Why is the text highlight function in Pages (a) located in such a weird and hidden place, and (b) not called "highlight"?? Terrible design!

[izzy0242mr]

This is how you highlight text in Apple's iWork Pages, their Microsoft Word competitor. In the old Pages '09 version of the software, the highlight function used to be located normally, right next to text background. Now? Instead of locating the highlight feature right next to the text color function, you have to click this little cog wheel, then you have to understand that "Text Background" is what Apple is calling "Highlight," and then use that.

Why this convoluted multi-step process for a very routine part of text editing?? This is so unlike Apple—just awful design. It makes even less sense when you consider that Pages was redesigned based on the iOS version of the app, which is supposed to be more touch-friendly. Yet this is a terribly unintuitive and non-touch friendly design.

 

[ab22]

Does Insert menu - Highlight (Shift - Command - H) do what you need ?

 

[izzy0242mr]

Does Insert menu - Highlight (Shift - Command - H) do what you need ?

Nope.

If I click that option, nothing happens at all. And if I select text and then try to click it, it's greyed out. So I have no idea what that does. What does it do for you?

 

[DeltaMac]

Just tried that Shift+Command+h
That shortcut applies a background color to any selected text. Looks just like a highlight, too.
Very nice attention to detail, too... If you then mouse across the now-highlighted text, you get a call-out window, with a delete button to instantly remove that highlight (just the highlight, the text is not affected), or you can enter notes there, for whatever purpose you might have to leave a note with highlighted text. Works good. And, even after adding a note, you can again mouse across that highlighted text, and you see the note you have added, again in a callout window. And, still have a delete button, which will immediately remove both the added detail text, and the highlight, too. Again, leaving the original text untouched.
While the text has a highlight, you see the highlight listed on the toolbar at the top of the document window. Yes, it is greyed out, because the text is already highlighted. Click the Delete button in the call-out window to remove the highlight. No need to select anything, as the highlight is already there, you just mouse across the highlighted area, and click the delete button in the call-out.
Seems to do what is needed with a highlight. Play around with it a bit. 'Tis not MS Word, so some controls are going to be different. This is another one.

 

[ab22]

If text is selected - it adds a yellow highlight. Unsure why it'd be greyed out there.
(*edit* screenshots are in reverse order, but you'll get the idea)

 

[izzy0242mr]

Just tried that Shift+Command+h
That shortcut applies a background color to any selected text. Looks just like a highlight, too.
Very nice attention to detail, too... If you then mouse across the now-highlighted text, you get a call-out window, with a delete button to instantly remove that highlight (just the highlight, the text is not affected), or you can enter notes there, for whatever purpose you might have to leave a note with highlighted text. Works good. And, even after adding a note, you can again mouse across that highlighted text, and you see the note you have added, again in a callout window. And, still have a delete button, which will immediately remove both the added detail text, and the highlight, too. Again, leaving the original text untouched.
While the text has a highlight, you see the highlight listed on the toolbar at the top of the document window. Yes, it is greyed out, because the text is already highlighted. Click the Delete button in the call-out window to remove the highlight. No need to select anything, as the highlight is already there, you just mouse across the highlighted area, and click the delete button in the call-out.
Seems to do what is needed with a highlight. Play around with it a bit. 'Tis not MS Word, so some controls are going to be different. This is another one.

So this doesn't seem to actually apply a background color like the setting I described. You can test this by doing Cmd P (print the page) and you'll see that the print option doesn't include the "added" highlighting. So this is purely a commenting/editor markup feature, NOT a true highlight. You can also see if you select the "highlighted" text, and then look at the "Background color" option, that the background color has not changed.

I know this isn't MS Word—and I'm grateful for that—but Apple knows how to do highlighting the normal way. They've done it before.

 

[izzy0242mr]

If text is selected - it adds a yellow highlight. Unsure why it'd be greyed out there.
(*edit* screenshots are in reverse order, but you'll get the idea)

Weird. So this works in some documents (created a new one, see my post above this one), but not others (see screenshot here). No rhyme or reason. This level of inconsistency is what I expect from Windows/Microsoft products, not Apple.

 

[DeltaMac]

in the screenshot in post #5, look at the window menubar. See the word "highlight"?
That appears when some text has been highlighted, likely informing the user that there is highlighted text in the document. If you then select that highlighted text, that word "highlight" is then greyed out, can't be clicked. But, mouse across a highlighted text area, and then you see the call-out window, where you can instantly delete the highlight. If that is the last or only highlight, then the "Highlight" item in the menubar also disappears.

Hmm... I see what you mean about that "highlight" is not what you expect - an actual, printable text highlight. Appears to be more of an editing, or collaborative assist.

I'm probably missing something in plain sight. I am not the great text 'n document expert that I pretend to be.

 

[ab22]

Add a highlight effect to text in Pages on Mac

In Pages on your Mac, highlight text by adding a background color behind it.

support.apple.com

I agree - it's not what you were looking for : although as the link suggests...
" If you often add colors behind text, you can create a character style that uses a particular text background color. Then you can choose that style from the Character Styles pop-up menu to highlight selected text with that color. You can also create a keyboard shortcut to apply the character style "

 

[izzy0242mr]

in the screenshot in post #5, look at the window menubar. See the word "highlight"?
That appears when some text has been highlighted, likely informing the user that there is highlighted text in the document. If you then select that highlighted text, that word "highlight" is then greyed out, can't be clicked. But, mouse across a highlighted text area, and then you see the call-out window, where you can instantly delete the highlight. If that is the last or only highlight, then the "Highlight" item in the menubar also disappears.

What you said makes sense, but isn't applicable in my case, as the text I selected wasn't highlighted, and so should have allowed me to click Highlight and not been greyed out, yet it was.

 

[izzy0242mr]

Add a highlight effect to text in Pages on Mac

In Pages on your Mac, highlight text by adding a background color behind it.

support.apple.com

I agree - it's not what you were looking for : although as the link suggests...
" If you often add colors behind text, you can create a character style that uses a particular text background color. Then you can choose that style from the Character Styles pop-up menu to highlight selected text with that color. You can also create a keyboard shortcut to apply the character style "

A stupid workaround that I wouldn't expect Apple to force users to resort to—but seems like the only way. Thank you for this.

 

[maflynn]

There are many UX things in apple iWork suite that make using the apps frustrating. As much as tried liking and using Numbers it was a pain to enter formulas especially for large spreadsheets