Ten Steps to a Successful Track Changes Experience

Here’s the scenario. You send the first draft of your company’s web content (that you’ve written in Word) to a co-worker only to have the document returned with red lines and comments all over it. You reply, “I can’t even read this thing! What happened?”

I’ll tell you what happened. You’ve been hit with Track Changes, and it’s not such a bad thing.

When passing a Word document between users, the Track Changes feature makes it easy to see the edits/additions the other users have made. Track Changes means you don’t have to print a document to mark your edits and you don’t have to use all kinds of funny font types and colors to indicate your changes (that’s when things really get messy).

10 Steps to Using Track Changes in Microsoft Office Word 2007

1. Once the Track Changes feature has been turned on (under the Review menu, click Track Changes), any new type will appear in a new color — every user that edits the doc will be assigned a different color.

2. Any text deleted will be marked with a strike through (example of strike through).

3. You have the option to view the edits within the text itself or in Balloons to the right of the page (choose your preference under Review > Balloons).

4. Avoid typing notes to the other users within the content of the document, even if you use all caps or a different color font. Instead, insert notes into a comment (Review > New Comment) and enter your ideas there. This prevents your miscellaneous ideas from becoming part of the final content later.

5. To toggle between edits select the “Previous” or “Next” button.

6. When reviewing a particular edit select “Agree” or “Disagree.” Once you choose either of these options, the content will be changed for good.

7. You can keep Track Changes on, but hide the edit marks by selecting “Insertions and Deletions” under Review > Show Markup. This will make it easier to read the document when reviewing those edits.

8. Copying chunks of text gets tricky with Track Changes.  I recommend turning off Track Changes before cutting large sections of text and pasting that text in the new spot before you turn Track Changes back on. If you want to indicate you made this change without the Track Changes, mention it in a comment.

9. When you are satisfied with the changes, select Accept All and turn off the Track Changes feature. Before emailing the document, double check that all changes were accepted.

10. Run a final Spell Check and do a thorough proofread with Track Changes turned off. It is very easy to incorporate spacing errors with Track Changes, so take special note.

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