I, too, am pretty disappointed by Word as a word processor. The line spacing is tricky, especially with footnotes. As far as I can tell, (using iWork '05) you can't decrease the line spacing for footnotes (default is double spaced). To me, this is a huge waste of space and disqualifies Pages for typing school papers.
I, too, am pretty disappointed by Word as a word processor. The line spacing is tricky, especially with footnotes. As far as I can tell, (using iWork '05) you can't decrease the line spacing for footnotes (default is double spaced). To me, this is a huge waste of space and disqualifies Pages for typing school papers.
It can be done (decrease line spacing in Pages for footnotes). I won't elaborate, but THINK inspector.
Anyways... Pages never really was a word processor -- it was a low-end desktop publisher. Pages is more concerned with creating finished looking real-world end products than recording text in a certain way that is generally accepted as the format for a paper.
To be fair to Apple, Keynote is a fantastic application, but Pages is awful! Keynote is fantastic in it's own right so would justify the money but I would wait till the new Keynote and Pages are out and hopefully Cells/Numbers or a database. Although Excel is a well written program, hard to compete with. I'm sure Apple just wants to make a light program for occasional users though.
To be fair to Apple, Keynote is a fantastic application, but Pages is awful! Keynote is fantastic in it's own right so would justify the money but I would wait till the new Keynote and Pages are out and hopefully Cells/Numbers or a database. Although Excel is a well written program, hard to compete with. I'm sure Apple just wants to make a light program for occasional users though.
I disagree about Pages... it is actually quite good. You are trying to use it like a word processor. It is not a word processor so much as it is a consumer desktop publisher app.
I know what it's designed for and it's lacking some basic features as a word processor and a DTP package. Pages just seems unfinished, which is fair enough seeing how young it is.
I know it isn't supposed to compete with Word — but it is supposed to compete. Can you imagine someone finally deciding to switch from Microsoft to Apple and chooses to buy iWork over Office? If I had, I'd be very disappointed with Pages.
I agree completely. Keynote is an exceptional application and beats PowerPoint hands down; even though it has got a confusing bullet point system! Pages on the other hand obviously shows how scared Apple is of competing with InDesign and Word because it doesn't really do any of the features of either very well. I do think iWork '07 will demonstrate where Pages is intended to fit in the market sector.
Comments
I, too, am pretty disappointed by Word as a word processor. The line spacing is tricky, especially with footnotes. As far as I can tell, (using iWork '05) you can't decrease the line spacing for footnotes (default is double spaced). To me, this is a huge waste of space and disqualifies Pages for typing school papers.
It can be done (decrease line spacing in Pages for footnotes). I won't elaborate, but THINK inspector.
Anyways... Pages never really was a word processor -- it was a low-end desktop publisher. Pages is more concerned with creating finished looking real-world end products than recording text in a certain way that is generally accepted as the format for a paper.
To be fair to Apple, Keynote is a fantastic application, but Pages is awful! Keynote is fantastic in it's own right so would justify the money but I would wait till the new Keynote and Pages are out and hopefully Cells/Numbers or a database. Although Excel is a well written program, hard to compete with. I'm sure Apple just wants to make a light program for occasional users though.
I disagree about Pages... it is actually quite good. You are trying to use it like a word processor. It is not a word processor so much as it is a consumer desktop publisher app.