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How to open a .pages file on a Chromebook

ChromeOS can't open Apple Pages documents, and neither can Google Docs. The good news: everything you need runs in the Chrome browser you already have.

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Why your Chromebook can’t open it

Pages is Apple’s word processor and only runs on Apple devices. ChromeOS, the Files app, Google Docs and Google Drive don’t understand its file format. Drive will store a .pages file for you, but it can’t open it as a document. So the file needs converting first.

Option 1: Convert it on this page

  1. Open the Files app and find the document, usually in Downloads or in your Google Drive.
  2. Drag it from the Files app onto the box above, or click Choose a file and select it.
  3. Wait a few seconds for the preview of every page.
  4. Click Download PDF to read or print it, or Download Word (.docx) to edit it. The download goes to your Downloads folder.

The PDF opens in Chrome. To edit the Word file in Google Docs, seehow to convert Pages to Google Docs.

Limits: files up to 25 MB; password-protected documents can’t be converted; your files are deleted automatically within 1 hour.

Option 2: Use Pages for iCloud in Chrome

Apple’s web version of Pages works in Chrome on a Chromebook. You need a free Apple Account, which you can create on the iCloud sign-in page.

  1. Go to icloud.com and sign in.
  2. Open Pages, then drag the .pages file into the window to upload it.
  3. Double-click the document to open, read or edit it.
  4. For a copy you can use elsewhere, open the More menu (•••) in the toolbar, choose Download a Copy, then pick Word or PDF.

Apple changes iCloud.com from time to time; if the menu looks different, look for Download a Copy. The document stays in your iCloud Drive until you delete it.

Option 3: See the preview picture inside the file

Many .pages files contain a picture of their first page. The Files app can open it without any other software:

  1. In the Files app, make a copy of the document (select it, then Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V).
  2. Right-click the copy, choose Rename, and change the ending from .pages to .zip.
  3. Double-click the .zip file. ChromeOS opens it like a folder.
  4. Open preview.jpg. In older documents (Pages ’09), look in the QuickLook folder forPreview.pdf, which contains the whole document.

For current Pages files this is usually just the first page as a small image, and some files have no preview at all.

Option 4: LibreOffice through Linux (advanced)

If your Chromebook has the Linux development environment turned on (Settings › About ChromeOS › Developers), you can install the free LibreOffice suite, which imports many Pages documents. In the Linux terminal, run:

sudo apt install libreoffice-writer

Then open the file from LibreOffice Writer (File › Open). Linux needs some free storage, and school or work Chromebooks often have it switched off by the administrator. For most people, Options 1 and 2 are simpler.

Option 5: Ask the sender to export it

  • On a Mac: File › Export To › PDF or Word.
  • On an iPhone or iPad: the More button (•••), then Export, then PDF or Word.

A Word file opens directly in Google Docs, and a PDF opens in Chrome, so this is a good habit to suggest if you receive Pages files often.

Troubleshooting

Google Drive shows the file but won’t open it

That’s expected: Drive can store .pages files but not open them. Download it to your Chromebook, then use Option 1 or 2.

The file ends in .zip or .pages.zip

Some email apps package .pages files that way. Upload the .zip as it is; this site unpacks the Pages document for you.

It says the file is damaged or password-protected

“Damaged” usually means the download didn’t finish: download it again. A password-protected document can only be opened in Pages, so ask the sender to remove the password or send a PDF.