Why an .pages file won't open on Chromebook
When someone saves a word-processing document in Apple Pages, it gets an .pages extension - Apple's proprietary format, the iWork cousin of Microsoft Word. ChromeOS and Google Drive don't understand Apple's iWork formats, so the file just downloads and sits there with no preview and no app willing to read it.
Nothing is actually broken. The author saved it on a Mac, iPad or iPhone where it opens perfectly, and forgot that on Chromebook the file is a locked box. People often assume it's corrupted or that the sender made a mistake, when really Chromebook simply doesn't speak Apple's format.
What an .pages file actually is
Here's the trick that makes it easy: an .pages file is really a ZIP archive in disguise. Inside, Apple Pages stores its document data plus a ready-to-view QuickLook PDF preview, so Finder and Mail can show a snapshot without launching the full app. That embedded PDF is the key to viewing the document anywhere.
You could prove it by renaming the file from MyFile.pages to MyFile.zip and digging out the preview PDF by hand - but on Chromebook that's fiddly and easy to get wrong. The tool on this page does it for you automatically: it opens the ZIP in your browser, finds the PDF, and shows it, with no renaming and no guesswork.
The fastest way: open it right here on Chromebook
The tool at the top of this page is the quickest route for a Chromebook user. Drop the .pages file in and it is unzipped locally by JavaScript, the embedded PDF is extracted, and the document appears on screen. Nothing to install, no account, and crucially nothing is uploaded - the file is read entirely inside your browser, so even confidential documents stay on your Chromebook (ChromeOS).
From there you can download a PDF copy. That single step solves the problem permanently: a PDF opens in every app, so you never have to wrestle with the .pages extension again. It also works where you're not allowed to install software, which is a common reason Chromebook users get stuck.
Other ways to open .pages on Chromebook (and their downsides)
iCloud.com is a free option if you have an Apple ID: upload the file to iCloud Drive, open it in Apple Pages for iCloud, and read or export it. The downsides are creating or signing into an Apple account and uploading your private document to Apple's servers, which is slower and less private than a local tool on Chromebook.
Online converters like Zamzar or CloudConvert can turn .pages into PDF or Word format, but again you upload your file to a third-party cloud, often hit a free-conversion limit, and may wait in a queue. For a one-off Chromebook user, opening it right here is simply the path of least resistance.