Do You Think Pages Will Ever Return to Past Functionality?

[Traverse]

This is really an opinion question for heavy users of the past Pages '09. We all know how Apple "rebuilt" iWork for cross platform compatibility and have slowly been adding features back. Well, I am a bit frustrated right now at Word and am just curious what you think.

Do you think Pages will ever have the functionality it once had?


I am currently using Yosemite and Pages 4.3 seems stable. I've been trying to use Word exclusively and transition away from Pages since Apple did what they did, but am working on a research project and have been reminded of just how frustrating Word can be. I realize I shouldn't judge it based on Word 2011, but I still don't care for Word 2013. Word is a fine program, but I just don't care for it even though many swear by it. I went back to my trusty Pages and was able to nail out the work and formatting I needed in a 1/3 of the time. Perhaps I am just too uneducated with Word, but it just seem to fight against me.

Bottom line, I miss having a supported version of Pages, do you think Apple will ever restore it's functionality.

 

[Partron22]

No.
We'll never get a decent 2D object based drawing App back either.
Apple's history with Apps is not on Page's side.

 

[rhett7660]

I do, I think the complete re-write on top of everything else they are doing, has them stretched a little thin. I feel once they catch up, we will start seeing updates to the app.

 

[gnasher729]

Having used many word processors over the years, Pages doesn't have an enormous feature set, but it is rock solid in what it does. Page breaks don't change randomly which is an infuriating feature of Word, it has styles, multiple columns, rules for keeping paragraphs together, widow and orphan control, roughly all I want, and those things work. It's hard to believe that Pages and iTunes 12 are created by the same company.

And it looks like the feature set and the code is identical on Mac and iOS, which means any enhancements will be both on Mac and iOS as well.

 

[Traverse]

Having used many word processors over the years, Pages doesn't have an enormous feature set, but it is rock solid in what it does. Page breaks don't change randomly which is an infuriating feature of Word, it has styles, multiple columns, rules for keeping paragraphs together, widow and orphan control, roughly all I want, and those things work. It's hard to believe that Pages and iTunes 12 are created by the same company.

And it looks like the feature set and the code is identical on Mac and iOS, which means any enhancements will be both on Mac and iOS as well.

I agree, what id does it usually does well, but it's missing a lot of basic functionality. It doesn't support side by side pages, no.rtfd support...

 

[Gildarts]

I'm hopeful that it will though I think we will not reach full feature parity. Maybe like 70-80% of the features.

I think that before we reach that, the new Microsoft Office mac will be out.

 

[sracer]

This is really an opinion question for heavy users of the past Pages '09. We all know how Apple "rebuilt" iWork for cross platform compatibility and have slowly been adding features back. Well, I am a bit frustrated right now at Word and am just curious what you think.

Do you think Pages will ever have the functionality it once had?

Unfortunately, no.

It can't. Apple has clearly placed a greater priority on cross-platform support between the iOS and OSX versions than on functionality. Unless iOS provides the same underlying libraries, it is highly doubtful that Apple will expend the effort into a one-off custom library for iWork to increase functionality while maintaining compatibility.

It's a pattern with Apple over the last 5 years or so. They no longer feel the need to be the ones to forge the path for making their hardware productive. I don't know if they've reached critical mass or what, but I can't think of any of their software that has improved in the past 5 years.

How long have people been clamoring for an update to iWork before the great downgrade?

 

[Traverse]

I can't think of any of their software that has improved in the past 5 years.

That's what is sad to me. I'm not going to say that new features in iOS and OS X like SMS relay, full screen with multiple monitors, etc., haven't been enjoyable to use, but my first Mac came with 10.6.7 and I have to say that it was rock solid.

I don't know if its the annual cycle or just less quality pressure, but iOS and OS X just have so many little bugs that irk me.

Though I've been happy overall with OS X, I've noticed all kinds of little bugs that never get fixed. I enjoyed iMove '11, but their Mavericks updated took a lot of features away. I haven't tired the latest release.

------

Are you just going to hold onto Page 4.3 until your hardware runs out or are you seeking/using alternatives? Word is good, but I don't like it like I did Pages.

 

[sracer]

That's what is sad to me. I'm not going to say that new features in iOS and OS X like SMS relay, full screen with multiple monitors, etc., haven't been enjoyable to use, but my first Mac came with 10.6.7 and I have to say that it was rock solid.

I don't know if its the annual cycle or just less quality pressure, but iOS and OS X just have so many little bugs that irk me.

Though I've been happy overall with OS X, I've noticed all kinds of little bugs that never get fixed. I enjoyed iMove '11, but their Mavericks updated took a lot of features away. I haven't tired the latest release.

------

Are you just going to hold onto Page 4.3 until your hardware runs out or are you seeking/using alternatives? Word is good, but I don't like it like I did Pages.

My plan is to stick with Mavericks on my iMac and MBA. The nice thing about that is I no longer get the nags to upgrade iWorks since the latest update requires Yosemite.

