topic Re: I'm still having problems with Pages in Electronics

I'm still having problems with Pages

glb613 — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 15:31:21 GMT

I'm about to pull my hair out trying to get Pages to do what I want. I have created what I call a form to use for a weekly meeting. I fill in the information for each meeting which is distributed to 2 other members. Everytime I try to save a copy, it also alters the original and saves it with the added information. I tried using the duplicate option under file, giving it a new name and location and it still saves the original with the new information added. I hope I'm making sense.

When I used Word this way, all I had to do was select "save as", give it a new name and would create the new document and the original was not altered. What am I doing wrong and how can I save things differently? I'm tired of having to delete the new information and resave what is the blank form.

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

undertheradar — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 16:27:14 GMT

You need to save your original document as a template.

Once you do that, it will appear under the "My Template" section on the left side, when you first open Pages.

Open the template, complete the form each week, then save it as a regular document with a unique name.

I hope this helps!

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

glb613 — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 16:58:27 GMT

I thought that's what I did but, maybe not. I'll try again and see if it works.

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

Lilysmom — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 21:31:07 GMT

@glb613, I am here for moral support only. I had a wicked time with pages using one of their forms. I even went to their classes but it didn’t help much. I am glad someone chimed in with advice. Good luck! LM

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

glb613 — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 21:58:56 GMT

@ up the wall. @Lilysmom wrote:
@glb613, I am here for moral support only. I had a wicked time with pages using one of their forms. I even went to their classes but it didn’t help much. I am glad someone chimed in with advice. Good luck! LM

Thanks, I needed that. There are things about Apple's operating system and programs that drive me up the wall.

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

Buster43 — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 23:25:15 GMT

@glb613

There are some concepts in Apple that are amazing because they work so easily and so well but the free productivity suite of programs is not one of them. It’s like they went out of their way to make things difficult...with only an iPad and not an Apple computer there is no way to make some things happen. I’m glad I’m retired and have lots of time for simple tasks!

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

gardenman — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 01:08:35 GMT

Can you copy and paste in pages? If so, you could try copying the blank form, create a new document, paste in the blank form, fill it in how you'd like, save that new document, and (God/Steven Jobs willing) you might be able to keep the blank form and the filled in form.

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

glb613 — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 11:16:18 GMT

@gardenman wrote:
Can you copy and paste in pages? If so, you could try copying the blank form, create a new document, paste in the blank form, fill it in how you'd like, save that new document, and (God/Steven Jobs willing) you might be able to keep the blank form and the filled in form.

I need to complete a form for a weekly meeting and another one for a monthly meeting. The old forms were difficult to follow so we tweaked them and they are now what I want to use. I did save both as templates and I hope that will solve my problems.

The other problem I have with saving documents is, no dialog box appears when you select save from the file menu options. With Windows, you go to file then save and a dialog box pops up where you can select the name and/or location you want to save the document. With Pages, you must change it at the top of the document. It took me forever to figure that out.

Apple programs may be easy for someone who has never used a Windows based program or computers. If you have and know Windows as well as I did when I changed, there are things that not only don't make sense, they are just plain aggravating. At least I can come here for advice.

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

Lilysmom — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 20:50:51 GMT

@glb613, I did a table today in pages and used my iPad to ask how to ... in pages and followed that. I got along fine. I did save the templates. I am sure someone familiar with pages would have been much faster than I but I got it done. I have a meeting Tuesday. LM

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

glb613 — Sun, 11 Nov 2018 10:41:57 GMT

@Lilysmom wrote:
@glb613, I did a table today in pages and used my iPad to ask how to ... in pages and followed that. I got along fine. I did save the templates. I am sure someone familiar with pages would have been much faster than I but I got it done. I have a meeting Tuesday. LM

Now that I'm using Pages weekly, I am getting more familiar with it. Solving the template issue and learning how to save a document where I want has really helped. It never occured to me I would have to learn how to save a document. I also figured out how to change the settings so I don't share my photos with every device. Things are better.

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

Lilysmom — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 20:36:11 GMT

@glb613, glad things are improving. I am hoping there is a techie on our committee. I would never get into stuff like this in gardening season but it’s ok now that most of the yard work is done. I will learn for awhile, put it away and start all over again next time. LM

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

glb613 — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 17:07:09 GMT

I spoke too soon. I'm about to tear my hair out over this program. I have a weekly meeting form I saved on my iMac as a Template. I tried e-mailing a copy and using a thumb drive to transfer it to my MacBook. I can open it but, the layout isn't the same as what is on my iMac. I adjusted the layout and saved it to a folder on my desktop. When I try to open it again, I get a message it can't be opened. What the h*ll is going on? I finally went back to my iMac to fill in the form I need for our next meeting. Using the program and saving documents shouldn't be this difficult. Does anyone know what is going on and why I can't seem to create a template I can use on two different computers?

