When a comment is appropriate, position the cursor at the place you’re referencing, or simply select the text. If you use a comment to suggest everything, the author will work harder than necessary by having to implement changes instead of accepting them. You can save the author time by making editing changes that you know must be made. There’s a danger that users who are unfamiliar with the feature will use comments for everything. Here’s why: editing changes require that the author stop and reject or accept the edits, but the author can delete all the comments with one quick action. When this happens, use a comment to suggest the change. You will, however, run into changes that are preferential. Doing so makes it easy for the author to accept the change and move on to the next edit. While in the editor role, it’s efficient to mark changes, such as typos and other formatting changes that you know must be made. In this case, you’d open the Track Changes Options ( Figure D) and uncheck the Track Formatting option. For instance, perhaps you don’t want to view formatting changes. You might find that you don’t need to view all revision notes, and Word will let you remove some of them. By default, the color for many edits is dependent on the reviewer, but you can force a specific color that’s independent of the reviewer. Word will assign a different markup color for each user so you can easily track multiple reviewers. Spend a little time reviewing these options so you can customize the settings to your advantage.įigure D You can change the default formats. In 2010, choose Change Tracking Options from the Track Changes drop-down. In the resulting dialog, click Advanced Options. Most people never change the default formats, but you can by clicking the dialog launcher for the Tracking group. Figure C shows a simple markup including deleted and added text, among other changes.įigure C Track Changes lets you see suggested changes. Instead, Word displays it using its Strikeout font. For example, if you delete text, it doesn’t disappear. With Track Changes enabled, changes are visible in markup form. That way, the author has fewer stops to make during the last edit. Make your change, and then click the indicator again to turn the feature back on. If a change is necessary - not preferential - and you don’t need the author’s permission, you can temporarily disable Track Changes by clicking the Status bar indicator. In addition, you can add the Track Changes indicator, shown in Figure B, to the Status bar by right-clicking the Status bar and selecting Track Changes.įigure B Add the Track Changes indicator to the Status bar. The button acts as a toggle - click it to enable it, click it again to disable it.įigure A A background color indicates that the feature is enabled. When it’s disabled, the background is transparent. When Track Changes is enabled, the option’s background is solid, as shown in Figure A. Users are often confused by this feature’s on and off status. In Word 2003, display the Reviewing toolbar by choosing Toolbars from the View menu and checking Reviewing. Then, select Track Changes from the drop-down’s list. To enable Track Changes, click the Review tab and then click the Track Changes option in the Tracking group. If you need a version history or you want to collaborate with others, use Track Changes. You can edit a document without using Track Changes - simply make your changes. If you’re still using Word 2003, your document won’t match those shown in this article, but the basic options are still available. Note: You can use most any document with plenty of text to edit if you’d like to follow along with the examples. In this article, we’ll review the basics so you can put its flexibility to work for you. It’s a collaborative tool that’s easy to use, but some users struggle with its many options and fail to get the most out of it. Word’s Track Changes feature is similar, but edits and changes are made electronically. If you were in the publishing industry, you had specific marks to identify changes and you probably made suggestions in the margins. When editing documents in the old days, we passed around a printed document and used different colored pens. When using Word's Track Changes features, you need to know all the basics before you can put its advanced options to work for you. Microsoft Office Word 101: Use Track Changes more efficiently
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