Tried to open a Pages document and the text disappears.

Any content that is selected in Pages prior to your pressing any key will be removed when you type. Since it does not seem to involve place holder text, what happens if you have the document open and press Edit menu > Undo?

If that does not bring the content back, try File menu > Revert To > Browse all versions. This will present you with a version timeline where you can go backwards in time to where that document content appears as you expect it. Apple's Quick Look works in this interface, so you can click on a candidate document and press the spacebar for closer inspection. When you have found what you seek, click Restore.

If the first two paragraphs don't get you where you want to be, then you would need to restore the document from your Time Machine backup using the /Applications/Time Machine.app.

Hi Pamela,

Are you trying to open a new document from a template?

Many new Pages documents contain 'placeholder text', used to fill text boxes where you will place your own text in the document you are making.

An example is the text below the picture in the first page of the Simple Newsletter template:

"Lorem ipsum," named after its first two words, is a widely used block of text used to show the appearance of a page containing text in this space without distracting the viewer with an easily read 'story.'

Put the insertion point in the placeholder text, and start typing the text you want to appear in that space. The placeholder text will disappear on your first keystroke, clearing the space for your content.

Regards,

Barry