RUBAIYAT  I agree that Pages' progress has not broken any world speed records. Progress seems to be in randomly odd directions, with the obviously broke ignored and things that used to work becoming broke in the new version.

My beef with Pages is all the blithely ignorant design decisions that seem to have the sole purpose of making things harder. Time and again they have reinvented the wheel, by adding more sides to it.

If you work only in the templates, and spend the time to learn its quirky ways, it can be usable, but go off the beaten track and you better have your Machete and Rough Planet Guide handy.

The split WP & Layout modes "solution" is execrable. Go from one to the other, and you have the fossil features of both appearing in the other to add to new user confusion.

How absurd that they are so incompatible that you have to resort to copy and paste to move material between them.

Guess which has most of the features of a DTP layout program? Why Word Processing mode of course!

Layout mode lacks any useful facing pages, no master pages, no auto flowing text and the need to endlessly insert pages is bizarre, as is the lack of any retrospectivity in the "templates". Word Processing mode is little better, lacking features that were standard 20 years ago.

No named retrospectively editable colors, no layers other than the master objects in WP mode, no ability to view and edit styles in one place, no bleeds, no spreads, no crops, no slugs, no imposition, no spot colors.

Worst of all if you output to PDF/X to try to send to a commercial printer it renders all shadows, reflections, transparency and text overlapping images at an unprintable 72dpi. Apple deceives its users by telling all the customers in their stores that this is a full DTP solution and then gives no warnings of the consequences if they try to use it to go to press.

Also no warning of exactly when your large document is going to become unopenable.

After the initial excitement comes the dawning reality that this is not going to be as easy as Apple made out, and growing irritation at invisible or hidden UI elements. Particularly the lack of a freely visible selection tool that can grab objects under other objects.

Most of all I detest the arse backwards way everything works.

Just to change a style, you have to replace it. To change a template you have to overwrite it. Using exactly the same name with the correct U&lc, but working blind because you can't see it. Coloring an object avoids the obvious method of selecting it and clicking on a color swatch and once applied you can't tell what color it is, because there is no feedback on selections!

Weird things like Personal Templates appear in Template Chooser in a nesting order opposite to the way you had them in Finder. Creating templates, that actually apply as expected, is one of the most convoluted long winded processes I have ever encountered, and of course they behave differently in WP and Layout mode. The counter intuitive way they work, endlessly catches me out and confuses new users.

Having thoroughly confused most users, forcing them to seek help, Apple of course has matched it with appropriately crap documentation. My guess is they are as clueless as to how it works as the rest of us, if not more so.

I can continue in far greater detail.

Curiously it is the seductiveness of something that has so much promise, but is so poorly executed, that throws up a challenge for me.  
(Version 4.0.1)

YOSHINATSU  Pages is the perfect tool for writers.

Implementing little features of DTP, along with nice thing like proper Word importing, and native export to .pdf/.doc, it's one of the best apps Apple has ever made.

Complete, stable, cheap, simple but full-featured, Pages blows Microsoft Word away.

A definite must-buy.  
(Version 4.0.1)

RUBAIYAT  Pages is an amazing amalgam of tantalising features and poor implementation.

If all you want to do is open up one of the very attractive templates and substitute your own material you will be reasonably happy. Try to make it do anything serious or make major alterations or try to create your own material and you will be confounded at almost every turn.

Despite being a clean sheet in design, it has been patched and patched again to try and make it fill some of the demands of its users. The patches add features in odd and inconsistent ways, some of which work - sort of. What doesn't get patched is what is wrong with this program.

The first thing that got patched was what has become 2 modes, Word Processing and Layout. As it was a bit of a dog's breakfast trying to be a Word Processor and a DTP program at the same time, Apple split the 2. You diverge at the point of selecting a starting template, then can't go back.

Some features work in one mode and some in the other. Apple makes hardly any effort to let the user know which does which. Crazily enough the only master pages are in the WP mode. The Layout mode just makes predesigned sheets which aren't retrospective they are like photo copies of the layout. Despite showing options for facing pages, the pages ignore them except for headers and footers. You actually have to create Layout versions for each side and manually put them in the right order. If you have headers and footers they will twist from one side to the other irregardless of whatever else is on the page.

There is no layers, no direct selection tool (for Pete's sake, what millenium is this?) the master pages are primitive in the extreme and only exist for WP mode, there are no named colors that you can systematically use in styles and retrospectively change, no spot colors, no crop marks, no real support for commercially ready pdf files (there may appear to be but they fail), reflections, shadows and text over bitmaps are rendered at a ridiculous 72dpi. I could go on for ever, but there just isn't room.

