Many iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch owners do not have access to Macs and instead use Windows computers at home or especially, at work.
There are times when we need to edit or review Apple’s native pages file format on Microsoft Windows.
If you try to open a pages document on your Windows PC using Word (or a similar program,) you quickly discover that Word (and similar) does not recognize Apple’s word processing format. .pages files.
Apple .pages are not supported on Windows so you cannot open them using Microsoft Word.
So if you want to show or edit a .pages file on Windows PC, you get errors, and Windows asks you to choose an app to open the file.
So what can you do to review and even edit a pages file on your work or home Windows machine?
Try these quick tips to open your Mac .pages documents on your Windows machine
Change the extension to zip and try opening it with Microsoft Office or a PDF or JPEG viewer–this works well for older versions of .pages, not so well for newer versions
Export file from Pages on your Mac or iOS device as a word document
Visit iCloud’s website and upload the pages document and convert it to Word inside iCloud
Use third-party converters like CloudConvert or Zamzar to process your .pages into Word, PDF, and other formats
How Do I Open Pages on a Windows PC Using Zip Compression?
Believe it or not, .pages files are basically .zip files with a JPEG thumbnail file of the first page and an optional PDF file of the entire document.
It’s this similarity that allows us to open .pages files on our Windows machines.
#1 Allow Windows To Show File Extensions
Make sure you have your file extensions visible in Windows so you can change the extension of the pages document.
To make file extensions visible, go to Folder Options > View > Uncheck Hide extensions for known file types
#2 Add The .ZIP Extension
Save a copy of the file (.pages file) locally on your PC so you have two copies of the same file–one to work with and one for backup
Change the name of ONE those copies by right-clicking on the file
Choose Rename
Delete the .pages extension and replace with .zip and press enter to save
For example, let’s say your file name is appletoolbox.pages. Then your file’s name is appletoolbox.zip
#3 Unzip The File
Open (unzip) that zip file, and you can now see the content.
Usually, you’ll find the following three files:
QuickLook (File Folder)
buildVersionHistory.plist
index.xml
# 4 Peek Inside the QuickLook folder
There, you hopefully find a PDF file with the same name as the original pages file or named Preview. You may also see a JPEG file named Thumbnail
The JPEG Thumbnail file shows the first page only while the PDF contains the entire document
Don’t See a PDF Inside the QuickLook Folder?
Depending on how the .pages file was saved, there may not be a pdf file.
If you don’t find a pdf inside QuickLook, try another method in this article or use a third-party conversion tool (search for convert .pages to your preferred format like .docx.)
Need Only to view and/or print the file?
After saving your file as a .zip, just right-click to unzip the contents. Remember, locate the preview.pdf file in the QuickLook folder
If you choose to print the JPEG file directly, you can just select the Print to PDF option
If you are printing from the photos app, it defaults to Microsoft Print to PDF
#5 Convert The Pages Zipped File to a Docx or Doc File
First, try and open your .zip file directly in Microsoft Word or Office–see if it recognizes the file and unzips it without any further intervention
If Office/Word doesn’t recognize it AND you want to edit the .pages file, open the PDF file inside of the QuickLook folder and then save it as a PDF first, and finally convert it to a Word document
The PDF should contain your document’s complete content. If you also have Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can save a PDF as a Word Document
Don’t See a QuickLook Folder At All?
It means the version of Pages that created the document does not support QuickLook and therefore, does not create the QuickLook folder.
To work with your .pages file, try the tips to export your .pages file using other methods outlined in this article.
If You Need to Edit Your .pages File, Export It
Open Pages
Click File
Scroll down to Export
Click the OK
Select the Word format or whatever format you prefer (RTF is a good universal format)
Choose Next
Save your file, so that Microsoft Word opens it on your Windows PC
If at all possible, we recommend that if you’re working with a Pages document, it’s best to open it in Pages, then Export as Word Document or RTF.
That way, your document is fully formatted for Word, Mac or Windows. When you save as RTF (Rich Text Format), most of your formatting remains in the document.
No Current Access to a Mac for Exporting?
