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Last updated 5/18/2005

iWork '05 The Missing Manual

iWork '05 The Missing Manual
Author: Jim Elferdink
Publisher: Pogue Press/O'Reilly
390 Pages .... $24.95
ISBN 0-596-10037-X

Create Documents and Presentations Like A Pro
The book that should have been in the box.

IWorks is supposed to be simple. It comes with both Pages User's Guide and Keynote 2 User's Guide.

But, we requested a review copy of iWork '05 The Missing Manual because of the questions we have received and our experience with Pages. Here are three examples:

1. When I first bought iWorks, I had a project to do, and iWorks Pages had a For Sale template that was suitable. All I would have to do was to key in my words and insert my pictures where the placeholders were in the template. But, it wasn't that easy.

My words did not fit in the spaces available. My text was overflowing to the next page on a one page flyer. My pictures were not the same either. I did not understand what I was doing, so it took three days and some make-shift solutions before I did get what I thought was a professional looking document. But, we did sell the house.

2.I know another person who is not expert with computers, but is doing everything she needs to do in Appleworks. When she tried to use Pages she had difficulty simply getting single spaced instead of double spaced text. When told she was expected to us the Inspectors to correct this, she decided she was never going to use Pages.

3. Our Northern Vermont Macintosh User Group president is using Pages to produce her civic club's newsletter. She brought the newsletter to an NVMUG meeting to discuss Pages. The captions would not stay below the pictures where they belonged. We solved the problem by shuffling the text, but it was not a satisfactory answer. We decided we needed to know more to resolve questions about Pages.

iWork '05 The Missing Manual says, "Pages flips the concept of word processing on its ear. Instead of starting with a blank sheet of paper and working your way toward a finished document, Pages lets you choose the kind of finished document you'd like to end up with, and then go about incorporating your own words, pictures, tables and so on."

iWork '05 The Missing Manual makes it easier to learn Pages because of the way it is written, and because it begins with text editing, and learning how to create and format a basic document. You learn about character and paragraph formatting, the OS X Font Panel and the Text Inspector for line spacing so the beginner can use Pages before they select and try to modify a complex template.

A chapter on Advanced Word Processing covers topics such as styles, lists and outlines, columns and layouts, sections, headers and footers, and adding a table of contents.

It is not until chapter 4 that you get into Moving Beyond Text, Laying Out Pages. By now, iWork Ô05 The Missing Manual has provided the background you need to learn about templates and building pages with objects such as shapes and text boxes. Text boxes are objects you can create that are like little documents. They can be linked together so that text can flow from one text box to the next.

You learn to easily create a text box and put the picture and its caption in it. or to easily create a text box for the caption and to group it with the picture so they move together. (If you might export the document as HTML, be sure the picture and its caption are in the same text box.)

There is a lot more about Pages in iWork '05 The Missing Manual including modifying objects, hyperlinks and bookmarks, making tables, creating charts, printing your documents, and creating templates from scratch or by modifying existing templates.

iWork includes valuable information about Pages and using Pages that is not in the Pages Guide including pictures of a Pages document that has been exported as a PDF, Word, HTML, RTF, and plain text file.

It includes information not in the Keynote Guide, like OmniOutliner.

Jim Elferdink recommends exporting as a Word document instead of an AppleWorks document even if it will be imported into AppleWorks. Only exporting as a PDF file preserves the Pages format exactly.

iWork includes both Pages and Keynote 2.

iWork '05 The Missing Manual also covers what you need to know to get the most out of Keynote 2 including Planning and Creating Great Presentations, Building a Basic Presentation, Laying Out Your Slides, Sharing Your Presentations, and Customizing Keynote. You get two books for the price of one.

I like and recommend iWork The Missing Manual because of its organization, more user friendly wording, and added information. It instructs the reader in how to use Pages and Keynote is a way that makes it easier for me to learn.

When you have finished studying iWork The Missing Manual you are well prepared to decide the kind of document you want to create and either select the professional looking template that will make it simple to create your document presentation or to create your own template.

For more information or to purchase a copy, go to
http://www/oreilly.com