I regularly use Apple’s Pages and Numbers. I’ve more or less given up on Microsoft Office, except when I need to use it (and I actually still use Office 2008), and, while I don’t rely very much on advanced apps for working with text, I do work with Pages regularly for certain projects. As for spreadsheets, I only have a handful, but I much prefer the interface of Numbers. I rarely use Keynote, but when I do, I’m flummoxed.
None of these apps come with a manual. That’s why these three Take Control books are so useful. If you use any of these apps, it’s worth checking out the books.
Apple’s Pages word processor is a big, sprawling app with hundreds of features tucked away in nooks and crannies, making Michael E. Cohen’s comprehensive book an essential resources for newbies and experts alike. Those new to Pages, or still getting their sea legs in the transition to Pages 5 will appreciate Michael’s guide to finding familiar tools, formatting text, and iCloud Drive quirks. And everyone will benefit from the book’s discussion of advanced features like snaking columns (snarky columns are left as an exercise to the reader), list styles, layout options, and collaboration tools.
Whether you need quick help with a particular feature or steel-toed documentation with which to kick Pages into shape, this book is for you.
Apple’s Numbers has become a grown-up spreadsheet (and it’s free on every Mac sold since October 2013!), but many of us still haven’t learned even the basics, much less been able to take advantage of its surprisingly deep collection of features.
With the advice in this 330-page ebook, you’ll learn to input, calculate, sort, filter, format, and chart your data with ease, as author Sharon Zardetto guides you through the basics all the way to power-user features like conditional highlighting, custom data formats, and star ratings. Richly illustrated with hundreds of annotated screenshots, the ebook also includes a hands-on example spreadsheet you can use to try what you’re learning, plus a special tutorial chapter that helps you put it all together. Of course, you can also treat the book as a reference, using the Quick Start to focus on a topic of interest.
Need to give a presentation, but worried about how you’ll do? Steve Jobs relied on Keynote for his famous keynote presentations, and while using Keynote won’t guarantee Jobs-level success, Joe Kissell’s advice in Take Control of Keynote will get you closer.
Drawing on years of speaking experience, Joe suggests you start by figuring out what you want to say — and he explains exactly how to accomplish this task, even though you won’t do it in Keynote. He then helps you work in Keynote with the right theme, and explains how to create slides by filling in placeholders, adding objects (images, movies, sounds, tables, and charts), and inserting and styling text. You’ll also learn how to add build effects to slides and transitions between slides, as well as how to make self-playing presentations designed for kiosks, and presentations with recorded narration or a soundtrack.
Finally, Joe offers real-world advice about delivering presentations, including tips on what to bring, making presenter notes and customizing the presenter display, setting up your display, and controlling your presentation.