Open .pages on Windows Using iCloud’s Website
Create an Apple ID and iCloud account if you don’t already have one
Open iCloud’s website in a browser (like Safari or Chrome) and select Pages
Drag and drop your pages document or choose Upload Document under Settings (Gear icon)
Once uploaded, right-click on the document and select Download a copy
Choose your format from Pages, Word, PDF, or ePub
iCloud creates a file for download
Save the File to your browser’s default download location
Cool Tip! You can also copy/paste the data from the Pages File in iCloud to Word in Windows (or whatever word processing program you use on your Windows PC.)
Note: These same methods work for opening .pages files without iWork on Mac
Or Export a Pages File Using Your iPhone or iPad (iOS)
Open Pages App on your iPhone/iPad
Find the Pages document you want to use on your Windows PC
Tap the three dots in the upper-right corner
Select Export from the list of options
Choose a format from the available list (we recommend Word or PDF)
iOS creates your document–this may take some time depending on length and media used (like photos/videos)
From the Share Sheet, select how you want to send your document (Mail, Message and so forth)
Send the document via your chosen method
How To Convert .pages For Windows With Online Tools
If you were unable to use the zip compression to open your .pages file or don’t have access to Apple’s iCloud site or a Mac/iDevice to make the conversion for you, there are options!
Tools like Zamzar and CloudCoverter (to name a few) offer reformatting services to open pages files for Windows users. Depending on your file size and/or the number of files needing conversion, the service may be free or paid.
Simply upload your .pages document, select the format you want for your Windows PC, and let the converter do the dirty work for you!
Some of these services require an email address or registration. Additionally, some allow you to upload documents from a variety of sources including DropBox, GoogleDrive, OneDrive, and Box or even adding from a URL.
Reader Tips
Reader Tips
Use Google Docs to convert
Open your Google account (or sign up if you don’t have one)
After you sign in, go to Google Docs
Upload your .pages file to Google Docs
Click Open with and select Cloud Converter
Instead, save your document as an RTF. The RTF format can be read by both Windows and Mac computers
I use the Windows office suite Libreoffice (it’s free!) And it opens Pages files without problem on either Windows or Linux computers!
I resolved this by sending it to my iPhone and then saving in a different format
Find a pages to docx or doc converter online like CloudConvert, Zamzar, or LightPDF to name a few. Upload your file and watch it convert. Don’t upload any document that contains confidential information to these converters. For everything else (non-confidential) they are great
Save the file locally on your Windows computer. Right-click on the file and select rename. Remove .pages extension and enter .zip as the extension and press enter. Open the zip file, and it should allow you to open the file and its contents.
This is my method to edit pages files on my Windows Laptop
First, make sure you see file extensions. Go to Windows File Explorer, on the View Ribbon, and check the box marked File Name Extensions
Right-click on the .pages file and choose Rename
Delete the .pages extension and replace it with the .zip extension
Extract the .zip file
You should now be able to open and access the Pages format within Microsoft Word, Office, or similar
To convert to PDF, use the Microsoft Print to PDF function
Obsessed with tech since the early arrival of A/UX on Apple, Sudz (SK) is responsible for the original editorial direction of AppleToolBox. He is based out of Los Angeles, CA.
Sudz specializes in covering all things macOS, having reviewed dozens of OS X and macOS developments over the years.
In a former life, Sudz worked helping Fortune 100 companies with their technology and business transformation aspirations.
For all conversions I try to find a free online service nowadays, from pages to doc as well. Worked fine. But: You must be onine. Confidential texts wind up elsewhere. Just google “pages to doc online”.
Sorry Word isn’t opening the .pages file. Microsoft Word doesn’t recognise .pages files, so you need to export from a Mac or iCloud first. Try using iCloud to download the file to your Windows PC. For this to work, you need to make sure you store the .pages documents on your iCloud account first.
1) On your Windows PC, visit iCloud via a web browser
2) Sign in using your Apple ID
3) Choose Pages from the list of iCloud Apps
4) Find your previously uploaded pages document and select the Tools icon (wrench)
5) Choose Download a Copy and select Word–this saves it to your PC as a .docx
And use it as you normally would via Microsoft Word on Windows. If you need a .doc file, you MUST export directly from your Mac–iCloud does not offer .doc export options.
