of another dtp application and want to work on it in Pages instead, the only solution is often to manually copy and paste piece after piece, and then to correct the formatting that was lost.

However, if there is one page, which you want to create in another application, you can usually save it to PDF from that other application, and you can then paste or insert the PDF as a picture to Pages.

Where do I find more templates?

If you want to find more templates than what is already included with Pages, there are several places on the web where you can find some. Try for example iWorkCommuniy. On the web you can also find some commercial ones that may fit your needs, but make sure you know what you get before you buy them.

As you can import Word files, if you find some nice MS Word templates, you can create Pages templates from them. You may need to change the extension from .dot to .doc to be able to import them.

How do I create macros in Pages?

The way to create macros in Pages 3.0 is to use AppleScript.

Unfortunately, Pages is not recordable, unlike some programs where you can record a series of actions you perform into an editable script. For Pages you will have to create your scripts manually.

To see what kind of things can be done with Pages, open Applications > AppleScript > Script Editor, and go to the menu File > Open Dictionary > Pages.

To see some examples of scripts people already have made for Pages, make a Google search for "tell application pages".

To get a list of resources about AppleScript in general, use for example Wikipedia.

There is currently no way to add menus or buttons with your own scripts to Pages' menus or toolbars.


Pages' AppleScript dictionary as displayed in Script Editor.

How do I set printer information?

In contrast to high end Desktop Publishing (DTP) applications, Pages uses standard Mac OS X printing dialogues and features.

This means that you cannot specify things like bleed (additional space for pictures close to the edge), slug (additional space for printer comments) or creep (adjustments for paper thickness in folded pages). Neither can you print or display printer marks.

For most of us, these are not serious limitations. For those who really need the features, however, you should look at other applications.

Above is a print dialogue from InDesign. Most of these features are not available in Pages.

Printer marks that cannot be printed from Pages.

How do I create forms with Pages?

You cannot. Pages does not support forms.

If you want to create a form to be filled out on paper, you can of course simulate the form fields with pictures and shapes.

If you want to create a form to be filled in using software, with fields, checkboxes, radiobuttons and such things, Pages is not the tool for you. To create forms, you can try Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, OpenOffice or NeoOffice for example. (It is not simple in any of them, and some of them may crash frequently, so prepare yourself with some patience.)


The image above is from Numbers. Numbers has the ability to set values with check boxes, but when you copy those cells to Pages, they strangely enough lose the feature.


The image above is from NeoOffice. Pages does not support any form functionality.

How can I check grammar in a Pages document?

Pages 3.0 contains no "grammar check" but it contains a "Proofreader", which tests things like these for English texts:

• Improper capitalization (like a sentence starting with a lower case letter)
  
• Duplicate words
• Using "an" instead of "a"
• Full stop inside quotation marks ("He screamed". <> "He screamed.")
  
• Formatting errors (for example, abbreviations that should be spelled out in formal writing)
• Jargon
  
• Gender-specific expressions - like "mankind" instead of "humankind" or "humanity".
• Date format ("12/24/07" is considered too informal).
  

With Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) the OS got its own grammar checker, which is not used by Pages 3.0.1. It contains some checks for pure grammatical errors like:

• Verb conjugation ("I is". "I have did".)
• The difference between "their" and "there" (as in "there house").
  
• Sentence fragments (sentences without a verb - like this one).
  

To use the OS grammar check, paste the text into TextEdit and verify it there.

However, the OS grammar check does not check for the following issues, which Pages' Proofreader checks for:

• Inconsistent spacing or punctuation marks, like "la Arabie" for "l'Arabie" in French.
  
• Complex words like "eventuate" or jargon like "pretty".
• Gender words like "mankind".
• Date formats.
  

In some ways the lack of vocabulary check may actually be good, as you sometimes want to write for example "pretty", and Pages cannot switch off that check.

For grammar checks for other problems, try for example MS Word or Grammarian.

How do I add a hyperlink to an image?

You cannot add a hyperlink to an image or graphics object - only to text. A possible work around is to add a text box with the hyperlink and then to hide the text box setting the opacity to 100%. This solution does work, but it may confuse a reader who may get false matches, if he tries to search for text that happens to be in the hidden text box.

How do I rotate text in Pages?

As there is no support for vertical text, the only way to rotate text in Pages is to use text boxes.

To do that, click once on the textbox, so it gets eight white diamonds to grab for resizing.

