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I'm using the "Traditional Letter" Template provided in Pages 10.0. The body text is within a boundary that is a single column 4.2778 inches wide. I want to use more of the margin but can't figure out how to widen that boundary. I have view > Show Layout on and can see the boundary line that is constraining the text, but can't figure out how to adjust it.
Any help is appreciated.
iMac Line (2012 and Later)
Hi Tragou,
In Pages ’09 Apple provided two types of settings for margins—document margins (document inspector tab) and layout margins (layout inspector tab). Although the former option is still available in the new version of pages (v.5.0 though 10.0), the latter is not.
Apparently, the template in question was created internally at Apple using layout margins for the body of the letter, not document margins, and therefore there are no controls available to adjust them. Since the feature is already there in the code perhaps Apple is working on bringing it back in a future update—who knows? I tried exporting the template (without making any changes to it) to the Pages ’09 format. The inspector confirmed my suspicion.
What you can do is export the template as is to the Microsoft Word format (docx) from the File menu in Pages (File > Export To > Word), and then open the exported docx file with Pages 10 (right click on the file > Open with > Pages.app 10.0. That should do the trick. Layout margins are converted to document margins and you can adjust them from then on.
Hope this helps!
Hi Tragou,
In Pages ’09 Apple provided two types of settings for margins—document margins (document inspector tab) and layout margins (layout inspector tab). Although the former option is still available in the new version of pages (v.5.0 though 10.0), the latter is not.
Apparently, the template in question was created internally at Apple using layout margins for the body of the letter, not document margins, and therefore there are no controls available to adjust them. Since the feature is already there in the code perhaps Apple is working on bringing it back in a future update—who knows? I tried exporting the template (without making any changes to it) to the Pages ’09 format. The inspector confirmed my suspicion.
What you can do is export the template as is to the Microsoft Word format (docx) from the File menu in Pages (File > Export To > Word), and then open the exported docx file with Pages 10 (right click on the file > Open with > Pages.app 10.0. That should do the trick. Layout margins are converted to document margins and you can adjust them from then on.
Hope this helps!
Unless they've been moved in the current Pages version, margin settings should be in the Document inspector.
Click the Document box, next to the Format brush.
Changing the settings will apply only to the current document. If you want a template that will open with these settings, make the changes, then save the empty document as a template with the name 'my " followed by the original name of the template.
The new template will be in the My Templates part of the Template Chooser.
Regards,
Barry
The only settings I have in the Document settings panel is for document margins. They are set at 1" left and right. That means I should be able to have a single column of text at least 6.5" wide. I can do no such thing. Stuck at the 4.2778" width mentioned above. I don't have a copy of the previous version of Pages on this machine, so can't compare the document settings panel easily, but will look at an older version on another computer if I can find one.
Any other suggestions?
I just opened an older version of Pages on another machine. It appears the Document Settings panel has not changed significantly. I still can't figure out how to adjust the width of the single column of text beyond the original 4.2778" setting.
Additional information: When I click View > Show Layout, I see the boundary of the text area in the body of the template. What I cannot find is a method for changing the position of those boundaries. I can't click and drag those boundaries (as I can those of a text box) and I can find nothing that allows me to designate a width or position for that boundary. Someone had to set those parameters when they created the template. I would guess I should be able to edit them. I've used AppleWorks through ClarisWorks, back to AppleWorks and on to Pages. I have some experience, but this has stymied me.
It's probably something so simple that I'm missing it!
Document margins apply to the whole document.
Margins within the document margins are set with margin stops in the Ruler.
View menu > Show Rulers.
On the ruler, you will see two downward pointing triangles. These can be dragged toward the edge of the page as far as the document margins.
The left margin stop is actually two separate stops. The bottom part—a triangle sets the overall left margin for text on the page, The top part, a rectangle, sets the First line left stop. It is used to produce an indented line at the beginning of each paragraph, or can be set as a 'hanging indent' with the first line extended leftwards into the 'margin' set by the left margin stop. (None of these stops can be set outside the document margins, set in the Document Inspector,)
Regards,
Barry
Thanks Barry. I've got all that... It doesn't solve this particular problem. I've already solved my problem by cutting and pasting the text of my letter into a blank document and formatting it as I wanted using the techniques you've described here. At this point I'm trying to learn something new. Perhaps you can open the template document I described (Traditional Letter from the choose template dialog) and see for yourself what I'm curious about.
The document has left and right margins of 0.42". But the ruler controls for left and right margins and first line indent are stuck 1.5" from the left and right edges of the page. They won't slide any further towards the edge. That was my first impulse too! No, they are constrained by the layout (View > Show Layout). The Layout is clearly outlined once show layout is selected and I can see that the text of the letter will not go outside its bounds. My question is how do I edit the dimensions of the layout to allow the margin controls on the ruler more leeway?
There is obviously some part of the Pages program I am unfamiliar with that I'd like to understand. I can figure a work around easily enough, but knowing the intricacies of the program generally provides more control. For that reason, I'm not looking for a work around, I'm looking for more knowledge.
Hi Tragou,
I looked at the Traditional Letter template as it was in Pages 5.6.2 (first version after Pages '09). Looks like it has been around since then, and hasn't had many changes.
I checked through most of the formatting choices, and found no way to resize the box containing the body text of the letter—it appears to be hardwired in and not adjustable by the user.
My solution would be the one you've already decided on—reproduce te template the way you want it, starting from the Blank template.
As for the curiosity part, I'll join you in waiting for another investigator to do some detective work and file a report here.
Regards,
Barry
Yes. Thanks guys. I just happened to chose that template, maybe nobody else has done that in a very long time! I tried another letter template and it behaves much more as I would have expected. Perhaps the "Traditional Letter" template was created on a much earlier version with some program attribute that Pages simply doesn't have. Pages is able to open it, but can't actually edit the margins of that body.
I found a section in the Pages User Guide titled "Create and use master pages in Pages on Mac." It has you click the View icon in the toolbar and select "Edit Master Pages." That choice is not even available. The instructions must be a vestige of an earlier version of the software. At some point Apple removed that functionality from the program and I'm thinking therein lies the problem.
You have convinced me that it's not just my ignorance or lack of skill. I think there is something strange about that specific template. I feel less inept knowing you were able to reproduce my issue and don't have an immediate resolution.
Thanks again for the attempt!
geo226,
Thanks for the detective work! I used to use Pages '09 quite a bit. May have even used those different margin settings! So long ago, I've forgotten more than I remember. That solves the riddle as far as I'm concerned! I'll do as you suggest, just out of curiosity. I'm glad to get the information, I'll stop trying to find the solution in the current Pages version!
Thanks to all who gave feedback!
P.S. Excellent answer for a fellow "Level 1" community member! Lack of postings doesn't always mean lack of knowledge!
Hi Barry,
There is something very strange with the "Traditional Letter" Template. I am using Pages 8.1, Tragou is using Pages 10.0 and the glitch is still there!
Regards,
Ian.
Hi geo,
Excellent detective work. That template has been a puzzle since the release of Pages 5 in 2013!
Regards,
Ian.
Hi geo,
Add my thanks and congratulations as well!
Pleased to see you included the .docx route as well, for those whose history doesn't extend back to Pages '09.
Regards,
Barry
hi tragou
You’re welcome!
I’m glad my post was helpful!
Thanks also to Ian and Barry for your kind words!
Regards,
George
Editing Templates
