# Set a review status on an item

> Select a video, image, PDF, Pactto Doc, or board and pick a status (Draft, In progress, Needs review, Needs changes, Approved, or your own) from the status menu in its title bar.

Category: Review and feedback
Web page: https://www.pactto.com/help/review-status
All guides: https://www.pactto.com/help.md

## Track where each item is in review

Every video, image, PDF, Pactto Doc, and board in a room has a review status. It shows as a colored dot and a label in the item's title bar, and everyone in the room sees the same status in real time. New items start as **Draft**.

The built-in statuses are:

| Status | Color |
|---|---|
| **Draft** | Gray (the default) |
| **In progress** | Blue |
| **Needs review** | Yellow |
| **Needs changes** | Orange |
| **Approved** | Green |

### Change the status

1. Click the item on the canvas to select it.
2. In the title bar at the top of the item, click the status (dot, label, and arrow).
3. Pick a status from the list. The current one has a checkmark. The menu closes and the new status shows right away.

For a board, select the board and use the status in the board's title bar. In Focus mode, the status appears in the header next to the item's name.

### Add your own status

1. Open the status menu as above.
2. Click **Add status**.
3. Type a name in **Status name** and, if you like, click the dot to the left to choose a color.
4. Press Enter. The new status is added to the list for the whole room.

Custom statuses can be renamed, recolored, or deleted from the same menu (hover the status to see the pencil and trash icons, or click its dot to change the color). The five built-in statuses cannot be renamed, recolored, or deleted.

### Who can do it

- The room owner and people with the **Can edit** or **Can review** role can change statuses.
- People with the **Can view** role and guests do not see the status menu.

### Good to know

- If you delete a custom status that items are using, those items go back to **Draft**.
- Statuses belong to the room. A custom status created in one room does not appear in other rooms.
- Status changes can be undone with the normal undo shortcut.
- A board can arrange its items into columns by status: open the board's layout menu and choose **Group by Status**. Dragging an item into another column changes its status.
- The AI assistant and connected AI tools (through the Pactto MCP server) can also set a status, with the same role rules.

## Related guides

- [Leave feedback with comments](https://www.pactto.com/help/comments.md): Click the Comment tool (or press K), then click an item or an empty spot on the canvas, type your feedback, and press Enter to post it.
- [See all comments in a room](https://www.pactto.com/help/comments-panel.md): Click the Comments button on the left edge of the room to open the Comments panel, where you can search, filter (All, Open, Resolved, Mine), reply, and jump to any comment.
- [Create a board and add items to it](https://www.pactto.com/help/boards.md): A board is a named container on the room canvas that groups items; draw one with the Board tool (B) or select items and choose Convert to Board, then drag or drop items into it.
- [Use the AI assistant in a room](https://www.pactto.com/help/ai-assistant.md): Click the AI Assistant button (sparkle icon, bottom right of the room) or Ask AI on a selected item, then type or dictate a question or instruction; the assistant answers from the room's content and can create notes, docs, images, comments, and more on the canvas.