Opening an rtf file using Pages 09 does something strange; that is, when you save it it wants you to pick a save location as if the file has just been created! Word 2008 doesn’t do this. It assumes the original save location. Is this a glitch in Pages or something to do with DTPO? I’m running the latest beta.
Has anyone noticed this? I guess we just shouldn’t use Pages. Too bad.
That’s normal behavior for Pages (and most applications). You opened a RTF file and edited it. Pages wants to save it in its own filetype, with a .pages suffix. That would be a new file with a different filetype and so cannot replace the RTF in your database.
Pages has an export feature that lets it export a file as RTF, PDF or Word – but the export would also have to be saved as a new document, although now in pb5 it could be saved to the Global Inbox.
You can use the ‘Open With’ command to open a selected RTF under TextEdit, do simple editing and save the modified file back to the database.
Help Professor Bill: Don’t understand. When Pages displays its “Save As” dialog box, where do you recommend we save consecutive updated versions of DTPO documents already in .pages file formats? To the DTPO Global Inbox for removal to the correct DTPO database later? To the Desktop and drag into the DTPO database? Some other location?
Thanks again for clarifying another useful new feature.
I haven’t yet installed Pages 09, but I expect that if you used it to open a Pages document that had been created in an earlier version, it might want to use ‘Save As’ instead of Save. If so, that should be one-time only. The next time you edit that document under Pages, the Save command should work and the edit results would be visible in your database.
For saving what amounts to a new file, though, I would save it to the ‘Inbox’ place in the Save dialog. Then it can be moved into the correct database/group.
Thanx for the explanation. Because Pages doesn’t natively handle rtf it asks to save as… . Word 2008 doesn’t do this. Mind you I have it set to rtf as the default file type. Also, WriteRoom works brilliantly as an external editor. In either of these you just have to save the file before closing it in order the DT updates the file. Too bad for Pages 09. It looks pretty nice.
Your second question was about native .pages files. Note that you can also run into filetype issues with Word, e.g., .doc and .docx.
Actually, when I wish to finalize the rich text drafts I write in DT Pro Office, my usual choice is Pages, especially if the rich text includes images. Pages handles my RTF(D) files much more smoothly than does Word.
Even if I need the final product in Word format, Pages lets me lay out the document and add footnotes, headers and footers and so forth with less effort than is required in Word. When finished (if necessary), I export the .pages file as a Word file.
Personally I’ve found that leaving things in rtf is best because I can easily use DTPO to edit, or open it in Word, or WriteRoom depending on what is needed. Personally, I find Word with all of the toolbars shut down to be rather brilliant for editing text. Anyhow, I find it interesting that Pages 09 is not really compatible with DTPO as an external editor. Too bad.
Pages isn’t compatible with your work flow, but is with mine.
You like Word, I hate it.
But each of us can use DEVONthink to get work done. Up with freedom and flexibility! 
Actually, there is a way to make Pages 09 not misbehave when using it as an external editor. Please find instructions on the following blog leefindlow.com/blog/2009/01/iwor … c-support/ . This is for .doc files. If you want to be able to open imported rtf files then you will need to make the same change suggested in 5&6 instead or in addition to, depending on whether or not you want Pages to be able to autosave doc files without prompting you for a location each time.
You may hate Word; that’s your prerogative. But at least it doesn’t prompt you for a location each time you try to save a file that isn’t .pages format! This is pretty inconvenient to say the least, and highly proprietary. Most other external editors I know of don’t behave in this way. Anyhow, my other post suggests a solution for those who would like to use Pages, but find this behaviour a deal breaker, especially if you’re trying to work with it as an external editor from DT.
I will settle for that bit of inconvenience and remain totally M$-free on my Mac. Think of the several GB I’m saving on my drive not to mention the total bloatware Woid loads and hogs when it’s running. The deal-breaking “behaviour” is nothing compared to Woid’s behavior. I’m not going to waste bandwidth here going into details.
I disagree. First, I think you have to actually use Word, learn it, and work with it before you can speak about it in informed ways. For starters, it integrates perfectly out of the box with DT, and Pages 09 does not; Pages is totally proprietary! Word is a bit more complicated, but it is also a whole whack more powerful. Pages is a joke by comparison. Come on. You hear some people say the same thing about DT: it’s too complicated. That’s a pretty subjective view though. I use a Mac because they’re better computers with a better OS; in short, better value. I use Word because it’s a better word processor, more powerful, and that suits my needs. I don’t use something out of brand loyalty or because I hate MS. I hate MS too, but so what? Whoopie. I don’t have to love them to appreciate that sometimes they write pretty awesome software, well worth the learning curve. When Pages is more powerful, I’ll use it.
I used Word a lot, for years. The only version I liked was 4, which was fast and compact. I keep Office (and update it) on my computers for support purposes, but I quit using Word years ago. I still use Excel fairly often.
Prior to DTPO2 I used Papyrus 12 for long documents, as it was superior to Word for big files and, with its editable hybrid PDF format, allowed me to see everything exactly as created within DTPO 1.x. But it’s not a particularly pleasant, Mac-like app.
I do my drafting in DTPO2. I write in rich text, often including graphics. I do final editing and polishing in a more capable word processor.
Word does a lousy job of picking up my graphics. But I can copy/paste into Pages and everything flows well. I haven’t had any huge writing projects lately, and Pages has been adequate in speed for the size of files I’w been writing.
Usually my final output will be PDF, and Pages does a good job of PDF export. Rarely, I need to send out something in Word. Pages does a good job of Word export. Quick Look rendering of Pages documents is much better than Quick Look rendering of Word documents.
I find the look and feel of Pages, including Services compatibility, much nicer than Word. Just my opinion – no disrespect to Word-lovers.