Apple frankly lies about the MsOffice compatibility. It saves and opens Word format files but has so many problems it is better avoided.

This is classic Apple post Steve Jobs' 2nd coming, all style and very little substance.

It is hard to believe that this is the child of the company that virtually started the DTP revolution and wrote the book on User Interfaces.  
(Version 4.0.1)

WILLIAM25  TROUBLE

OS 10.5.6, PPC, iMac , 2.0 Ghz

Would not install. Dialog reported iWork was not in the applications folder when it was in the original install place.

Machine acted funny after install. Restarted. Fans revved up and stayed that way for a couple of minutes.

Same way with Keynote and Numbers.

Watch out.  
(Version 3.0.3)

EVERLAST_34  Anytime I send a file made in Pages 09 to someone who uses MS Word, they always have a problem opening it. I then end up copy / pasting it into a Word doc. Kinda defeats the purpose.

Anyone else have this problem?  
(Version 3.0.3)

XIAOPANGZI  Observations:

• Although still not as crisp and clear as text on a Word page, antialiased text in Pages ’09 is much less blurry than in previous versions of Pages, so Pages ’09 is now viable as a replacement of Microsoft Word, as long as Find & Replace functionality is significantly expanded in the near future.

• Unable to search for bold, italic, underlined, subscript, superscript, or highlighted text, or text with specific fonts, colors, etc., within documents in which the original writer did not define styles (did not use a style sheet).

• Unable to use clipboard content for Replace All, such as when replacing all instances of “CO2” with the equivalent that contains the proper subscript number.

• Unable to specifically search for only one-byte or two-byte characters within a document, unlike the Japanese version of Word (or with Japanese enabled via Microsoft Language Register).

• Unable to automatically convert double-byte characters to their single-byte equivalents or vice versa.

• Unable to search upward.

• Unable to search for combinations of unspecified numbers and letters or use any other wildcard searches.

• Unable to search for unspecified uppercase letters or combinations of uppercase and lowercase letters.

• Unable to highlight text if the desired color is already selected in the Apple, Developer, Crayons, and Web Safe Colors subpalettes in the Show Colors formatting palette, so a different neighboring color has to be temporarily selected before reselecting the desired color to be applied to the current text selection.

• Difficult to identify the applied highlight color of selected text, as the System Preference’s default Highlight Color is still used even for highlighted text instead of Pages using a color that directly contrasts with the applied highlight color, as is standard in Word.

• Word files with first line indentation lose most of their indentation when opened in Pages.

Desires:

• An option in Preferences that enables certain Views—especially Show Invisibles—by default for all documents, whether newly created or imported from Word format

• Access to the Inspector via the pointer while inputting search (and replace) criteria in the fields of the Find & Replace dialog box, as most documents do not have styles defined by the original author

• Ability to search across all open documents and search upward to find the previous instance of any criteria

• Fullest possible regular expression search via the Find & Replace dialog box but preferably selectable from a pulldown menu with natural user-friendly language.

• Ability to apply the currently selected color in the Show Colors palette as highlighting for any selected text via a single click (without having to deselect the desired color first) and then have immediate visual feedback that the highlighting has been successful by displaying the text selection highlight in a color that directly contrasts with the applied highlight color.  
(Version 3.0.2)

EASER  I prefer Numbers to Excel, mostly because my needs for that program are simple, and it runs smoother and easier for me. I'm still playing with Keynote but find it promising. I do not like Pages. I ran a simple test. I created a Word document with a moveable graphic image wrapped in some text. Pages did not display the graphic when I opened that document. Nisus did. I'll be buying iWork for the other two programs, but not for Pages.   
(Version 3.0.2)

BRUMM  My opinion on word processors for OS X:

The last days I've tested many word processors and I found Mellel to be the best so far,

Mellel is not bloated like all the "Office" suites (Neo, OO, MS, are all to slow, ... for me Neo Office is the best of these beasts.)

and Mellel is better than:

- Nisus (Nearest competitor but Nisus doesn't support soft hyphen!, I simply cannot work without soft hyphen.),

- Mariner Write (really bad font display/spacing for many years now, only english, carbon - so it needs to be rewritten for future OSX releases, will they do that? I'm unsure.)

- Pages (Again no soft hyphen!, occasionally crashes and after a while gets very slow, ... but I exspect the next versions will be much better)

- Papyrus (very ugly, carbon, no real testdrive possible - crippled trial version, but some interesting features - I keep an eye on it)

- AbiWord (Many bugs and no updates the last 2 years, I think they don't support the Mac anymore)

- Bean (really fanstatic freeware, but based on Apples buggy text-engine. No soft hyphen! So only usable for some very short texts, best freeware I've seen for many many years - of course I keep an eye on it)

For now I will use Mellel.

