Create Stitch Diagrams on a Mac Using Pages

I've written up a brief description on how to use Pages (the Apple word processor program) to create stitch diagrams and posted it to this blog as one of the tabs above.  It's hard to be really specific as each version of Pages changes where items are located and sometimes calls them something else but with some experimentation this should help you create basic stitch diagrams on your Mac.

Stitch Diagram Software for the Mac (and PC)

Alert!  The replacement for CanvasX is finally available for those who use Macs.  It is now called Canvas Draw, and is on sale until September 15, 2015. (There is also a trial version to test.)  Like Adobe's Illustrator, there is a steep learning curve for this graphics software program but it appears to be very versatile.  Canvas X was used by a great many people in the needlepoint world until it was dropped.  (The current PC version of Canvas X is Canvas 16 but Canvas 15 is also still available.)
http://www.canvasx.com/en/products/canvas-draw

While reading the discussion about it on NP Nation, I discovered that Ursa Software also has a stitch diagramming program called StitchGraph that works on both Macs and PCs.
http://www.ursasoftware.com/stitchgraph/sgraph.html

If you are looking for software to create diagrams and charts, Linda K. Reinmuller has a list of programs that might work for you on her blog.  It's at the bottom of the page, under "Blog Archive."  Thanks, Linda!
http://www.lkreinmiller.blogspot.com

Barbara Bergsten is My Hero UPDATED

Quite a few stitch guide writers use Macs and many of them have been using Canvas X as their graphics program--you know, the nifty program that draws diagrams of stitches.  However, ACD Systems is no longer updating their Canvas X system for Macs, only for PCs. You can't even buy a copy of Canvas X any more.  (I know, I've been trying for over a year!)  To compound the problem, now that Apple has introduced the new Lion software, Canvas X won't work for an updated or new system.  This means that stitch guide writers who use Macs and Canvas X are up the creek without a paddle.

Some folks are sticking with the out-of-date Snow Leopard operating system so they can continue to use Canvas X.  Some folks have used specialty software to run PC programs on their Macs so that they can use some of the many graphing programs written for PCs.  Some folks are thinking of partitioning their hard drives and running Snow Leopard and Canvas X on one part of their system while running Lion on another part.  Some are even considering investing time and money in Adobe's Illustrator or maybe buying a cheap PC to run PC graphics software on.   All of these are less than desirable solutions.

But Barbara Bergsten has come to the rescue with a way to use Pages (the Macintosh word processing program) to graph stitches.  Here's what Barbara and her Apple tutor worked out--
http://createneedlepoint.typepad.com/create_needlepoint/2012/07/steps-to-make-a-needlepoint-stitch-diagram-in-pages.html

This is very good news indeed for people with Macs who can no longer use Canvas X.  Thanks, Barbara!


UPDATE:  Here are two examples of a PC stitch diagram and a Mac stitch diagram so you can see the difference and help Jan decide if the one done in Pages is up to snuff.
http://threadmedley.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/which-would-you-prefer/