If I switch from MS Word (Mac) to Apple “Pages” (iWork), will I have to re-import all of the chapters created in MS Word?
Import into what exactly? If you mean scrivener, no. If you mean into pages, yes. Keep in mind that the pages format is proprietary and you need to export pages files to RTF before importing them into scrivener or other apps.
So, here’s my situation: I have a book that has been imported into Scrivener (23 chapters) from MS Word (Mac). I have done extensive work on the book in Scrivener as far as research notes, index cards, etc.
- If I plan to cease using Word and use Pages exclusively, is there anything that I need to do?
- When I’m finished with the book in Scrivener, can I import the book back into Pages or do I need to keep using Word for this project?
- Is Word a better program than Pages for my book’s final draft?
TIA
Personally, I have found Pages '09 to be far better than Word '07. As others have noted, your Scrivener export must be in RTF, which Pages will import. I’ve done that smoothly, but my files don’t contain foot or endnotes, so you should experiment with a chapter to see if the transition works OK for you.
Pages handled all of my final draft work, including the exchange of comments with editors who were using Word. At any point, you may export your Pages files to the DOC format. Pages will also import files written in DOC or DOCX formats. You can always keep a free copy of Open Office around, in case you need it for working with Office formats.
I’ll second that. Haven’t used Pages with my book (yet – still in Scriv stage), and generally just export from Scriv to Bean or TextEdit. But when I do need to work with editors who use Word and comments, I use Pages, and have had no trouble whatsoever exchanging comments between my Pages and their Word. I haven’t even had to use NeoOffice in a couple years. And Pages is so much nicer to use than either. If only it worked better with rtf and Scrivener – see Keith’s previous justified rants on the subject.