Pages Autosave

[Andy44]

I've just had a minor disaster, we had a power cut and I lost a complex Pages document I was working on (yes I know I should save every few minutes, but I didn't) and only then discovered that Pages does not default to autosave. Not only that but I can't find out how to switch it on! Can it be that Pages does not have an autosave function?
If it does have one, can someone tell me how to enable it please.

I'm using Pages 5.2.6 and El Capitan

 

[IWT]

Andy

To the very best of my knowledge, there is no Autosave function for pages. This appears to be confirmed on a Google search. See:

http://forums.macrumors.com/threads...uto-save-to-lost-file-i-need-to-find.1245153/
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4352118?tstart=0

Do I take it that you have no backup of any sort? If, for example, you had Time Machine and assuming you either had an automatic backup during your work, or as I do, manually backed up to Time Machine as you went along; then most if not all of your work would probably be recoverable. This is discussed in one of the Links above.

A lot depends on whether you Saved the Pages doc at all during your work.

I'm very sorry to say, I think your data is lost and I don't think even expensive data recovery software is likely to find it.

Ian

 

[Andy44]

I'm a fool for not saving the doc but not so much of a fool that I don't have a backup plan. i just got carried away writing and then the power went off, phut, everything gone. Coming to realise that why Apple bundles this software for free.

 

[chscag]

i just got carried away writing and then the power went off, phut, everything gone.

Buy an UPS and keep your iMac attached to it. If the power goes off, it will give you time to save your work. Pages is a nice word processor and it's free, however, it does not have all the options like auto save or auto backup as some other word processors have. But there is a way to implement auto save, see below.

(Also, the two links above that Ian gave are for Pages 9, they do not apply for your version of Pages 5.)

Try this: Pages top menu, File, Revert to, browse all versions. You should find the last revision you made before the power went off and be able to save it.

 

[Andy44]

Thanks for the advice, I actually went out and bought a UPS this morning. I've used laptops for a decade or so and have never before faced the problem of a rural power supply and a desktop computer. Just having grey hair does not make you wise!

 

[MacInWin]

Yeah, when you have a battery the power outages don't make so much difference. But if the power goes out on a desktop, the UPS is a real lifesaver. Not only can you lose documents the way you did, OS X does NOT like shutting down by power cut. You are lucky that it still boots. Had it been writing a key system file a the time the power died, that could have been ugly.

 

[IWT]

@chscag

Thank you, Charlie, for correcting my error re the version of Pages. I was too quick to assume latest OS, latest Pages.

Ian

 

[Andy44]

Ian, I'm puzzled, I thought El Capitan and pages 5 were the latest versions! Are you saying that there is a Pages version 9!! How is it possible that Pages can go through 4 version updates in the few months I have had this iMac?

 

[chscag]

Don't be confused by the numbers. Pages 5.6.1 is the latest version, which you already have. Pages 9 is an older version that was part of iWork 09 Suite. You're up to date.

 

[IWT]

It was all my fault, Andy. Confusing numbers. You have the latest version as chscag says, but I linked you to an earlier version unwittingly.

Ian