Using Pages I am writing a memoir for my grandchildren. I am going to have it printed as a book but I am also going to send them (and their parents, my son and his wife) the document in a computer file. The question is, if I just sent the final Pages file, would that file have information about edits I have made while drafting the document? I have edited the memoir as I go along, sometimes writing and then removing material that I thought would be embarrassing to others or for similar reasons. I would like to be assured that what I send to them as the final product will not contain material I may originally have included but then edited out. Would a record of such edits be included in the Pages file? Should I convert the document to a PDF before sending it?
I thought to ask this question because of your recent tutorial on the Track Changes and Comments functions. You appeared to be saying that tracked changes and comments would continue to be in the Pages file. This has been a major problem with Word, and as you doubtless know there is an industry of third party applications that strip metadata from Word files so that they can be sent safely without containing data about changes that occurred in drafting. I have not used Track Changes or comments in the drafting of the memoir. I have just made ordinary edits as I have proceeded, so I am asking about just that data.
I need to know because I am drafting a memoir and I have edited it along the way to be sure that material that might be embarrassing or harmful to others is completely excluded. I am asking whether the Pages file contains information about edits that a recipient of the file could access. If so I assume I can remedy that by converting the file to a PDF before sending it.
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Daniel Joseph
There are two things to be concerned about. The first is Tracking Changes as you mentioned. But if you are not using that, then there is no problem there. Even if you are using that, to exit that mode you have to accept all changes or reject them. It doesn't keep them after that. So no problem there as well. Comments are a little different, as they will stick around. So delete any comments you don't want others to see. But it doesn't sound like you are using comments.
The other thing to worry about is Versions. See https://macmost.com/understanding-document-versions.html to learn about those if you don't already know. It is a very useful tool, especially when you are working on a memoir.
If someone were to view the Pages file on your Mac, the file you are working on right now, they would be able to "revert" to a previous version and see things you may have deleted. But if you make a copy of the file, or send the file to someone else, it doesn't include those. So your only worry is that someone in the future looks at the file on your Mac.
Once you are done the book, you can simply duplicate the file, confirm the duplicate is good, and then delete the original file. Maybe do that after you send out copies to others just in case you accidentally delete the original and copy.
Your idea about sending out a PDF is a good one too. A PDF has the added advantage of being viewable on any device. So if someone doesn't have a Mac, iPhone or iPad they can still view it. Plus it isn't easily editable, whereas a Pages document is. Think of a PDF as a printed document, but digital paper instead of physical paper.