Wednesday, December 05, 2012

iWork Cookbook. A perfect Christmas present for Mac users.

Click on the cover to go to the author's page


If you are getting a Mac this Christmas, or planning to give one, or already working on one, here's a perfect accompaniment: 'iWork for Mac OS X Cookbook.' 

The book comes from the author of I Work in Pages, the blog you've come to trust and rely on when using this brilliant productivity suite. Thousands of Mac users from all over the world visit us every day for tips and answers to their queries.

It's not about cooking, the recipes in the book are about completing projects you never thought you would be able to do, described as clearly as how to make porridge or cook a perfect poached egg.

It's not another chatty version of a user's manual, the book leads you to break through techno fears and discover an incredible creative power in yourself.

iWork Cookbook covers Pages (text and layout), Keynote (presentations) and Numbers (spreadsheets). 

Step-by-step recipes show little known tricks when working with text, photos and graphics, from making clip art and logos to creating cards and posters, or publishing newsletters, magazines and books. Learn how to make videos for YouTube and add your photos to graphs and charts.

Visit the author's page on Packt Publishing to read a sample chapter and order the book. Some free content is also available on Safari Books. iWork Cookbook comes in paperback and Kindle versions.

The book is on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other major book sites.

If you are a reviewer and would like to have a copy to review please contact Packt Publishing (email: reviewrequest at packtpub.com) or the editor of I Work in Pages (post a comment or go via email in profile). 

Here are a few excerpts from reviews:

'I learned about iWork through the author'

'What many people do not realize is that Apple's iWork Pages software is an easy-to-use full-fledged Desktop Publishing program, and the author had been using the program for years in his own publishing company. When I first switched to Mac, I learned about iWork through the author, who helped me quickly learn the program. For any small company I think iWork is a cost-effective solution for DTP; we use it in our own company. And the author has written a book that teaches the reader in a step-by-step fashion, how to quickly and effectively use iWork. I have been using iWork for over 6 years and even I find his book a much-needed reference to show me tricks I don't know.' 
(Richard Koulbanis)

'Anichkin is making a deeper point: free your mindset with iWork'

'The gist of what the author is trying to convey is to free your mindset when using iWork. Do not be conceptually confined to just having iWork be for one purpose. See if what it outputs or can accept as input can also be associated with other supposedly unrelated packages on a machine, like the Microsoft Office suite, or its arch competitor, Open Office.
At a more mundane level, iWork can import and export to those packages, so as to transparently enable these data interchanges. So why doesn't the book just say so? Because Anichkin is making a deeper point. In your mind, ask what possible benefits could arise from this cross overs. Keep doing this, rather than putting iWork or those packages into standalone concrete silos.
Chapter 6 addresses a long running complaint about iWork - that it lacks a Clip Art folder. Instead, the author suggests that the complaints are misplaced. There are numerous other applications from which you can readily import images. And he goes on to show at some length how to do this. Again, as earlier, this is simple. Once you know that it is possible, that is the main thing. The precise steps involved are a lesser detail.
Going further, chapter 8 is for the person needing professional quality output printing of graphics. It shows how iWork can be used at this level, for creating press ready PDFs. The process steps here are not confined to operations inside iWork. You are advised about manual real world steps that you need to coordinate with your local print shop to achieve the best quality hardcopy.'
(W Boudville)

'I've now got the book right next to me, already marked with stickies'

'I became a Pages devotee when I launched a monthly glossy magazine on a shoestring and didn't want to (couldn't afford to!) invest in InDesign etc. By following Anichkin's step by step tutorials I was soon able to master all the design and graphics I needed to create a smart looking product.
Better than going to the blog, I've now got the book right next to me, already marked with stickies so I can go straight to the recipes I need. Definitely recommended for anyone who wants to create sophisticated design and graphics without shelling out a fortune on software.'
(Miranda Ingram)

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