With iWork, as a Mac user, you have an alternative to Office built into Mac OS. We explain how Word alternative Pages works on your Mac and Macbook.
The free office suite for the Mac - called iWork - consists of word processor Pages, presentation program Keynotes and spreadsheet Numbers. They are all comprehensive packages with which a lot is possible. Even importing and exporting to and from Microsoft Office is possible. However, in such cases - as with all alternative Office solutions - you should carefully check your document. Because Microsoft has still not made its own document formats open, importing or exporting always leads to usually small (and sometimes large) deviations. Fortunately, you won't be bothered by this at all if you create your document in, for example, Pages and share it with the rest of the world in the universal PDF format. Or print on paper. In short: Pages is an excellent alternative to Word in 2018. In this piece we focus on the word processor, which is the most used part, especially for home users. Launch Pages (or install it from the App Store first if you haven't already). In the window that opens, click on the button New document. Just like in Word, you now see a good number of templates to choose from. Often with a typical Apple signature consisting of a high-quality design. For example, you can set up a professional-looking letter, report or newsletter in no time. Click on a desired template and then Choose. Your template with sample text will now open in the word processor. Adjust the text and any images to your liking.
Save and share
Pages has everything you would expect from a word processor, especially when it comes to a copy for home and (or) school use. The various functions are accessible via buttons at the top of the screen. This way you can quickly add sleek graphs, images and more. Collaborating on documents is no problem at all. Nor can you add comments. To save a created document, click in the menu bar of Pages under Archive on Save. By default, your document is stored on the iCloud drive. Handy, especially when you consider that there is also an iOS version of Pages (and the other Office components); working on different devices is therefore no problem at all. If you prefer to store locally, that is of course also possible. Click the downward-facing arrow next to your document name at the top center of the screen. By default, it's Unnamed, so we can change that right away. First enter a logical name and then click in the selection menu behind Location. Choose one of the pre-baked folders as for example desktop or Documents. Or click Others to open a Finder window that allows you to browse to any folder imaginable on your system. Once you have chosen a folder, click in the menu Archive on Keep. The file is now saved in the Pages native format. If you want to save to a different format, click in the menu Archive on Export nasty. For example, choose Word (take into account any differences in that case), or choose the universal PDF. This results in a document that looks the same for everyone. Ideal for communicating a letter, paper or other report, for example. Keep in mind that you should always save in the Pages own format, because otherwise you will not be able to adjust your document or not properly afterwards!