The only things that I don't like are related to the interface design, for example the round beveled look of the ruler and tools section is very outdated now, a boring all-grey mix of alien spaceship ("aqua"-style) or early iTunes versions ("metal"-style).

But besides that Mellel has the best combination of features for me, so my money goes to them.   
(Version 3.0.2)

ANON BUD  Love it! This has become my replacement for MS Word 2004. It seamlessly opens Word docs and the comment feature integrates well with Word's.

The cost is great for iWork '08; so much so that I'll not be paying for another MS Office upgrade ever again!

Would like to see this cross compatible with Office so I do not have to convert Pages files to Doc each time I want to share something with Windows users, but this is only a minor thing for me.  
(Version 3.0.2)

ORION MK. V  No problem installing or running this update. Despite criticisms by some, I love Pages' amazing robust, but intuitive mix of tools. It's more a cross between Word and PageMaker than InDesign or Quark. It offers enough writing tools with enough layout tools to really be unique. Aside from early 1.x releases -- which were slow and buggy -- 3.x is really a very solid app.   
(Version 3.0.2)

DEREKP  Apple will have to try a lot harder with Pages'08 if they are going to compete with Word. Pages'08 offers a lot more freedom than Word, especially when dealing with graphics. However, when it comes down to importing text or combining documents, there is really no solution, except a really bad headache. Apple needs to sort out all the quarks to make this program a little more user-friendly and perhaps it will have a chance against Microsoft. I hate to say it, but Word is still a lot less confusing, but Apple has approved since the '06 version.   
(Version 3.0.1)

THIRSTYROBOT  I'm quite happy with Pages. Its Pages-to-Word converter works relatively well, but I have encountered a couple of occasions where someone running Word has had formatting problems with a document I had previously saved in Pages. Nothing major, but it suggests to me that we're not quite there yet as far as Pages being a seamless substitute.

I still prefer the way that Word handles spell checking, but apart from that, Pages is a much easier app to operate...and it runs faster since it doesn't have to run on Rosetta like its Microsoft counterpart.

Well worth the reasonable price.   
(Version 3.0.1)

BEBDABHRHBRWEFG 3R§5Y5H4WTEDSFB  so many versions on and apple have still not addressed the single most annoying bug in pages; namely it will disappear in a puff of smoke when trying to import certain word docs which [for whatever reason] it doesn't like.

now given that apple is touting pages as a 'word killer' and is obviously hoping to steal a share of microsoft's market, it is insanely idiotic [to coin a phrase] that pages's importing of word docs has been left in such a fragile condition.

how is anyone seriously expected to consider pages as an alternative to word, when they have to cross their fingers every time they open a word document and pray that pages won't crash!   
(Version 3.0.1)

DANA SUTTON  Okay, I took everybody's advice and made sure there was a folder in my Application (computer, not Home Directory) folder entitled "iWork 'O8" containing the three apps. The updaters for Numbers and Keynote worked fine. The one for Pages still refused to recognize an elibile program. So I trashed the updater and downloaded a fresh copy. That one finally worked (I mention this because somebody else may need to do the same thing).  
(Version 3.0.1)

DANA SUTTON  (This review pertains only to the updater). Although I have a legal copy of the current iWork installed in my Applications folder, this installer informs me I don't have an eligible copy of Pages for updating. Same for Numbers and Keynote. There seems to be something wrong with the installer.  
(Version 3.0.1)

THENUSA  PAGES — It is excellent/v. good for what it is.

From my InDesign head ... frustrating & limited. Pages it is not a replacement for these; it is:

>> a good "short-cut" for quick designs IF you're willing to let go of what you know to be limited to fast and simple ... i find it useful then. V. good drop-in graphics. Sometimes stumble into cumbersome page limitations (when i want more)... otherwise, wonderful.

>> An excellent replacement for MSWord ... feels like the future of word processing.

Room for improvement:

>> Templates: most basic templates such as Biz Cards & more variety would make more useful... anyone know where to get these?

KEYNOTE: Awesome. Love it. Ability to import directly from Illustrator and retain transparency is fantastic. Startup seems a bit slow when putting together templates; but it's still well worth the wait. Export features are very good: nice to have flash, movie, pdf, ppt >> though one must cross-check the powerpoint b/c some things get lost-in-translation (i.e. animations change; graphic sizes and colors aren't as wonderful in ppt). Still, it's a liberating program with much better output; love it.  
(Version 2.0.2)

TPC1095  Try this: insert a line. Click on the line. Drag the left end of the line. Watch the right end of the line jiggle around while the left end your are trying to drag does not move.