This advice by SK totally set me straight – this being May 2018, in case the situation changes.
I skipped any Word conversion steps though and instead I edit Pages online with my newly created iCloud account in the native Pages environment and download as a PDF without issue for final output to print or to make a jpg.
Process: Someone else starts the document in their iCloud on a Mac and they are saving it to a Google Drive we share. Don’t ask me how they do that. I in turn download the .pages file to my Windows desktop computer and throw that file up to my own iCloud and carry on with edits in my own Pages. Since I’m the last one tasked with editing and proofing, when I’m done I’ll transfer my Pages versions up to the shared Google Drive. It’s way easier than I’m probably making it sound.
This did not come out for me the way you describe. When I unzip, I get the following:
Data (folder) – contains 7 graphic image files, all but one looks like a colored square
Index (folder) – 7 .iwa files and a folder labeled Tables. Tables contains 39 .iwa files
Metadata (folder) – 2 files are .plist , one has no extension
preview.jpg
preview-micro.jpg
preview-web.jpg
There is nothing identifiable in any of the folders. The preview.jpg is the only decent size image of the first page that I can convert to a PDF for my user. She claims there is a 2nd page but I cannot find it. Help?
This opened up a part of the file only. I could view the first page (as a jpg), but not the rest of the document. There was no pdf file in the extracted zip file. Not sure how to view the entire document.
I work for a print shop, a client sent me a file w/a .pages extension. Thankfully, I simply changed the extension as per your instructions. EUREKA!
The jpg. version of the document was heavily pixelated and poor quality, but thankfully it included all the elements in a .png format. I was able to import all the pieces and re-set the typeface manually. Didn’t mind so much as I design signs, banners and t-shirts continuously here at the shop.
All in all, thanks for the tip. Thought I might’ve been stuck w/a poor file.
Outstanding tip. This worked like a charm and saved me a lot of time.
The MS site helps were complete junk.
Instead of providing this simple solution (which is pretty certain that they knew), MS linked to two endorsed third-party software downloads that were crammed with bloatware. Oh, and btw, neither of them worked.
Is it me or does Pages no longer contain a PDF? That makes it less appealing. I always knew that I could get to the PDF file, but now there’s no PDF. Sure, you can export each and every file you create in other formats, but that is not at all convenient. It seemed to me that the PDF file was a guard against lock in. Even if I didn’t have access to Pages, I could still open the PDF. But now .pages just seems like another way to lock in users, or at least make it extremely difficult to leave if you create very many documents.
not just you.
I see no .pdf
I saw jpg preview, but it only shows the first page of a several page document.
this PAGES file thing is horrible joke to play on non-Mac people.
Apple will not win me over with this junk.
perfect, you offer an easy fix for this PC user ~ thank you! thanks too for maintaining a website that loads impressively fast even using a turtle-slow dial-up internet connection (i.e., 28.8 kbps). most appreciative …
Apple’s Pages is a word processing system for children. Why would anyone have to open up an !Cloud account to do serious work. What a joke.
For all conversions I try to find a free online service nowadays, from pages to doc as well. Worked fine. But: You must be onine. Confidential texts wind up elsewhere. Just google “pages to doc online”.
.pages open in icload does not work if you don’t have an apple device.
icload ask me to turn on pages on an apple device first.
i don’t have an apple device so no way to do it.
thanks for the help!
Why can’t Word open the dang file.
Hi Pat,
Sorry Word isn’t opening the .pages file. Microsoft Word doesn’t recognise .pages files, so you need to export from a Mac or iCloud first. Try using iCloud to download the file to your Windows PC. For this to work, you need to make sure you store the .pages documents on your iCloud account first.
1) On your Windows PC, visit iCloud via a web browser
2) Sign in using your Apple ID
3) Choose Pages from the list of iCloud Apps
4) Find your previously uploaded pages document and select the Tools icon (wrench)
5) Choose Download a Copy and select Word–this saves it to your PC as a .docx
And use it as you normally would via Microsoft Word on Windows. If you need a .doc file, you MUST export directly from your Mac–iCloud does not offer .doc export options.
I hope this helps!
SK
This advice by SK totally set me straight – this being May 2018, in case the situation changes.
