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Is Pages v2 Worth An Upgrade?
- Thread starter pimentoLoaf
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So far I like it pretty well. I find it a lot easier and better to use than the older version and Word.
Chaszmyr said:
You mean, like mail merge, document annotations, calculating tables, and charts?
Personally, I'm a little disappointed in the v2 update, but to say that the added features are only of value to people who are using Pages for something other that word processing is sort of misleading.
pimentoLoaf said:
If you need to use and exchange Word documents, Pages is a poor choice. In addition, I think version 2 represents a minor upgrade from version 1 at best. And due to flawed font smoothing implemention (it always defaults to CRT-optimized Standard no matter what), text look way too fuzzy on my iMac's LCD. I cannot use Pages for extended period without eye fatigue.
NeuronBasher said:You mean except for Mac:Word, right?
Yeah, I guess, but I'm not sure that was the point being made. Still, even using Word for everything is not the perfect solution to document exchange unless you stick strictly to the basic fonts that you know will be installed on all PCs and Macs. Otherwise, your document exchange is going to far from perfect, even Word to Word.
IJ Reilly said:
Not in my experience. I am not talking about just fonts (which Office 2004's compatibility feature will tell you), but anything but basic details, such as tables, revision tracking, table of contents, references/footnotes, etc. Maybe for very casual usage, such things won't matter, but I prefer to keep things as compatible as possible.
nutmac said:
Then you'd better really like Word, because you're stuck with it. Forever.
Not that Pages isn't able do some of the things you seem to believe it can't. I use it on a far more than "casual" basis for opening and exporting Word documents. No complaints yet.
IJ Reilly said:
I don't like Word but what else can I do? Just about everyone I know uses Word. (Yes, I know OpenOffice can be an acceptable alternative, but I rather use the real thing than a me-too-but-I-am-free product.)
The last time I checked, Pages is also proprietary. While I would rather be stuck with non-Microsoft software, being stuck with Pages will leave me with fewer people to exchange documents with... not to mention worse eyesight due to poor font smoothing implementation.
I'm in a similar boat. Personally, I like Pages and Keynote, and since I can get iWork '06 with a student discount when I'm going to be getting it, I'm gonna get it, since it will cost less, and I like it.
I played around with the new version at MWSF and I must say that the new features are nice (especially when you're doing lab writeups for AP Physics).
I played around with the new version at MWSF and I must say that the new features are nice (especially when you're doing lab writeups for AP Physics).
nutmac said:
I don't have this font-smoothing issue, so I'm not sure I understand this problem. Maybe you should try a different font?
Pages has several exporting and importing options, including Word, RTF and PDF. I open and export Word documents in and out of Pages all the time. There's no reason to believe that OpenOffice or any other Word/Office clone will translate Word documents more accurately than Pages. Don't let appearances fool you -- nobody is able to use Microsoft's native file formats except for Microsoft.
IJ Reilly said:
It is well documented that Pages (both versions 1 and 2) will always default to "Standard - best for CRT" font smoothing style no matter what. Look at the attachment (Pages 2 vs. TextEdit) and see for yourself. Above is Pages 2. Below is TextEdit. (Michael Tsai on Font Smoothing in Pages)
As for whether Pages does a sufficient job importing Word, Word documents that I get just look very different on Pages with a series of "Import Warnings" (can't import this, can't import that). I wish they don't but the truth doesn't lie. Maybe they are good enough for some, but not to me.
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nutmac said:
Apparently this is an issue for many applications, not just Pages. Personally, I've never noticed it, but I can see from your demonstration that it can be noticed.
nutmac said:
Sure, it depends on what you trying to accomplish. If it's document collaboration (as opposed to sharing), then you're probably going to need Word, if only for the track revisions feature (which I dislike, but I know some people feel otherwise). But in reality, the only way to ensure perfect compatibility between the sharing parties is to use the same versions of Word and only basic fonts.
Fortunately, I don't have to write this way very often. I produce free-standing reports which I export to PDF for my clients. If they need the text of our report for inclusion in a larger report, I give them a .doc export file. They never know it wasn't prepared in Word, and I don't tell them.