Then hold down the command key and hover the mouse over one of the diamonds. The mouse pointer turns into a bent double arrow, which you can use to rotate the text box.

To rotate in exact multiples of 45 degrees, hold down shift and command at the same time as you rotate.

If you want more precise control of the rotation, you can go to the Inspector > Metrics (the ruler symbol) and then type a value in the field for Angle.

How do I mix landscape and portrait in the same document?

In Pages 3.0 you cannot mix portrait and landscape layout within the same document.

One way of simulating mixed page orientation is to use a rotated text box on the pages where you want a different layout.

If that does not suit your needs you may want to try NeoOffice/OpenOffice. First define one Page Style for landscape and one for portrait:

1. Format > Styles and Formatting > Page Styles (icon over the list of styles).
2. Create new styles or right click on existing Page Styles to Modify their properties. Orientation is under the Page tab.
   
3. Put the cursor where you want to change page orientation.
   
4. Format > Paragraph > Text Flow. (I did not name those menus. I just copy their names. Don't blame me!)
   
5. Set Breaks > Insert. Type: Page.
6. Click on With Page Style, and select a page style with portrait or landscape mode.

Or in MS Word:

1. Format > Document. Apply to: "This point forward".
2. Click on Page Setup... and change to landscape or portrait.

How does Pages handle captions?

If you want a caption under a picture or table, you can create a text box under the picture and group the two items together. That will make sure that they stay together when text and layout objects move around.

If you have a lot of pictures with captions, you may want to create a dedicated Style to apply to the text boxes, so the layout is harmonised throughout the document.

Unfortunately there is no function to get automatically numbered captions. Neither can you have an automatically generated Table listing all images or tables.

How does Pages handle Bibliographies?

There used to be some fairly big limitations in Pages' own handling of references, citations and bibliographies. With Pages '09, Apple supports Endnote. I currently (6 January 2009) do not know how well that integration works.

The following text was written for earlier versions of Pages.

If you choose to use Endnotes that go at the end of a document, you cannot use page Footnotes or Section Endnotes in the same document. If you want to add text after the list of Endnotes, you are better off using Section Endnotes to start with. Use one section for the whole document, until the "end notes" section, and then add another section after that with the last bits of the document.

If you want to use the same reference several times using cross references with footnotes, you will have problems. Microsoft Word handles that better.

There is no support for multiple tables of contents. Neither is there an integrated Bibliography database, as there is in NeoOffice/OpenOffice.

Pages does not integrate elegantly with dedicated reference software like Thomson ResearchSoft's EndNote or Sonny Software's Bookends or Reference Miner. That kind of software tends to integrate better with Microsoft Word or Mellel. It is sometimes able to scan RTF files - which you can produce from Pages, provided the document does not contain pictues.

Thomson ResearchSoft state on their Mac page that they are unable to integrate their Cite While You Write functionality into Pages 3.0, as Apple does not support that kind of integration.

CiteInPages but it claims to integrate with BibDesk after some configuration.

Third Street Software's Sente does have bibliography support for Pages.

Why cannot a table cell span two pages?

I have no idea why Apple chose to prevent table cells from spanning two pages, but that's the way things are in Pages 3.0 and earlier.

This may not be a big problem if you are translating Petrarca's sonnets, and want the left column to contain the original text and the right one the translation. Each sonnet is so short that you probably can adjust the text so no split is needed between pages.



However, if you try the same trick with Beowulf, you will inevitably end up having to split chapters over page breaks. Not only is the end of the text simply cut off - there is an ugly trace of letters cut in half.



One solution is to use text boxes. Have one set of text boxes on the left for the original and link them over the page breaks. Have a parallel set of text boxes on the right for the translation, and split them in the same way.

The case of the disappearing Character palette

The Character palette and the Keyboard Viewer sometimes do not come up when you want to. You can try to click on its menu item in both the Edit menu and the Flag menu, and it remains hidden.

The reason is that some cache files are corrupted.

The solution is to delete the following files from /System/Library/Caches:

• com.apple.IntlDataCache.le
• com.apple.IntlDataCache.le.kbdx
• com.apple.IntlDataCache.le.sbdl
• com.apple.IntlDataCache.le.tecx

And then restart.

After that, it should be no problem accessing the Character palette from the Edit menu, in applications that support it, like Pages, or from the flag menu.

If it does not appear in the flag menu, go to System Preferences > International > Keyboards and activate it.

Update 21 January 2008: Apple today posted a very similar solution here.