Try this: make a table. Drag the top off the top of the page. Drag the bottom off the page. Try and resize the table. You cannot find nor drag the now invisible resize boxes. Try and drag the table: it won't move.

Let's all hope that Apple has a major re-org and the managers who released this little embarrassment before it was done find new jobs -- elsewhere.  
(Version 2.0.2)

DONNAPRI  When I use the temples either Mac or I have created in 2.0.2 pretty soon a extra bar appears beside my working-space paper. Its grey, like the space "under" my "paper." I can't move to document to occupy it, its just there taking up screen space and bumping out the styles drawer on that side. Worse, when I print (to paper or pdf), this gray area is considered paper, my entire document *shrinks* to allow an extra 1-1.5 inches on the right margin! It keeps my document proportionally correct, so adds additional margin on top. This shrunken image is not the page I laid out!

I can't find a way to make the side bar go -- its not on the paper, Pages has no tools to access the spaced under the "paper." This kills the usefulness of any template.

Does anyone know how to fix this?  
(Version 2.0.2)

GOBSTOPPER  I like Pages. Layout control is much easier than with Word. The ability to drag-drop contact info from Address Book (new on 06)is a deal maker by itself. It's a bit buggy, for example background paragrough colour is hard to control.

Could do with more templates, eg business cards, comp slips etc - is there anywhere these can be shared/downloaded?

I don't bother with Keynote, I find people are much more impressed by lively freeform presentations using an old fashioned whiteboard : )  
(Version 2.0.2)

DANA SUTTON  The last gentleman was waay too harsh. Yes, Pages has a rough edge or two. But for most of us it is a very viable alternative to Word. 'Nuff said. But the guy was right when he made once incidental point -- Apple really needs to put out a similar replacement for Claris Home Page. I mean a full-function wysiwyg Web pagemaking app. that can be an equally viable alternative to expensive, buggy, and generally unpleasant Dreamweaver.  
(Version 2.0.2)

ROADTRIPDK  I will never understand why Apple decided to stop developing Apple Works and Claris HomePage and then start all over again with the so called iLife and iWork suites. Both Pages and iWeb have serious inconsistencies and problems.

Pages ignores the language specified in the Spelling window and uses the language settings from the "More" tab in the Inspector panel. This is a gross inconsistency with the normal user interface and therefore third party spelling apps like cocoAspell can't hook in properly, unless (maybe) you are using the same language as listed in the inspector panel. This also rules out use of right to left input spell checking for languages like Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi. Weird.  
(Version 2.0.1v2)

JOHN F.  I like pages. It has a clean interface that doesn't distract. The stylesheets is one of the easiest to use I have ever come across. Entering all the layout parameters is a breeze. All the functions feel natural to me. I simply like the uncluttered interface, like the single inspector window. Masking pics and letting text flow is good. Pages is a good app for the price. And it runs pretty fast on my 1 GHz iBook. You also get Keynote, which has matured well. You can design beautiful presentations with it. There are some persistent bugs in Pages which I have send in but haven't been corrected yet, so that's a bit of a negative there. But overall, two solid classy apps that are a joy to work with for an unbeatable price.  
(Version 2.0.1v2)

ANONYMOUS  Keynote is very good, Pages is bad imo. Appleworks is far better.  
(Version 1.0.2)

ANONYMOUS  Did Apple add a Page Thumbnails view? Nice, very nice. Now, one can manage ones pages with ease.  
(Version 1.0.2)

ANONYMOUS  I do more with my documents than just word processing (I create business documents which I convert to HTML). Pages code is very clean; with a little cleanup with BBEdit, the syntax is flawless. I've found Pages to be more responsive in Tiger than it was in Panther (it was very slow in Panther). I'm still in the learning stage with Pages, but I feel a lot better about it now than I did when it was released.  
(Version 1.0.1)

MATT  some people actually *write* rather than create documents. what happened to the word processing tools? in ms word they're there, but more and more hidden behind the layout tools that load the computer down to a point where you need a g5 to write text, and here they simply don't exist. an ok app though, but i'm still looking for an alternative to word for writing my screenplays and articles.  
(Version 1.0.1)

PHILIPPE  I think the import/export from word is relatively good. It will not open all .doc perfectly, but I experienced at least 1 document from Word/Windows which opened correctly in Pages, while it did not do so in MS Word / Mac 2004 (some unreadable characters in a table). There is probably only 1 application 100% compatible with Word/Windows : the Word/Windows combination which created the document...  
(Version 1.0.1)

ANONYMOUS  The Import/Export feature is unusable. It makes bad formatted html,rtf and doc files. I had to uninstall it.  
(Version 1.0.1)

ANONYMOUS  It's a great app, very useful and innovative.

