User profile for user: Mic4ppl3
Mic4ppl3 Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Pages' Templates corrupted or missing. Template Chooser crashes the app while opening a built-in template.

Hi,

I lost Pages during a clean install of Sequoia on a iMac Quad-Core Intel i3 (my fault, an incomplete back-up...). I reinstalled Pages from the App Store but it kept crashing during launch while the app tries to open the Template Chooser.

The app launches fine when I open it through an older saved document. I also created a Custom Template to go around the problem and the app will open fine if this one is selected. Any other offered built-in template in the chooser will crash Pages while opening a new document, even the basic "Blank" standard. I have to Force Quit Pages every time.


I tried to Safe Boot the Mac, open Pages while holding shift, deleting the iWork.Pages Libraries and caches... to the best of my limited knowledge. Nothing solved the issue. I suspect that the Pages Templates could be simply missing. Only their icons would be visible in the Template Chooser (or they are all corrupted?). I least it looks like that.


Is there a way to re-install the built-in Pages Templates? Where can I find them and how do I install them and where? Any other ideas?

Thanks.

iMac 21.5″, macOS 15.4

Posted on May 6, 2025 12:40 PM

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User profile for user: VikingOSX
VikingOSX
User level: Level 10
120,845 points

May 9, 2025 5:46 AM in response to Mic4ppl3

You should be using Pages v14.4 on Sequoia v15.4.1. Unknown if Apple will bump the Pages version with the forthcoming Sequoia v15.5.


The Pages templates (e.g. Blank, etc.) are stored within the application bundle and the user created templates (e.g. My Templates in the Template Chooser) are stored in the following location:

/Users/username/Library/Containers/com.apple.iWork.Pages/Data/Library/Application Support/User Templates


Since you reinstalled Pages, there likely is no change to the application templates that are stored in the application bundle. You should not tamper with the application bundle or the preceding user template location. If you deleted this Container path, you have also removed your custom user templates (My Templates) and you will need to retrieve those from Time Machine.


The absolute last resort would be to remove the /Users/username/Library/Containers/com.apple.iWork.pages folder, and before doing that, you had better have your custom templates backed up beforehand.


If you have installed any anti-virus product, follow the vendor's full removal instructions as anti-virus is not needed on macOS and may overreach and remove valid files and application components. Same drill with any so-called "Mac cleaning" software.


I have Pages v14.4 and Sequoia v15.4.1 installed on three Macs here and all work correctly.

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User profile for user: Mic4ppl3
Mic4ppl3 Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

May 11, 2025 6:21 PM in response to Mic4ppl3

Problem resolved. I deleted all the com.apple.iWork.pages in all the Libraries (system and users), then I uninstalled Pages. After reinstalling the app fresh from the App Store and restarting the iMac, the templates were back and working properly.

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User profile for user: Mic4ppl3
Mic4ppl3 Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

May 11, 2025 3:05 PM in response to VikingOSX

Thank you VikingOSX,


I confirm that I have the same version of Pages and the same IOS that you listed. However, I do not have any com.apple.iWork.pages in my own user's Library/Containers.


This leads me to suspect that the templates I see offered in Pages are older ones called back in the "Recent" queue, or "ghosts" leftover in the Template Chooser. I seem to have the icons, but not the real template despite having reinstalled the app. A bit like if a previous Library content would interfere with the new installation or prevent the reinstalled app from finding the true location of the real templates.


I'm not scared of loosing my own template since it is solely a previous document that I opened, erased-all and saved as a blank portrait. I can recreate it in a second. Accordingly, would you recommend that I delete anything with com.apple.iWork.pages in all my Library and try to reinstall Pages one more time?


Thanks again.

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Pages' Templates corrupted or missing. Template Chooser crashes the app while opening a built-in template.

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