TECHNOLOGY TIPS — Tips for Working with Word’s Track Changesn0ARTOF
Randall Farrar
[email protected]
951-506-5641
ing [Ctrl]+[Shift]+E turns it On (see Figure 2) and pressing
[Ctrl]+[Shift]+E again turns it Off (see Figure 1).
s
s
4URN 4RACK #HANGES /N OR /FF USING THE -OUSE
0OINT TO THE 4RACK #HANGES STATUS BUTTON ON THE STATUS BAR
with your mouse. (see Figure 1 & 2).
s
#LICK THE LEFT MOUSE BUTTON ,IKE THE KEYBOARD APPROACH
this is a toggle so clicking again turns Track Changes OFF.
What are Track Changes?
-ICROSOFT 7ORDS 4RACK #HANGES FEATURE IS AN ELECTRONIC TEXT
recorder, similar to traditional redlining. Microsoft Word uses
Display Track Changes the Way You Want
Track Changes to track (record) the changes you and others make
The way you want it? That's kind of a misnomer, because Mi-
to a document. Then, you can then choose to accept or reject
crosoft Word doesn't give you a lot of Track Changes formatting
those changes.
mEXIBILITY 7HAT MAKES IT MORE CONFUSING IS THAT YOU CANT CONTROL
how others view your tracked changes.
"E AWARE ! SIGNIlCANT SHORTCOMING OF FORMATTING 4RACK
Why Use Them?
As an example, Joel creates a document and emails it to a
Changes is that it is user specific. That is, Track Changes only re-
client, Susan, for further revisions. Susan revises the document
flects the formatting configuration of each individual's machine.
with Track Changes turned on. When Susan emails the document
If a document is opened on another user's machine, the tracked
back to Joel, he can see what changes Susan has made.
CHANGES ARE FORMATTED ACCORDING TO THAT USERS SETTINGS 5NLESS
everyone involved in the collaboration has Track Changes for-
Identify Whether Track Changes Are On or Off
Let's admit it, turning Track Changes on or off is not the most
matted the same, it makes it difficult to visually distinguish the
changes made by each author.
intuitive feature in Microsoft Word. Often it's hard to tell if Track
Changes is enabled. There's no neon sign in Microsoft Word that
Displaying the Track Changes Dialog Box
To change the formatting of tracked changes use the Track
says TRACK CHANGES IS ON. That would be nice, but it's not the
case. The only reliable and quick indication is to look at Word's
Changes Options dialog box (see Figure 3).
4O VIEW THE 4RACK #HANGES /PTIONS DIALOG BOX
Status bar located at the bottom of your screen (see Figure 1).
If the Track Changes button says “Off” your changes are not
being tracked (see Figure 1).
s
s
3ELECT THE 2EVIEW RIBBON
)N THE h4RACKINGv GROUP CLICK THE DROP DOWN MENU ON THE
Track Changes button.
Figure 1 Word's Status bar showing Track Changes is OFF
If the Track Changes button says “On” then your changes are
s
3ELECT h#HANGE 4RACKING /PTIONSv &IGURE s
4HE 4RACK #HANGES /PTIONS DIALOG BOX DISPLAYS &IGURE s
&ROM HERE YOU CAN CHANGE THE WAY INSERTIONS DELETIONS
moves, etc, look in the edited document.
being tracked (see Figure 2).
Figure 2 Word's Status bar showing Track Changes is ON.
It's simple. All you have to do is keep an eye on Word's status bar and the Track Changes button and you'll know instantly
whether the Track Changes feature is On or Off.
Know How to Turn Them On or Off – The Basics
Ok, now how do you turn Track Changes on? The answer is
Figure 3
Change Tracking Options
there's a long way and a short way to do it. Choose the approach
you feel most comfortable.
s
4URN 4RACK #HANGES /N OR /FF USING A KEYBOARD SHORTCUT
To turn Track Changes on using the keyboard shortcut,
Figure 4
press [Ctrl]+[Shift]+E. This is a toggle. That means that press-
Track Changes Options Dialog Box
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Greater Los Angeles Leadership Exchange
Power tip: Access the Track Changes options dialog box
quickly by creating a keyboard shortcut:
s
#LICK ON THE /FlCE "UTTON IN THE TOP LEFT OF YOUR SCREEN
(Figure 5) and select “Word Options.”
