tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35330979.post121407754610240297..comments2024-03-22T13:42:01.168+01:00Comments on I Work in Pages: Measuring iWork Pages - against what?Alexander Anichkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08716415983965000292noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35330979.post-51970619563879935692009-10-01T15:35:40.921+02:002009-10-01T15:35:40.921+02:00For serious page template design, the lack of cond...For serious page template design, the lack of conditional text is a show-stopper. For example, even openOffice provides some conditional text capabilities. They are clunky and limited--but quite useful as far as they go.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35330979.post-63335877604862141702009-09-03T07:43:54.369+02:002009-09-03T07:43:54.369+02:00I agree that Pages' progress has not broken an...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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />How absurd that they are so incompatible that you have to resort to copy and paste to move material between them.<br /><br />Guess which has most of the features of a DTP layout program? Why Word Processing mode of course! <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />Most of all I detest the arse backwards way everything works.<br /><br />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!<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />I can continue in far greater detail.<br /><br />Curiously it is the seductiveness of something that has so much promise, but is so poorly executed, that throws up a challenge for me! <br /><br />No design app. has ever got the best of me before!Peter Breishttp://www.edsign.com.aunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35330979.post-32787868920624284462009-04-30T19:24:00.000+02:002009-04-30T19:24:00.000+02:00Cool post!
I hadn't, until recently, tried MS Offi...Cool post!<br />I hadn't, until recently, tried MS Office for Mac. The result: I found it ok, but not better than the Windows version. And man, I don't like the windows version. It looks good and it certainly is not bad software, but it just gets to my nerves sometimes. I tried composing a document in word, dragging pictures, tables, etc, trying to make it actually look and feel good, but it was as hard as it is on Windows. <br />I love the power that Pages gives you over the actual design of the document you are composing. You can not only write your report, but make it look as you want it to look. And it actually works.<br />I also love keynote, it is many steps ahead of powerpoint. Keynote presentations look a lot more "pro".<br />Sure, regarding spreadsheets, I think Excel is still more powerful than numbers, but Numbers fullfills most of my needs in that field, and most other issues can be accomplished with NeoOffice Calc. There is actually no single requirement in the spreadsheet field that I haven't been able to solve with either Numbers or Calc.<br />I think you can compare iWork and Office. And I can say, personally, give me iWork over Office any day.<br />Anyway, I agree that iWork is not entirely the same. It aims to offer similar tools, but I think the focus is actually very different, and that's the good thing. That's why you may feel more at home comparing pages to indesign (gosh, I don't line indesign at all!!) or publisher.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35330979.post-48513242144093746672008-11-02T20:29:00.000+01:002008-11-02T20:29:00.000+01:00Very good overview of Pages' advantages!I somewhat...Very good overview of Pages' advantages!<BR/><BR/>I somewhat disagree with the statement "the progress from the first 2005 version to the latest is astounding", but it depends on one's preferences of course. I agree that a lot of things have happened, but the things that have bothered me most since version 1 are still not implemented:<BR/><BR/>1. Save to Word format. I refuse to use a non-standard file format as main format for my documents, as the forward compatibility is questionable. What applications will read my Pages 3.0 files in 15 years' time? The result is that I make a backup in Word or PDF format of every single Pages document, and that is a detour I do not like having to do.<BR/><BR/>2. Support for Japanese furigana. Support for Japanese vertical writing. I do not understand that Apple are able to sell Pages in Japan, as those features, that you see in every printed Japanese book and newspaper, are not available.<BR/><BR/>3. Support for right-to-left writing. I admittedly do not read any right-to-left language myself, but considering the huge market with the whole Arab world, Iran, Pakistan, Israel and large parts of India, it seems very strange that Apple has chosen to ignore this feature. There are easily 1 billion speakers of right-to-left languages - and none of them can use Pages to write in their native language.<BR/><BR/>But then, yes, for European languages (and Simplified Chinese), Pages is an increasingly useful tool.Magnus Lewanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11928234553753330696noreply@blogger.com