Similar to Microsoft Word, Apple Pages is a word processing tool for macOS and iOS devices. The application is user-friendly with a straightforward interface. It is easy to navigate the application and finish creating documents. You can write simple articles using Apple Pages templates or create stunning-looking documents with great graphics.
If you need to create a dissertation or research paper, it wouldn’t be helpful to waste your time and energy scrolling through the document to find what you need. Instead, the best solution is quickly learning to scroll through the document using your trackpad. By sliding two fingers across the trackpad, you can move the page sideways, up and down. To learn more about scrolling, visit https://setapp.com/how-to/how-to-scroll-on-macbook.
Besides this, there are other Pages hacks you must master. Some of them are mentioned below.
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Track document changes
Are you sharing the Pages app documents with your team members? If so, you can utilize the Track Changes feature to monitor the changes. This function streamlines collaboration.
Click Edit > Track Changes to monitor the changes in the document. All the changes will be shown in the toolbar.
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Display the word count
When working on a big project with a tight word limit, it would be helpful to be able to see the word count on Pages.
By default, the app does not show the number of words you have written, but you can change this by clicking View > Show Word Count.
Then, the word count will be displayed at the bottom of the application. If you want to find out the specific word count of a sentence or paragraph, highlight the particular section.
However, if you find it distracting to see the word count displayed on the document, follow the same steps but choose Hide Word Count. Alternatively, press the Shift + Command + W keys to hide the word count.
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Add hyperlinks
Make your document stand out from the rest by adding hyperlinks. Click Format > Add Link to add hyperlinks.
You can add hyperlinks to emails, web pages, or bookmarks.
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Personalize the toolbar
You can personalize Pages to fit your specific requirements and workflow. For example, the Pages toolbar can be personalized with particular tools and controls you need.
Go to View > click Customize Toolbar. Then, you can remove, add or change the available tools on your toolbar by quickly dragging and dropping them.
- Use a template for document creation
Is there a document type that you use often? If so, you can set your default template to finish your work quickly.
Open the Pages app and click Pages > Preferences > click Use Template. This is going to select the blank template automatically. However, suppose you want to use another template, select Change Template. Then, you can customize the template according to your project requirements.
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Save the document as a Word file
Have you completed working on your document? If you are satisfied with the final result, the next step is to save the document.
In Pages, you can save the documents as Word files so that the file can be shared easily.
On your document, click File > Export To > Word > Next. Then, give your document a name and click Export. Next, choose a location and save the file.
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Decrease the file size of the document
If you are working on a large document that contains several high-quality videos and images, you can reduce the document size in Pages. As a result, all the critical content will be kept alive, and the document quality will not be compromised.
You can reduce the document file size by clicking File > Reduce File Size > choosing the correct adjustments. For example, you can scale down large pictures, remove trimmed parts of audio and video, etc.
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Protect files with a password
You can protect your files with a password if your document contains sensitive or confidential information. Although Macs come with in-built security features, it would be better to add an extra layer of security to your Pages document.
To protect your Pages document with a password, click File > choose Set Password > enter the password > enter the password again to verify it > add a hint, so you don’t forget your password in the future > select Set Password.
After this, you must enter your password when you open the document. Moreover, you can choose Open with Touch ID if you use Touch ID on your Mac, so you don’t have to enter your password.
Conclusion
Pages app on Mac is a robust tool, and you can use it for school projects or work. There are several things you can do with this application. Follow the tips and tricks mentioned above to get the most out of the Pages application. These will help you to finish your writing projects in a jiffy.