Figure 7: Customize Keyboard Dialog Box
Changing the Way Tracked Changes Look
There are many ways to format Track Changes, but for the sake
Figure 5 Office Button
of simplicity let's focus on two Best Practice approaches. First is
s
s
3ELECT h#USTOMIZEv
to show deletions and insertions as a specific format. Second is to
)N THE #USTOMIZE DIALOG BOX &IGURE CLICK THE h#USTOM-
show deletions and insertions by Author.
ize” button next to “Keyboard shortcuts.”
c. Showing Deletions and Insertions as a Specific Format
For reviewing purposes, the format that is easiest to read and
is most familiar is Insertion markups set to Underline and Blue
(see Figure 8) and Deletions set to Strikethrough and Red.
Tracking formatting changes, for the most part, are unnecessary and should be set at None.
Change Lines are the real jewel of Track Changes. They can
make the reviewing and collaboration process much faster by
pinpointing the exact place in the document tracked changes are
made. It is best to set them at Left border and color set to Auto.
Balloons can be confusing, compress the printed document,
and are a little irritating, so it is recommended that you turn them
off by selecting Never.
Figure 6 Customize Dialog Box
s
)N THE h#ATEGORIESv LIST BOX SELECT h2EVIEW 4ABv
(Figure 7).
s
)N THE h#OMMANDSv LIST BOX SELECT h4RACK #HANGES
Figure 8 Example of Insertions and Deletions using the format-
Options.”
#LICK IN THE h0RESS NEW SHORTCUT KEYv TEXT BOX
ting described above
s
s
4YPE ;!LT=/ OR ANY KEYBOARD SHORT CUT YOU WANT
s
4HE h#URRENT KEYSv SHOULD SAY ;UNASSIGNED= )F NOT
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#LICK THE h!SSIGNv BUTTON
s
#LICK #LOSE
way to collaborate on a document because the Tracked Changes
s
#LICK #LOSE AT THE #USTOMIZE DIALOG BOX
are shown in a different color for each author (see Figure 10). In
s
3HOWING $ELETIONS AND )NSERTIONS BY !UTHOR
then choose another keyboard shortcut combination.
Distinguishing deletions and insertions by author is a great
the example below, insertion markups are set as Underline and
Now when you type [Alt]+O the Track Changes options dialog
box appears (see Figure 4).
February 2010
the color is set to show by Author (see Figure 9). Deletions are set
as Strikethrough and Author.
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Figure 12 Review Ribbon - and the Display for Review list box
Most of the time you want to see the document as close to the
final version as possible. The Final Showing Markup view does
this by showing the final text with all tracked changes displayed.
Don’t Get Confused with the Display for Review List
Box
Understanding each of these displays will help to decide
which one to use.
Here's a list of the other three views and a description of
EACH
Figure 9 Track Changes Option Dialog Box by Author
The more you understand how Track Changes works the more
EFlCIENT YOU CAN BE )N NEXT MONTHS SECTION ) WILL PROVIDE MORE
TIPS ON 7ORDS 4RACK #HANGES FOCUSING ON TIPS FOR WORKING WITH
7ORDS NATIVE #OMPARE FEATURE
Figure 10 Track Changes formatted by Author as described
above
About The Author: Randall Farrar is the president and cofounder of Esquire Innovations, Inc. (esqinc.com), a software com-
Make Sure You’re Viewing All of Your Track Changes
Did you know you could be working on a document and adding tracked changes and not be aware of it? That's right; Micro-
pany that develops Microsoft Office integrated applications for the
legal market, located in Temecula, CA. He can be reached at [email protected]
soft has made Word's Track Changes so versatile that one can
very easily (if not aware) be working on a document and not see
the tracked changes.
The Review Ribbon
The Reviewing Ribbon is your Track Changes command center (see Figure 11). In Word 2007 whenever you are working with
Track Changes you should ensure that you have the Review Ribbon displayed.
Figure 11 Review Ribbon
From the Review Ribbon you can tell Word which changes you want to view, using the Display for Review list box
(see Figure 12).
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