iWork '09: The Missing Manual

In the Buff: The Blank Template

Templates are particularly useful for getting a jump on formal documents or complex layouts. But let’s face it, not all documents require a fancy, elegant design. If you’re dashing off a quick list, organizing your thoughts, crafting a short story, or building a fresh page layout from scratch, the best starting point is often a blank page.

Pages offers four blank templates—two for word-processing documents (Blank and Blank Landscape) and two more for page layout (Blank Canvas and Blank Canvas Landscape). Unlike the rest of the templates, you won’t find any placeholder text or images in the blank templates. Pages gives you a tabula rasa without distractions. To use a blank template, choose one of these four options from the Template Chooser when you create a new document.

As you settle into a routine with Pages, the Blank word-processing template will likely become your go-to template, the fastest route to getting something down on paper. If you do fall into the habit of choosing Blank every time—or any other template for that matter—you’ll inevitably grow impatient with the Template Chooser. Sure, it’s only trying to help, but couldn’t Pages just give you your favorite template when you want a new document? Yep, you just have to ask nicely.

Setting Your Default Template

Tell the Template Chooser to lay low in the Pages → Preferences window, where you can also anoint your preferred template. Going forward, when you create a new document, Pages will automatically give you a fresh document window with your chosen document type:

1. Choose Pages → Preferences, and Pages displays the Preferences window.

2. Click the General button to display the General Preferences pane.

3. Next to “For New Documents,” turn on the “Use template:” option.

4. Click the Choose button to display the Template Chooser, and select your preferred template.

   Double-click the template’s preview image, or click it once and then click the Choose button. The “For New Documents” setting updates to show the name of your new go-to template in the “Use template” option.

5. Click the red Close button at the top left of the Preferences window to close it.

This doesn’t have to mean that you’re giving up templates forever. You can call up the Template Chooser any time: Choose File → New from Template Chooser or press Shift-⌘-N.