Create and use page templates in Pages on Mac
Every page in a page layout document is linked to a page template. When you add a new page to your document, you choose a page template, then you can add your own content and edit it in other ways. In addition to blank page templates, many book templates also come with predesigned page templates that you can edit. Changes you make in your document don’t affect the page template.
In Edit Page Template view, you can create and design new page templates and modify existing page templates.
Add a new page template
To create a new page template, you duplicate an existing page template, edit the duplicate, then save it with a new name. Any pages that are linked to the original page template aren’t affected.
Click
in the toolbar, then choose Edit Page Templates.Click
in the toolbar, then choose the page template you want to use as a starting point.Type a name for the new page template, then click OK.
A new page template appears below the original in the sidebar.
Modify the page by adding, deleting, or editing text, placeholders, images, shapes, and other objects.
You can use any available formatting controls in the Format
sidebar. See “Edit a page template,” below.When you’re finished, click Done at the bottom of the window.
You can drag the page templates in the sidebar to rearrange them.
Edit a page template
When you edit a page template, any changes you make are applied to all pages that use that page template.
Click
in the toolbar, then choose Edit Page Templates.Select the page template you want to edit in the sidebar on the left.
Do any of the following:
Modify existing design elements: Select any design elements on the page, then delete them, or edit them using any available formatting controls in the Format
sidebar. To learn how to change the background of a page template, see Change the page background.Add images: To add a placeholder image, click
in the toolbar, then choose an image. Images you add to a page template become placeholders. An image you add to a placeholder in your document has the same size and placement on the page.Add text boxes: To add a placeholder text box, click
in the toolbar, then use the controls in the Format sidebar to style it: add a border, choose a size and font for the text, and so on. Any text you type in the text box in your document has the same style you applied to the placeholder text box.Set how headers and footers appear on the page: Click the page template in the sidebar on the left (so nothing is selected on the page). In the Format
sidebar, select the “Show header and footer” checkbox to show headers and footers on pages that use this page template. If you don’t want the headers and footers to match the ones on the previous page in the document, deselect the “Match previous page” checkbox. (If you don’t see these controls, or the top of the sidebar doesn’t say Page Template Layout, make sure nothing is selected on the page.)If you can’t select the header and footer checkboxes, turn them on for the document in the Document
sidebar.
When you’re finished, click Done at the bottom of the window.
You can add persistent alignment guides to page templates to help you with layout. To show or hide these guides on document pages, choose View > Guides > Show Page Template Guides or Hide Page Template Guides (from the View menu at the top of the screen).
Rename a page template
Click
in the toolbar, then choose Edit Page Templates.Control-click the page template thumbnail, then choose Rename.
Type the new name, then click OK.
Click Done at the bottom of the window.
Create a new page template based on a page in the document
If you modified a page and want to use its layout for other pages, you can create a page template based on it.
Select the page in Page Thumbnails view on the left.
Choose Format > Advanced > Create Page Template from Current Page (from the Format menu at the top of your screen).
The window changes to Edit Page Template view, and a thumbnail copy of the original page template appears at the bottom of the sidebar on the left.
Control-click the copy on the left and choose Rename.
Type a name for the new page template, then click OK.
Click Done at the bottom of the window.
Tag objects to simplify switching page templates
You can tag placeholder items (images and text boxes) on page templates to make it easier to switch page templates in your document. The tags “tell” the content where to go when you switch page templates for a page. For example, an image that’s in a placeholder with the tag “media” is automatically populated into a placeholder in the new page template that also has the tag “media.”
If you’re creating a new page template in a book template with predesigned page templates, check the other page templates to see what tags they already use, then use the same ones, or replace them with your own.
Click
in the toolbar, then choose Edit Page Templates.Select a page template in the sidebar on the left.
Select an object on the page template, then click the Style tab at the top of the Format
sidebar.Type a tag in the Tag text field at the bottom of the sidebar.
Click Done at the bottom of the window.
Apply a different page template
You can apply a different page template to any page in your document. See Tag objects to simplify switching page templates, above, to learn how to tag text boxes and other objects to make the switch go smoothly.
Click anywhere in a blank spot on the page you want to change, or select the page in Page Thumbnails view.
In the Format
sidebar, click Page Template, then choose a page template.Adjust the content on the page as necessary to accommodate the new layout.
Reapply a page template
If you make changes to a page’s format and later want to use the original formatting of its page template, you can reapply the page template. Reapplying the page template won’t delete your content.
Click
in the toolbar, then choose Page Thumbnails.Click the thumbnail image of the page you want to change.
Choose Format > Reapply Page Template (from the Format menu at the top of your screen).
Make any necessary adjustments to the page content.
Delete a page template
Click
in the toolbar, then choose Edit Page Templates.In Edit Page Template view, Control-click the page template in the sidebar on the left, then choose Delete.
If pages in the document are linked to this page template, a dialog appears. Choose a new page template for those pages, then click Choose.
Click Done at the bottom of the window.
You can drag the page templates in the sidebar to rearrange them.
Tip: When you copy pages between documents, any page templates used by the copied pages are also included.