It's a mix between a word processor and a layout app.

It's the future, and i love it.

MS Word is an old style app, is the past, and it's better don't use it.  
(Version 1.0.1)

ANONYMOUS  I agree - I replaced 3 copies of PowerPoint with a superior KeyNote 1.0, replaced 3 copies of Word with Pages. The only thing I will miss from Word is MailMerge, but I expect to see this in v2.0. Now if Apple could just give us a nice new Spreadsheet...

I will still use my Adobe products for what they were designed for. I'll use Pages for what it was designed for. Oh, and SEAN is a person's name - I would have expected an InDesign and Quark expert to have picked up on this.  
(Version 1.0.1)

ANONYMOUS  For all the trolls jumping on the band wagon...

repeat after me: Pages is a ...W.O.R.D. P.R.O.C.E.S.S.O.R....

InDesign and QXP are... L.A.Y.O.U.T. A.P.P.L.I.C.A.T.I.O.N.S.

If you're going to fake a comment/review then at least make it believable.  
(Version 1.0.1)

STEVEN  I am coming from InDesign and Quark and my comment is : THIS IS A WORST APPLICATION I HAVE EVER SEAN !!!!!!!!!!! As matter of fact, this is a JOKE !!! Even after update U still can NOT delete pages and conversion to HTML for fast and "dirty" web page does NOT work too............  
(Version 1.0.1)

BUBBA  This product packs an amazing amount of power in an easy to use package.

Don't waste your money on high-end word processors and page layout programs until you give this a try.

In my business, Pages has completely replaced both MS Word and InDesign for everything from books and manuals to newsletters and day-to-day business documents.  
(Version 1.0.1)

AIRWAVE  My dad bought iWork, but since it doesn't include a Norwegian dictionary, I have absolutely no reason to use it.  
(Version 1.0.1)

ANONYMOUS  Pages has replaced the three other design tools and word processors I use every day. It simply rocks and I find it exceedingly easy to use. Nearly every this is drag-n-drop and the templates basically do half the work for you.  
(Version 1.0.1)

GEORGE STAMATIS  The only thing that I would complaint would be that it start very very slow on a PowerBook G4 12" 1,33Ghz 256RAM.

George  
(Version 1.0.1)

CHRISD  First I better say that I am a huge Apple and Mac supporter from my first Mac in 1984 (yes, the day after the Superbowl commercial I bought my first Mac. I am a web designer and a Mac expert (needed to clarify this).

Now, on to iWork. It has to be one of the poorest programs I have ever used. I am proficient in all Adobe programs and I own InDesign. I thought iWork (and mostly Pages) would be a nice little program to have to knock out simple flyers, etc. From reading Apple's web site I couldn't wait to get my hands on Pages (I don't need Keynote). Boy was I disappointed. This has to be one of the poorest programs I have ever used. I wrestled with it for about 2 days and still couldn't get the hang of it. I read the manual and read the major forum topics and I finally gave up and went back to InDesign. As huge and complicated as InDesign is, it is a cake walk compared to what Apple has turned out in this mess.

I am not exagerating. I really wanted to get the hang of Pages.. but I finally just gave up. It has to be one of the most complicated, slowest, incomplete programs I have ever purchased. It has been relegated to the bottom of my software folder.. probably never to be used again (another waste of my hard earned dollars on a piss poor application. Even this update has absolutely NO domumentation as to what the update is, does or changes.. nothing.

So, beware if you looked at Apple's splashy web page thinking you were going to get this wonderful and easy to use program that would have your flyers and such flying out of your printer.. HA !!!

The export to (whatever) mostly don't work and if they do what you get as a result is nothing like your original document.

If you just want to fill in the stock supplied templates this program might (might) work for you. But if you are going to try to change anything on those templates you will end up with a big mess.

I don't write many reviews but just had to voice my opinion on this so called program.. it isn't worth the money. Stick with Word or InDesign or the other proven desk top publishers. This program is a huge letdown and doesn't do what it is advertised to do, not even close. As most of the people on the iWork forum state, Apple release 1/2 a program 9 months to early.. just to rush it to market !!!  
(Version 1.0.1)

TOURNESOL  What a dissapointment, none of the major bugs has been fixed! Still doesn't work with aspell and danish, and still is really slow in many ways.

THIS COULD BE SOOOO GOOD!!! COME ON APPLE!  
(Version 1.0.1)

ANONYMOUS  Update was just fine here, NO TROUBLES!..  
(Version 1.0.1)