How to Add Remarks with the LaTeX changes Package

The changes package is for tracking edits and review notes in a LaTeX document. If by a “remark” you mean a comment to a coauthor or reviewer, use its \comment command. If you mean a piece of explanatory prose that belongs in the final paper, define a remark environment instead; the two serve different purposes.

Add a review comment with changes

Load changes in the preamble. The package provides commands for additions, deletions, replacements, highlights, and comments. You can define an author so comments and edits can be attributed and displayed consistently.

Here is a complete example:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{changes}

\definechangesauthor[name={Reviewer}, color=blue]{rev}

\begin{document}

The result follows from the stated assumptions.
\comment[id=rev]{Check whether a citation is needed here.}

\added[id=rev]{This sentence was added during revision.}

\end{document}

The author definition has two parts: rev is the identifier used in commands, while Reviewer and blue specify the displayed name and color. The required argument to \comment is the comment text. The package’s markup determines how the note appears in the document; it is not ordinary prose that automatically becomes part of the final text.

For other tracked edits, the common commands are \added[id=rev]{new text}, \deleted[id=rev]{old text}, and \replaced[id=rev]{new text}{old text}. Use these for changes to the manuscript itself, rather than using a comment to describe an edit that the package can mark directly.

Keep comments out of the final version

During editing, the package displays change markup by default. To prepare a clean version, load the package with its final option:

\usepackage[final]{changes}

In final mode, the package suppresses its review markup. Keep the ordinary source commands in place if you want to switch between review and clean output by changing the package option. Check the resulting PDF before submission, especially if you have customized the package’s markup or use comments in tight layouts.

Use a remark environment for permanent text

A mathematical remark is often a numbered or titled block that readers should see in the published paper. That is not a review comment. Define such an environment with amsthm:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsthm}

\theoremstyle{remark}
\newtheorem{remark}{Remark}

\begin{document}

\begin{remark}
The assumption that the matrix is invertible is needed for uniqueness.
\end{remark}

\end{document}

This creates a numbered Remark heading and includes the text as part of the document. If you want remarks numbered within sections, use \newtheorem{remark}{Remark}[section]; the counter then restarts with each section.

Common mistakes

• Using \comment for published explanation: A review annotation is meant for the editing process. Use a remark environment or regular prose for text that should remain in the final paper.
• Leaving out the author definition: If a comment refers to an author ID such as rev, define that ID with \definechangesauthor in the preamble.
• Confusing a comment with an edit: Use \added, \deleted, or \replaced to mark manuscript changes. Use \comment to leave a note about the text.
• Expecting comments to print in final mode: The final option suppresses change markup. Compile in the normal review mode when you need to inspect annotations.
• Putting complex content in a comment: Review annotations are best kept short. Complicated material, fragile commands, or substantial equations are usually clearer in a separate note or in the manuscript itself.

In short, \comment[id=...]{...} is the package command for a review remark; amsthm’s remark environment is the appropriate choice for a formal remark in the finished document.