Pages 2 first impressions. A writers perspective.

Question

Hi everyone,
Well my copy of iWork 06 arrived today. Now bearing in mind that I am a fiction writer and the most I need from a word processor is the ability to display the Courier font, some spell checking and to do double line spacing, here are my initial thoughts of Pages 2. I’ve concentrated on the things I use as a writer, so this little review will probably be of the most interest to people in that field. Oh and I am aware that a dual 2.5 G5 with 2.5g of ram is the ultimate overkill for someone who just plays with text.
Installation:
The install was quick and easy, no problem at all. Afterwards I promptly deleted Keynote to regain the gig of space. Not that I really need it. I think I have about 300g on the hard disk and I’ve used about 6. But a gig of wasted space is still a gig of wasted space.
Opening my manuscript:
Pages 2 opened my current manuscript without any fuss. It didn’t even prompt me that it needed to be converted. I saved it out in the new format and noticed the option to still be able to save in the iWork 05 format. Great for sending stuff to people who still have the old version. File size of the new version is slightly larger than the old.
Display and Speed:
Pages 2 opens as quick if not slightly quicker than the old on my machine. Scrolling is quick and very responsive. I don’t know what the Pages team have done but the Courier font now renders with a much cleaner look. This is great as I’d always had a problem with how the old version rendered the Courier font.
Spell Checking:
Spell checking is much the same as the old. However I did notice that Pages 2 now defaults to my local language whenever I start a new document. Before it would always default to ALL. This in my opinion is a huge fix.
Word Count:
Exactly the same as the previous version. I have no real problem with it. I would prefer a word count from the top of the document to the cursor instead.
Reviewer comments (NEW):
A much needed addition. Works well and is very easy to use. I have tested this with Word and the comments make it to and from Word. Unfortunately it is only comments and not change tracking but it is a very useful addition none the less.
Auto Correction (NEW):
This is a useful addition. It allows you to add words that you may regularly spell incorrectly so that they can be fixed automatically. The part I like the most is the auto-caps on the first word of a sentence. I quite often forget the cap at the start of a sentence.
So summing up. Do I think the upgrade was worth the price. In my opinion yes. The few features I use work as well if not better than before and the new additions have greatly improved an already great piece of software. Well done Apple!
Chris

Answer 1

Hi Max,
Sorry its going to take so long. I call my Apple centre in Brisbane QLD and they said it was going to be at least three weeks so I just ordered my copy from the online Australian Apple Store.
I'm looking forward to the comments feature, though,
for honest explanation and feedback.
I think the comment feature is going to be useful. I had the editor send me a doucment in word last night with comments and change tracking. All the comments made it over fine. None of the change tracking message made it over though.
And I'll be damned if I bash out anything in Courier
until somebody pays me to do it. So I hope you've got
your advance.
A few people have questioned why I write directly in manuscript format using Courier. Honestly I find it easier to find mistakes. Occasionly when my eyes need a treat I change the font to Andale Mono which is another fixed width font that's great to look at.
Seriously Pages is more than good software. It's
freedom for serious writing.
Its great. I love the fact that the screen is completely uncluttered. I turn everything off, toolbar, layout, invisibles so that all I see is he text. This is something that I wasn't able to do in other programs. As a writer all I want to see is the words. Pages does that great.
Hope you get your copy soon.
Chris