Problem placing text in Pages 09

[Christiern]

Adobe having effectively killed Freehand, I am beginning to use Pages 09, but I have big problem with the text box system. Is there any way to enter text without using the text box? When I attempt to move, say, a paragraph under a heading, it only allows me to get them into a limited proximity before part of the text disappears. I am thus forced to put more space between text units than I wish to have.

This is not only annoying, it really robs one of having control over layout. I have searched through the on-line manual and looked all over the web, but I don't even see that anyone else is experiencing this problem.

That leads me to believe that there is a simple solution that, somehow, has escaped me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[benwiggy]

Sounds like you've got Object Wrap on and Extra Space between items in the Wrap tab on the Inspector.

What kind of work are you doing? There are few cases for which I would consider Pages a substitute for Freehand. (Or for which I would consider Freehand a "pro" version of Pages.)
If you're looking for an vector artwork editor, have you tried Inkscape?

 

[Christiern]

Pages placement problem

Thank you bentwiggy for your prompt response. I am pretty sure that I son't have Open Wrap on, and the Extra Space is set at 0 pts.

The attached is what I am working on. The open space is mostly a result of me not having control of placement (one piece pushes the othe out of the way. Also, I haven't been able to indent the second line on a couple of the What Else You Need to Know items. I would actually want to use a slightly larger font size on the 4 pushpin items, but when I try that the result is catastrophic!

It was so easy in Freehand, which I used for years.

Took your advice and downloaded Inkscape, but haven't tried it yet.

Thanks again—sorry to be such a pest with this—I only have 33 years of computer experience, some 28 of it on a Mac.

 

[Dave Braine]

Is there any way to enter text without using the text box?

Yes, just click on the page and start typing where the cursor is.

 

[benwiggy]

The attached is what I am working on.

i suppose you could use Freehand or Illustrator to knock up that, but really you want a DTP package like InDesign or Quark Xpress.

There are some cheaper alternatives, but I don't think Pages has the fine control that you're looking for.

Perhaps it is capable of producing a similar result, but not necessarily in the most easy way.

 

[Christiern]

Option key was the key...

Yes, just click on the page and start typing where the cursor is.

Thank you, Dave. Just clicking on the page produces no result, but selecting the text box with the Option key depressed seems to do the trick. You led me to that, and I appreciate it.

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i suppose you could use Freehand or Illustrator to knock up that, but really you want a DTP package like InDesign or Quark Xpress.

There are some cheaper alternatives, but I don't think Pages has the fine control that you're looking for.

Perhaps it is capable of producing a similar result, but not necessarily in the most easy way.

To use Freehand, I would have to set up one of my old Macs—too lazy to do that. I refuse, on principle, to use or purchase Illustrator, since Adobe killed Freehand, a much better application.

Thanks for your responses, I think the Option key/text box approach wil do it.