I heavily rely on Pages 4.3 (and to a lesser extent Keynote) and Pixelmator. When I can no longer run Pages 4.3 I'll reconsider sticking with OSX. If it comes to that point, then Windows and Linux will be seriously considered. There are wider variety of alternatives for Windows.

 

[Traverse]

My plan is to stick with Mavericks on my iMac and MBA. The nice thing about that is I no longer get the nags to upgrade iWorks since the latest update requires Yosemite.

I heavily rely on Pages 4.3 (and to a lesser extent Keynote) and Pixelmator. When I can no longer run Pages 4.3 I'll reconsider sticking with OSX. If it comes to that point, then Windows and Linux will be seriously considered. There are wider variety of alternatives for Windows.

Thank you for sharing that. I'm going to wait for Office:Mac 2015. If that ends up disappointing me I may revert back to Mavericks. The only real benefit I've gained in Yosemite is SMS Relay.

I'm also glad to hear that those super annoying update notifications have stopped.

 

[Partron22]

It can't. Apple has clearly placed a greater priority on cross-platform support between the iOS and OSX versions than on functionality. Unless iOS provides the same underlying libraries, it is highly doubtful that Apple will expend the effort into a one-off custom library for iWork to increase functionality while maintaining compatibility.

The one exception here seems to be AppleScript. There's no sign of scriptability in the iOS versions, yet after coming out with a minimally scriptable Mac version, Apple relented and put many of those features back in. I expect that resurrection was done to appease angered Enterprise customers, not "Joe consumer".

 

[maflynn]

Another one to vote no. I think Apple is taking it in a different direction and some of the features that were in the older version are gone for good.

 

[marc55]

I'm wondering if Pages, Numbers, etc., will eventually be discontinued. With MS Office 365 available on every device now, how many will actually want to use Pages and Numbers?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I also expect the answer to be No. The goal seems to be functional harmony with the iOS devices and following the iOS lead, so features that would be difficult to support via iOS simplicity probably don't make it back into the program.

Most notably, Pages '09 was a 2-in-1 program (IMO). Half of it was a feature-simple word processor while the other half was a feature-simple desktop publishing app. Much of the former can probably be replicated for iOS devices. Much of the latter will probably be hard to implement in iOS.

My desire would be for Apple to split that 2-in-1 into two apps, not so different than when Microsoft offered Word and Publisher as 2 separate apps. A great deal of the value I find in Pages '09 is in that simple DTP side of the program, so I would love to see this solution.

Why should Apple be interested? Apple has other applications where DTP tools are more useful. For example, iBooks and various publications for iOS newsstand pretty much beg for DTP over just word processing. The new Pages or Word is probably not enough to fully cover that particular base. And while there are applications like Indesign and Quark, those tend to be overkill for core DTP functions that were somewhat easy to use and easy to learn in Pages '09.

Will this happen? I doubt it. So I'm looking for the Pages '09 DTP-side alternative. iBooks Publisher looked like it could cover this base but it lacks some key parts and it really is focused on one thing instead of being a general DTP tool. Sooner or later an OS update is going to "break" Pages '09. An alternative will be needed for those of us who use it in ways that won't work well on iOS devices. I think the alternative is probably a third party DTP app trying to exist between Word/Pages and Indesign much as Pages '09 still does now.

 

[Partron22]

Sooner or later an OS update is going to "break" Pages '09. An alternative will be needed for those of us who use it in ways that won't work well on iOS devices. I think the alternative is probably a third party DTP app trying to exist between Word/Pages and Indesign much as Pages '09 still does now.

Trouble is, whoever develops such a thing will have to worry about how close they can get to Pages functionality before Apple shuts them out of the App store for being too similar to existing software.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

If you are writing a Research paper with TOC , reference tables and what not stick with Word. Pages is good for writing a letter and that's it.

 

[Belmont31R]

Nope. The new iWork came out in 2013, and if they were going to bring back many of the old features they would have been by now. That or they have barely any people working on it.


Not that I like Windows (typing on a Mac now) but with Windows 10, and what they're doing with Office, MS is poised to leapfrog Apple in the 'it just works' department. I've used Windows 8/8.1, and MS Office quite a bit and if I had serious business needs that required an iWork or Office type suite I would source a good Windows box first.


And don't forget the new iWork doesn't really work with old Pages files. Apple does not have a good track record with long term support and stability of products. How many revisions of iCloud are we going to go through? They seem to revise things so often in comparison that how could anyone trust serious work and enterprise needs to Apple?

 

[roadbloc]

Based on Apple's previous app history, no. I've abandoned Pages and iWork completely and moved over to Office for good now. At least with Microsoft you know you're going to get nothing but the best features and support and no feature strip at any moment without warning.

Its a shame, because I thought iWork had real potential and I did hope that Apple would make a real competitor to Office. Unfortunately the exact opposite ended up happening.

 

[phrehdd]

Other than OSX, I wouldn't trust Apple with any software on the computer. They seem not to really 'care' anymore about end users who go beyond web browsing. I think that Apple wants everything to be crippled so it can work on IOS devices. Rather sad situation.

If people don't want Pages or MS Word, there are of course the various flavours of Open Office but it is a bit untidy (though powerful).

