There are a lot of different useful tools available on a MacBook, and one of the most useful of these tools on the device is Pages. Pages is a word processor, and is useful for a variety of situations, be it for work or for fun. While it is excellent as a word processor, it can actually do so much more, including drawing. But how do you draw on Pages MacBook?
Unfortunately, drawing with Pages is not really doable on a MacBook device, mainly because the MacBook physically can’t work with one of the tools used with Pages, the Apple Pencil. Despite not being compatible with Pages in this way, you can make certain shapes on the documents.
But why can’t you draw on Pages on your MacBook? And will Apple ever make a MacBook model that can work with this feature?
How to Draw on Pages MacBook
While Pages is typically used as a word processor, that does not mean it can only be used in this capacity. You can use the drawing tool to use it purely as a drawing program, or if you need to give your document some more detail, you can add drawings to it. But does Pages work on a MacBook in this way? Unfortunately, there is no way to draw on Pages on your MacBook, at least not to the extent that you can do so on an iPhone or an iPad.
Make shapes on your MacBook
While you cannot draw on Pages like you would in, for example, Paint on a Windows computer, there is some image editing that you can do with it, via the use of shapes. To draw shapes on Pages, select the Shapes button, which is located on the upper toolbar. Click that icon, and you will see a list of categories. These categories have a wide range, including basic shapes as well as shapes of animals, objects, food, symbols, arts, nature, and more. Basic shapes can be used, with enough time and patience, to make decent drawings, though you should not expect to make fine art with these shapes. The shapes feature is mainly used for the sake of spicing up your documents just a bit.
For example, imagine that you are using the Pages document to write an infographic. Not being able to draw on Pages on a MacBook may create some obstacles, but shapes provide a decent number of templates that you can use to at least give some visual aids.
Interact with drawings on your MacBook that were made on an iPad and iPhone
While you cannot actually draw normally on Pages as you could on an iPad or iPhone, that does not mean that you can do nothing on a MacBook with the drawings you made elsewhere. Once you’ve finished a drawing on your iPad or iPhone, you can later open it on your MacBook. Once it is opened, you can choose to add a description to the drawing, show the animated progress of the drawing being made, share the drawing and/or animation, and save the drawing as a file.
Why can’t I draw on Pages on my MacBook?
The main reason why your MacBook is unable to work with Pages the way the iPad works with Pages is because the two devices are quite different from one another. The major difference between these two devices is the screen – namely, the fact that the iPad has a touchscreen, and no MacBook device does. This has been a point of criticism for some, who note that despite the fact that many major competing laptop brands have touchscreens, even the 2021 MacBook Pro release was lacking such a thing. As a result of not having a touchscreen, the MacBook Pro is unable to use the Apple Pencil that you use with Pages on an iPad.
Will the MacBook ever get touchscreen capabilities?
While the answer to this question would almost seem to be a sure fire “yes, duh,” it’s surprisingly not, mainly because the MacBook is unusual in not having any models with a touchscreen in this day and age. So, while it may be that the MacBook may one day incorporate touchscreen capabilities, it is also possible that Apple would rather keep that feature absent from their MacBooks. Perhaps they believe it helps better differentiate the MacBook from an iPad? That’s the only reason we can think of why Apple may be limiting the MacBook in this way.
Are there any good drawing tools for a MacBook?
If you do not own an iPhone or an iPad, that means that you cannot, unfortunately, draw on Pages. With that being said, Pages is not the only way you can draw on the MacBook, as there are many apps on the device that exist specifically to enable you to draw. You can find some apps on the MacBook’s app store, but which app you choose will ultimately depend on multiple factors. For example, there are free drawing apps, such as Paintbrush, which is meant for beginners. However, if you are hoping to do more complicated things with your drawing, going with a paid option may be the best choice for you. If this is the case, there are apps that you can subscribe to, apps that you can purchase, and apps that you can get for free but with ads.
Does the MacBook come with a drawing program?
One thing to note is that Apple actually has a paint program installed on the MacBook when you first start it up. To open it, open an image with the Preview program, and click the toolbox icon located on the top menu. At the top, you will see Show Markup Tool, which has the icon of a small pencil within a circle. Click this icon, and you will then see various drawing and painting features. Note that this program is far from the best option for painting, but it is there as an option nonetheless.
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