Pages may one day grow up

There is an excellent blog called Pages FAQ, where you can go if you want to know more about what Apple's word processor Pages is like.

This blog entry here is about what it is not like. Pages has been around for three years now, and I still cannot take it quite seriously. It does a lot of things well, but if it were to be sold as a word processor not only "for the rest of us", but "for all", methinks it would need to implement at least the following features.

Language

• Right to left writing (Arabic, Hebrew).
• Vertical writing and furigana (Japanese).
• Grammar and spell checking in many more languages.

Scripting

• Applescript access to content of tables.
• Recordable Applescripts
• Customizable menus, toolbars and keyboard shortcuts for Applescripts.

File handling

• Save (instead of "export") to Word, ODT, RTF and text format.
• Save and open RTF files with tables and images.
• Autosave.
• Document comparison (diff).
• Multiple document versions.
• Relative hyperlinks to other files.

Format

• Ability to mix landscape and portrait sections.
• Drop Caps.
• Intelligent caps formatting (like Title Case).
• Multiple tables of contents.
• Numbered table and picture captions.

User Interface

• Displays of the same file in multiple windows.
• Split window view.
• Page spread view to adjust pictures spanning two pages.
• Collapsible outlines.
• Layers to switch on and off certain objects for viewing, printing and export.
• Full screen view.
• "Normal" view without formatting.
  

Modules

• Equation Editor.
• Organisation charts.
• Bibliography.
• Version control system integration.
• Form design.
  

Plus a lot of bug fixes.