Pages Deletes Documents in “Replace Existing Files”

After editing a previously saved pages document and attempting to save the newest version a pop-up box asks options; replace existing OR keep both files. Next another NEW pop-up warns the previous document will now be deleted on ALL devices. However, ALL newly edited drafts disappear.

‘Users can recover them by going into RECENT documents and following the prompts to recover ONLY the earlier draft—if you are lucky.” This is a RECENT glitch so BEWARE writers and editors. After discovering it is HIT AND MISS to recover a latest draft of edits I’ve discovered a work around. Simply “rename” each and every draft and final version file of a document BUT apple users please inform apple of this glitch. We shouldn’t have to discover our own “work-a-round solutions” to pages.

Posted on Sep 14, 2025 3:31 AM

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1 reply

Sep 14, 2025 5:32 AM in response to zzz270

The Pages application menu has a Provide Pages Feedback menu item. Use that yourself to directly inform the Pages product team. These are fellow user supported public communities and no Apple employees participate here.


Yours is the first post I have seen here in several years with this issue, so it would appear to be a misunderstanding of Pages usage, and not one of application design. It has never happened to me over the years.


Pages has autosave and versioning that are enabled after the first manual save. As long as you are working on the same document, subsequent edits of it are versioned and updated in place. If you open the same named document from a different storage location, make changes, then attempt to save in a storage location containing the same named file, then the Finder, not Pages will pop a dialog with an imminent overwrite warning.


Review this: Restore an earlier document version in Pages on Mac - Apple Support


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Pages Deletes Documents in “Replace Existing Files”

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