Okay, now for something completely practical: a guide to using Word’s Track Changes feature. You all know how much I detest Word (or indeed anything Microsoft), but it’s impossible to not use it, and this feature will enable you and your editor (or you and your writer!) to communicate effectively when making edits and changes to a manuscript.
Starting Out
On a Macintosh machine:
- Open the Word menu
- Select Preferences
- Select the Track Changes button on the left
- Choose the color to display changes. Your best bet is to select red for deletions and blue for insertions.
On a Windows machine:
- Open the Tools menu
- Select Options
- Select the Track Changes tab
- Choose the color to display changes
Comments
Depending on what version of Word you’re using, your editor’s comments may appear in a balloon that becomes visible when you pass your cursor over a word or words that are highlighted in yellow. They may appear to the right of the text, in the margin.
The editor uses the comments fields to ask you about something that is unclear in the text, query something that may not be correct, and to make suggestions.
Viewing Edits
To see all the edits (both Macintosh and Windows):
- Open the Tools menu
- Select Track Changes
- Select Highlight Changes
- Select Highlight Changes on Screen
If you would prefer to read through the manuscript without seeing each individual change (both Macintosh and Windows):
- Open the Tools menu
- Select Track Changes
- Select Highlight Changes
- Remove the check next to Highlight Changes on Screen
Note: This will not remove the changes, it just means that they will not be displayed. You can always display the changes again by following the directions above.
Accepting and Rejecting Changes
When you receive your document back from Customline Wordware, you have the opportunity to accept the changes if you like them, or reject them if you do not.
- Open the Tools menu
- Select Track Changes
- Select Accept or Reject Changes
You then have the opportunity to Accept All or Reject All changes, or to view them individually and choose whether to accept them or not.
So: there it is. Any questions about using Track Changes in Word? Let me know. And then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!
Tags: Microsoft Word, Track Changes feature, Using Microsoft Word, Using Track Changes
