Pages

Learn How to Do Literally Everything with Apple’s Pages

Tc pagesI’ve known Michael Cohen for many years, and he has worked with me on several of my Take Control books as editor or tech editor. He’s just released an update to his Take Control of Pages book, and if you use Pages, you really need to get this book. Calling it exhaustive would not be an exaggeration. Michael covers Pages on the Mac, on iOS, and on iCloud.com, and he covers pretty much every feature in that app.

I’ll let you read the publisher’s description, but, seriously, if you use Pages, you should buy Take Control of Pages.

Apple’s Pages word processor is a big, rich app with hundreds of features tucked away in nooks and crannies, making Michael E. Cohen’s comprehensive book an essential resource for newbies and experts alike. Whether you prefer to dive into the details or get quick help with a particular feature, this book has got you covered.

For this second edition, Michael expands his already extensive guide, detailing all the changes Apple has made to Pages since the last version of the book was released. Learn about new support for bookmarks, Web links, and Rich Text Format. Find out how you can now globally replace fonts, enter equations, and style tables and objects in your documents. Best of all, discover the possibilities for collaboration in real-time in Pages for Mac and Pages for iOS with iCloud!

With Michael’s help, you can navigate Pages like a pro. Learn how to:

  • Find where the tools you need lie, whether on the Mac, in iOS, or in the Web app
  • Do everyday word processing, including working with fonts, tabs, indents, rulers, search and replace, spell checking, and more
  • Format longer, more complex documents, with customized headers, footers, page numbers, tables of content, footnotes, and section breaks
  • Manage styles, including paragraph styles, character styles, list styles, and object styles
  • Create your own templates, complete with master objects
  • Master the many multi-touch gestures on iOS that give you pinpoint control over page elements
  • Include complex tables and charts and make them look exactly the way you want
  • Customize layout and manipulate graphics like a pro
  • Collaborate with others in real time using iCloud
  • Share your documents across devices, using Mac, iOS, or almost any Web browser

Get Take Control of Pages.

Learn How to Use Apple’s Pages, Numbers, and Keynote in Three Great Take Control Books

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.

PagesApple’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.

Get Take Control of Pages.

NumbersApple’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.

Get Take Control of Numbers.

KeynoteNeed 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.

Get Take Control of Keynote.