To keep review comments available while people work together, collaborate on the same shared Pages document and leave its comment threads in place. On a Mac, use the Comments & Changes pane or review toolbar to inspect them, check that collaborators have editing access if they need to reply, and avoid treating a printout or a separately exported copy as the live review file. Comments are annotations attached to a Pages document; they are not the same as tracked edits.

Keep everyone in the same shared Pages document

Pages collaboration works through a shared document saved in iCloud. The owner can invite specific people or allow anyone with the link, and can choose whether participants can edit or only view. Participants see edits as they are made. For ongoing review, share the document and have collaborators reopen that shared copy rather than circulate separate versions as if they were one live file. Apple’s Pages collaboration guide explains the iCloud and permission requirements.

To invite others from Pages on Mac, make sure you are signed in to your Apple Account, iCloud Drive is set up for Pages, and the document is stored in iCloud Drive. Then use the Collaboration button in the toolbar to share it and set access and permissions. If a collaborator only needs to read, view-only access prevents editing and commenting; participants need permission to make changes to contribute to the document. Apple’s Mac invitation instructions cover the prerequisites.

Review comments without deleting them

In Pages, comments can be attached to selected text, a table cell, or an object. To add one, select the relevant text or object and click Comment in the toolbar, or use Add Comment in the review toolbar; type the note and click Done. Existing comments appear as markers or highlights. Open a marker to read the note and replies, or show the Comments pane from the View menu to review comments in one place. Collaborators’ comments use distinct colors and show author names, and participants can reply to a comment. Apple’s guide to adding and reviewing comments documents these controls.

If a comment seems to have disappeared, first check whether comments are hidden in the review controls or pane, then inspect the comment markers and the Comments & Changes pane. Hiding comments changes their display; it does not itself delete them. Deleting is a separate action: Apple notes that deleting a comment with replies removes the whole conversation. Anyone can delete a comment, so ask collaborators to reply to a thread instead of removing it when the discussion needs to remain part of the review record.

Separate comments from tracked changes

Comments hold discussion; Track Changes records edits to text. If reviewers need both, use comments for questions and explanations, and turn on Edit > Track Changes when the team needs additions and deletions marked for review. In a shared iCloud document, enabling change tracking limits editing to people using Pages on Mac, iPhone, or iPad; people using Pages for iCloud can view but not edit while tracking is on. Track changes also have their own accept or reject controls, so accepting edits does not mean a comment thread has been resolved. Apple’s Mac Track Changes guide describes this limitation and the review options.

Share a readable record when the discussion is finished

A Pages document is the working record for comments and replies. A printout serves a different purpose: comments are omitted unless you choose the comment printing option. If you need to distribute a clean reading copy, keep the shared Pages document as the review source and label any printout or other export as a separate copy. Do not assume an exported format will preserve every Pages comment or reply unless you verify that format for your use; Apple’s comment instructions specifically describe printing behavior, not a universal export guarantee.

Before wrapping up, open the shared document on your Mac, show the Comments pane, read through the threads, and confirm with collaborators whether unresolved notes should remain open or be answered. Keep the comments that still provide useful context. Remove a thread only when the team intends to discard that conversation, since deleting a parent comment with replies removes the conversation too. This keeps the review trail in the shared document and makes clear which file collaborators should continue using.

Sources