I skipped any Word conversion steps though and instead I edit Pages online with my newly created iCloud account in the native Pages environment and download as a PDF without issue for final output to print or to make a jpg.
Process: Someone else starts the document in their iCloud on a Mac and they are saving it to a Google Drive we share. Don’t ask me how they do that. I in turn download the .pages file to my Windows desktop computer and throw that file up to my own iCloud and carry on with edits in my own Pages. Since I’m the last one tasked with editing and proofing, when I’m done I’ll transfer my Pages versions up to the shared Google Drive. It’s way easier than I’m probably making it sound.
This did not come out for me the way you describe. When I unzip, I get the following:
Data (folder) – contains 7 graphic image files, all but one looks like a colored square
Index (folder) – 7 .iwa files and a folder labeled Tables. Tables contains 39 .iwa files
Metadata (folder) – 2 files are .plist , one has no extension
preview.jpg
preview-micro.jpg
preview-web.jpg
There is nothing identifiable in any of the folders. The preview.jpg is the only decent size image of the first page that I can convert to a PDF for my user. She claims there is a 2nd page but I cannot find it. Help?
This opened up a part of the file only. I could view the first page (as a jpg), but not the rest of the document. There was no pdf file in the extracted zip file. Not sure how to view the entire document.
I work for a print shop, a client sent me a file w/a .pages extension. Thankfully, I simply changed the extension as per your instructions. EUREKA!
The jpg. version of the document was heavily pixelated and poor quality, but thankfully it included all the elements in a .png format. I was able to import all the pieces and re-set the typeface manually. Didn’t mind so much as I design signs, banners and t-shirts continuously here at the shop.
All in all, thanks for the tip. Thought I might’ve been stuck w/a poor file.
Outstanding tip. This worked like a charm and saved me a lot of time.
The MS site helps were complete junk.
Instead of providing this simple solution (which is pretty certain that they knew), MS linked to two endorsed third-party software downloads that were crammed with bloatware. Oh, and btw, neither of them worked.
Thank you!
There isn’t any QuickLook folder. There’s a file named preview.jpg that hopefully contains the complete content of the original document.
This sure did not work for me.
It doesn’t work on vista. it only shows me the cover page. no pdf file. only jpg files.
When I rename it, there is a box that pops up and it says;
“Please insert the last disk of the Multi-Volume set and click OK to continue.”
Please help me!
Thanks,
buckleslove
Is it me or does Pages no longer contain a PDF? That makes it less appealing. I always knew that I could get to the PDF file, but now there’s no PDF. Sure, you can export each and every file you create in other formats, but that is not at all convenient. It seemed to me that the PDF file was a guard against lock in. Even if I didn’t have access to Pages, I could still open the PDF. But now .pages just seems like another way to lock in users, or at least make it extremely difficult to leave if you create very many documents.
not just you.
I see no .pdf
I saw jpg preview, but it only shows the first page of a several page document.
this PAGES file thing is horrible joke to play on non-Mac people.
Apple will not win me over with this junk.
Apple have changed the way their files work with a new update and hence we no longer have a .pdf file inside.
Awesome! Worked correctly on the first try and we’re on a tight deadline. thanks for the tip
Dear Robin,
How you did it? I tried to right click on the file but I can only change the file name, not the extension.
Regards.
When I right clicked on the pages file, I can only change the file name but not the extension.
Any one can help.
Thank you.
Thank you for the shared knowledge. 😉
This is a very useful tip. Would of never known you can do that. Thanks!
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
SUCH A SIMPLE SOLUTION.
I WILL DEFINITELY REFER TO YOU WHEN I HAVE AN ISSUE.
REGARDS
PETERM
BYE BYE
THANK YOU FOR I READING FOR LOOK THIS WORKING
THANK YOU SO MUCH
Thank you so much for the Tips………….. 🙂
perfect, you offer an easy fix for this PC user ~ thank you! thanks too for maintaining a website that loads impressively fast even using a turtle-slow dial-up internet connection (i.e., 28.8 kbps). most appreciative …
Excellent tips, this tips save my time 😀
Thank you.
Just received a PAGES file from a client, and had no idea of how to open it. Your technique worked perfectly. Thanks for the tip!