FAQ

When I double-click a Pagehand PDF file, it opens in Preview. Why?

Because Snow Leopard does not allow you to open files with the same extension in different applications. By allowing applications to assign creator codes to files, the Mac heretofore allowed you to associate your files with the application that created them.

By default, Snow Leopard opens every PDF file in Preview. Pagehand 1.0.6 has an option that allows you to have PDF files opened in Pagehand if they are Pagehand PDFs, and in Preview (or another application of your choosing) if they are not. Just go to Preferences and check “Manage double-clicks on PDF files.”

Can Pagehand import documents in Word and other formats?

Yes. Pagehand does an excellent job of translating simple RTF documents, such as those produced by TextEdit. It can translate documents in .doc, .docx, .odt, .odt, .sxw, .stw, .html, and .webarchive formats, too. But let’s be honest. The more complex the document, the poorer the translation. Pagehand uses Apple’s basic document translation system, the same that TextEdit uses. Some other applications, such as Pages and Nisus, have more powerful translators. Document translation is an important area that we hope to upgrade.

Can Pagehand edit all PDF files? Can I edit a Pagehand PDF in Preview or Acrobat?

Pagehand saves your documents in PDF format. The PDF file includes data that Pagehand uses when it opens the document. If a PDF file was not created by Pagehand, then it lacks the information that Pagehand needs.

Converting a regular read-only PDF file to an editable format entails some data loss. We think that the amount of data loss is too great to make the conversion practical. This conclusion might change in the future as technologies improve.

Applications such as Preview and Acrobat not only ignore the special Pagehand data, they destroy it. When you edit a Pagehand PDF in Preview or Acrobat, the resulting file is very different from the original. You are not “editing” the file in any normal sense of the word; you are creating an entirely new document that bears only a superficial resemblance to the original.

To summarize: a Pagehand PDF can be edited in Pagehand, and only in Pagehand. A regular PDF cannot be edited.

Why should I use Pagehand?

The PDF file format is one good reason. Another is the Pagehand user interface. Pagehand differs from other word processors in important ways. We believe that when you are writing, your mind is focused on words. That’s why we use text labels instead of icons on nearly all our controls. We don’t obscure your writing with dialog boxes and inspector panels. The controls that you use in normal work appear either in the sidebar or the toolbar, both of which intelligently change to as needed.

Because Pagehand is so easy to use, we expect that you will routinely use features such as styles that you could never figure out in other word processors. You will also work with ornaments, accented characters, proper fractions, and attractive fonts because Pagehand helps you in those areas, too.

OK. Where does Pagehand come up short?

Version 1.0 of Pagehand supports styles, sections, columns, tables, tab leaders, document properties, autosave, document templates, keep together, keep with next, widow/orphan control (we call it Prevent Stragglers), tabbed or single windows, automatic formatting and replacement of text, two kinds of numbered paragraphs, bullets, text shadows, fractions, adjustable hyphenation, layout and print guides, split views, small caps, and much more.

Pagehand does not yet support footnotes, text boxes, flowing text around objects, bordered paragraphs, Applescript, or plugins. We expect to add those features, and localizations for other languages, in future releases. We will try to add the most-requested features first.

Ack! What happened to my toolbar?

In addition to the regular toolbar, Pagehand has some special toolbars that fly in to replace the regular toolbar when you need some special editing controls. To make the special toolbar go away, just click anywhere in the main body of the document.

I lost my license key.

We can email it to you.