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

Lilysmom — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 20:48:17 GMT

@phoenixbird, any thoughts? LM

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

gardenman — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 12:46:39 GMT

@glb613 wrote:
I spoke too soon. I'm about to tear my hair out over this program. I have a weekly meeting form I saved on my iMac as a Template. I tried e-mailing a copy and using a thumb drive to transfer it to my MacBook. I can open it but, the layout isn't the same as what is on my iMac. I adjusted the layout and saved it to a folder on my desktop. When I try to open it again, I get a message it can't be opened. What the h*ll is going on? I finally went back to my iMac to fill in the form I need for our next meeting. Using the program and saving documents shouldn't be this difficult. Does anyone know what is going on and why I can't seem to create a template I can use on two different computers?

Have you tried the official Apple Support Forum for Pages? You can find it at:

https://discussions.apple.com/community/iwork/pages

As is typical for Apple products (hardware and software) lots of people have lots of problems and you can find help there. Sorting through all of the posts is the biggest challenge. Like I said, lots of people have lots of problems and each day several pages of posts pile up on each device/topic. I recommend anyone considering an Apple product, expecting it to be trouble-free, to check out those forums to get a feel for the problems you might encounter. While the Apple fanboys/girls like to insist their devices are fool proof and super easy to use, those pages give a more realistic picture. A computer is a computer and none are perfect. Apple products are generally good, but if you expect them to be perfect, you'll be disappointed.

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

glb613 — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 16:56:51 GMT

I have looked but as you pointed out, sometimes it's easier and faster to post here. There tends to be instructions how to do things but not address the spefic problem you're having.

I just want to use the template I created for my weekly meeting, give it a new name, save it in iCloud documents so I can use it on either my iMac or Macbook. I save it on one computer, open it on the other computer and the formatting is different. I fix the formatting, save it, open it on the other computer and the formatting is different. It's maddening! Both computers use Pages and have the latest updates. I can't think of what would change the formatting or placement of items on the page depending on the computer you're using. Any ideas?

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

gardenman — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 18:09:31 GMT

@glb613 wrote:
I have looked but as you pointed out, sometimes it's easier and faster to post here. There tends to be instructions how to do things but not address the spefic problem you're having.

I just want to use the template I created for my weekly meeting, give it a new name, save it in iCloud documents so I can use it on either my iMac or Macbook. I save it on one computer, open it on the other computer and the formatting is different. I fix the formatting, save it, open it on the other computer and the formatting is different. It's maddening! Both computers use Pages and have the latest updates. I can't think of what would change the formatting or placement of items on the page depending on the computer you're using. Any ideas?

Yeah, the Apple support forums are very, very busy. The answer (if there is one) is probably in there somewhere, but finding it is the challenge. I wonder if you could save it on another cloud and then download it without the format changing? Amazon has their Amazon Drive and gives you 5gb free storage to play with. You could try uploading the file to Amazon and then accessing it from there. (Google "Amazon Drive" for more information on that if you're interested.) I'm not sure why the cloud would affect it, but you never know. It could be a slightly different version of Pages on each device also. You could try Google Docs and see if that solves the problem. (Either create a new template in Google Docs or try opening your existing file using Google Docs. Google Docs is free by the way.) The nice thing with computers is that there's typically a workaround of some sort. It may not always be pretty, but you can generally find a way around any obstacle.

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

gardenman — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 18:21:06 GMT

Trying Google Docs to create and save the form would let you determine if it's a Pages issue (most likely) or an OS issue. If it's an OS issue you're likely doomed, but if it's a Pages issue you can just use Google Docs instead and be good.

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

glb613 — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 19:56:13 GMT

I'll try it.

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

Lilysmom — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 22:20:07 GMT

@glb613, I am following your posts. No wonder you are annoyed. Grrrrr. LM

Re: I'm still having problems with Pages

Mz iMac — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 23:34:19 GMT

@glb613

Regarding the Apple Forums: If you cannot find an answer to your particular Pages problem, why don't you submit a post of your own?

Also, if you are still under warranty and/or have Apple Care, get your $$$ worth & call them!