How to Lay out a page from scratch

Make a box for body text

Make a new document based on Pages’ Blank template. Choose File > Convert to Page Layout and click OK. Choose View > Show Layout to see frames. Click the Text button to make a text frame, and size it to fit the space.

Add some dummy text

Paste in any available text as dummy (filler text), select it all ( and use the Fonts palette ( to size it to about 9pt. In the Layout section of the Format inspector’s Text tab, set the number of columns to 3.

Add an image

Go to Insert > Choose and select an image file. It pushes the text aside: this is a text wrap, which is tailored in the Arrange tab. See how Object Placement defaults to Stay on Page, not Move with Text as is the default in word processing documents.

Add a box for a title

Click the Text button again to add a new frame, then drag that frame to the top of the page, resize it and enter your masthead’s text. Set the text’s size in the Fonts palette again. Drag the picture below it, leaving neat gaps.

Add an inset picture

Text wraps can get more interesting than we’ve seen in our results so far. Use Insert > Choose to add another picture, then, with it selected, choose Format > Image > Mask With Shape > Oval. Your image is now cropped inside a circle.

Complete your layout

Drag the slider and handles to resize and position within the circle. Click Done. Drag the circle and its handles to position it on the page (between columns wraps more legibly). Add a headline, and fill in the header and footer.