- What Is iWork, Anyway?
- A Flair for Presentation: Keynote 2
- Using Pages Instead of Word?
- The Bottom Line
- Tip Sheet
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Using Pages Instead of Word?
After my experience with Keynote 2, I have to admit that I was pumped up and ready to see what I could get out of Pages. Has Apple one-upped Microsoft as they have with Keynote?
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To be frank, no.
Don't get me wrong, Pages is a good product. I just don't see it displacing Word or WordPerfect. Keynote is a second-generation tool; Pages is a first-generation tool. As soon as you open Pages, it wants you to create brochures, handouts and printed materials. It does this with a good sense of style and ease.
The problem is this: I don't use word processing tools for printed materials. I am just a humble writer, so I use a word processor to, well, process my words. I am guessing that most of us use Microsoft Word to jot down notes, ideas and interoffice memos. If you are going to begin creating a print-quality newsletter or flier, you will use tools such as Quark or (heaven forbid) Microsoft Publisher.
With all this said, Pages does have its advantages. If you want to create a printed document, the creation process is easy and the end result is often elegant (by using tools such as Templates). You will also find that Pages does export and open competing file types such as Microsoft Word. Finally, you can also export as an Adobe Acrobat file.
Overall, I just did not get into Pages in the same way I did with Keynote. Maybe Pages 2 will blow me away. Maybe.