 

[sracer]

Based on Apple's previous app history, no. I've abandoned Pages and iWork completely and moved over to Office for good now. At least with Microsoft you know you're going to get nothing but the best features and support and no feature strip at any moment without warning.

Its a shame, because I thought iWork had real potential and I did hope that Apple would make a real competitor to Office. Unfortunately the exact opposite ended up happening.

I think that is Microsoft's strategy. There are too many competing OSes now for Microsoft to defend Windows on all fronts. So they are shifting the battle to software, in particular productivity software.

They're making Office a priority for other mobile OSes over their own mobile OS. That seems counterintuitive, but it is definitely drawing people back to Office (from free, limited function cloud services) and getting others interested who wouldn't otherwise be interested. Seriously, Office 365 for $69/year (5 PCs/Macs + 5 tablets).

I can't be the only one who will reconsider going back to Windows when the OSX productivity app of choice/necessity is Office. In a similar way, people started to move TOWARDS OSX with the advent of iTunes. iTunes on Windows was (and still is) horrendous. When it came time to upgrade their systems, the "it just works" nature of iTunes on OSX became a draw for people.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

[jdelgado]

Other than OSX, I wouldn't trust Apple with any software on the computer. They seem not to really 'care' anymore about end users who go beyond web browsing. I think that Apple wants everything to be crippled so it can work on IOS devices. Rather sad situation.

I agree. However, Apple has a long story of abandoning software (except for the OS): AppleWorks, Claris suite, among many others.
On the other hand, one can count on Microsoft; Word, Excel, and the rest have been available for ages and I expect them to continue to be available. Although I do not like subscription software, the applications will still be there.
Regarding OSX, I do not know what the plan is. I never hesitated to upgrade as soon new versions were released (except maybe with MacOS 7), but now I feel uneasy and almost afraid to do so. I wish Apple concentrated on making the system more stable, minimise bugs, and return to consistent interfaces.

I can't be the only one who will reconsider going back to Windows when the OSX productivity app of choice/necessity is Office. In a similar way, people started to move TOWARDS OSX with the advent of iTunes. iTunes on Windows was (and still is) horrendous. When it came time to upgrade their systems, the "it just works" nature of iTunes on OSX became a draw for people.

You are not alone. I love Macs, but I think things are not moving in the direction they should for supporting "computer" people (I do not find a suitable word for this). Rather they are moving towards mass markets and consumption. This is not a bad thing. Actually I like most of the stuff Apple is delivering and Apple owes their shareholders to make money. However, if Apple *only* concentrates on this, it does not suit me.

Maybe I will end up working in MacOS7/8 under emulators to have work done.

 

[Traverse]

I can't be the only one who will reconsider going back to Windows when the OSX productivity app of choice/necessity is Office. In a similar way, people started to move TOWARDS OSX with the advent of iTunes. iTunes on Windows was (and still is) horrendous. When it came time to upgrade their systems, the "it just works" nature of iTunes on OSX became a draw for people.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

You are not alone. I love Macs, but I think things are not moving in the direction they should for supporting "computer" people (I do not find a suitable word for this). Rather they are moving towards mass markets and consumption. This is not a bad thing. Actually I like most of the stuff Apple is delivering and Apple owes their shareholders to make money. However, if Apple *only* concentrates on this, it does not suit me.

Maybe I will end up working in MacOS7/8 under emulators to have work done.

Honestly, the biggest thing that keeps me from Windows is the clear type font rendering. You stare at text all day and to me Mac font rendering is orders of magnitude better and easier to look at for long periods. I know I can change this with third party hacks, but I don't like to resort to that.

 

[Partron22]

font rendering... I know I can change this with third party hacks, but I don't like to resort to that.

Maybe Adobe can be persuaded to bring back ATM for Windows!

 

[neutrino23]

"even though many swear by it"

Usually I swear at it, not by it.

I submitted a paper to a conference that required you to use Word. I quickly formatted this in Pages then struggled to replicate it in Word. By 3:00AM I was swearing left and right. I could not for the life of me get the Figures and Images to where they should be. I finally gave up and exported my document as PNG images then put one image on each page of a Word document and submitted that.

The one thing I miss from old Pages is the ability to flow text from one text box to another. I mostly write my reports and papers that way. I have lots of images and graphics to deal with and this gives me the best control of text placement.

I'm hopeful that much of the old features will return in the near future.

I wonder how they decide what to do for an update? It seems like for years we have been asking for all sorts of interesting features and when an update does come out it has stuff that don't seem that useful. It's like, who asked for that?

 

[Traverse]

I'm wondering if Pages, Numbers, etc., will eventually be discontinued. With MS Office 365 available on every device now, how many will actually want to use Pages and Numbers?

This will not happen. Apple is trying to build an entire world within their ecosystem. Users have a need to type letters. Some may use tables/spreadsheets for different things. The thought of the average user needing keynote is a bit of a stretch, but perhaps they include it for school students and to round out the suite.

And they push it with iOS and iCloud productivity. It's a nice strategy, but it leaves professional and prosumer users out.