What's with the limited Zoom options?

Question

Just switched to Pages about a month ago after seven years of using Word for Mac (and 7 years of trying and discarding alternatives, OpenOffice, Scribus, etc).
Now, I have to say, I'm impressed. I could stick with this but for one thing that's really interupting my workflow: the limited zoom options. Why is there no way to specify the exact amount you want (like say 175%), and why can't you zoom in and out like you can with Preview using the trackpad?
Both these functions are standard in Apple progs and use regular OS-defined routines (right??). Is there any way to enable them (partic' the trackpad dynamic zoom), say in Terminal?
I can't live with no options between 150% to 200% on my screen. Please don't tell me I'm going to have to go back to Word again...:(

Answer 1

Not an error, a design choice.
And in Numbers the choice is more drastic because there is no way to apply a factor which isn't predefined.
In Pages it's really easy to edit it.
I do that for months in my scripts.
Here is a short script doing only that.
--{code}
--[SCRIPT set_Pages_zoom_factor]
Enregistrer le script en tant que Script : set_Pages_zoom_factor.scpt
déplacer le fichier ainsi créé dans le dossier
<VolumeDeDémarrage>:Users:<votreCompte>:Library:Scripts:Applications:Pages:
Il vous faudra peut-être créer le dossier Pages et peut-être même le dossier Applications.
Ouvrir un document Pages
Aller au menu Scripts , choisir Pages puis choisir “set_Pages_zoom_factor”
Tapez le coefficient de votre choix.
--=====
L’aide du Finder explique:
L’Utilitaire AppleScript permet d’activer le Menu des scripts :
Ouvrez l’Utilitaire AppleScript situé dans le dossier Applications/AppleScript.
Cochez la case “Afficher le menu des scripts dans la barre de menus”.
Sous 10.6.x,
aller dans le panneau “Général” du dialogue Préférences de l’Éditeur Applescript
puis cocher la case “Afficher le menu des scripts dans la barre des menus”.
--=====
Save the script as a Script: set_Pages_zoom_factor.scpt
Move the newly created file into the folder:
<startup Volume>:Users:<yourAccount>:Library:Scripts:Applications:Pages:
Maybe you would have to create the folder Pages and even the folder Applications by yourself.
Open a Pages document.
Go to the Scripts Menu, choose Pages, then choose “set_Pages_zoom_factor”
Enter the wanted zoom factor.
--=====
The Finder’s Help explains:
To make the Script menu appear:
Open the AppleScript utility located in Applications/AppleScript.
Select the “Show Script Menu in menu bar” checkbox.
Under 10.6.x,
go to the General panel of AppleScript Editor’s Preferences dialog box
and check the “Show Script menu in menu bar” option.
--=====
Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France)
2011/08/03
--=====
on run
          local coefficient
          repeat
                    set coefficient to text returned of (display dialog "Type the wanted zoom value…" default answer "175")
                    try
                              set coefficient to coefficient * 1
                              exit repeat
                    end try
          end repeat
          tell application "Pages" to tell window 1
                    set view scale to coefficient
          end tell
end run
--=====
--{code}
--[/SCRIPT]
(1) Don't hope for a major update before 2012.
(2) The resize handle (which no longer exists in Lion) is not dedicated to change the zoom factor but the size of the displayed area.
Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) mercredi 3 août 2011 10:28:12
iMac 21”5, i7, 2.8 GHz, 4 Gbytes, 1 Tbytes, mac OS X 10.6.8 and 10.7.0
My iDisk is : <http://public.me.com/koenigyvan>
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