Pages format panel

Hello bernard@lanecove,

Thanks for stopping by the Apple Support Communities. It looks like you're having issues with the format pane getting deactivated randomly on Pages on your Mac. We'd like to look into this with you.

Are you experiencing this behavior with a specific document or multiple? Also, is there any updates available for Pages in the App Store?

If so, please install any available updates, and test to see if the issue persists.

Does this also occur in a new user account? We'll want to check if there's an issue with any files or settings in the current user account that could be contributing.

Here's how to test in a new user account: 

How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac

Please check this helpful link:

Pages User Guide

Have a nice day.

Hi bernard@lanecove,

Thanks for getting back to us with those additional details. Let's continue investigating this issue further together.

"Documents you create in Pages for iCloud are automatically available in the Pages app on any Mac, iPhone, or iPad that’s signed in with the same Apple ID"

Do you experience the same behavior if you try to edit your pages document on another device? For example: another Mac, a windows PC or an iOS device?

Please check this out:

Pages User Guide for iCloud

You can also, expand the " Table of Contents" on the top of the same page for more topics regarding using Pages with iCloud.

Take Care.

Hi bernard@lanecove,

We appreciate your patience as we're trying to understand the behavior you're experiencing with pages on your Mac. To summarize, you're having issues with the format pane deactivates randomly when editing a Pages document saved on iCloud. Issue persist in new user account on your Mac, your macOS, and Pages application are up-to-date on software. Also, issue persist after uninstalling / reinstalling Pages.

We want your experience with pages to be flawless, in order to work towards a resolution, please contact our application support experts. They can be reached here:

Contact Apple Support 

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.