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Change Users
By default, changes and comments in the document are marked with the user's name. In some circumstances you and another user might use the same computer and the same copy of Word and, in this case, you will need to change the user name from one editing session to the next so changes are correctly identified.
To do this, from the Track Changes dropdown menu choose Change User Name and change the user name and initials in the Word Options dialog. When you do this the colors applied to any changes made from this time onwards will be colored according to the new user name.
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Resolve Changes
It's one thing to mark up all the changes you make to a document; it's quite something else to finalize the document by incorporating the changes or rejecting them. When you are ready to settle the document, from the Review tab on the Ribbon, locate the Changes group and select the Next button to move to the next change in the document. Click the Accept button to accept this change or click the Reject button to reject it.
When you accept a change, inserted text will be inserted into the document and deleted text will be permanently removed. A rejected change will be undone when you click it so deleted text will be undeleted and inserted text will be removed.
If you choose to reject changes involving moved text, and if the text has been subsequently altered, you'll need to choose which version of the text you want to use when undoing the move. The Tracked Moves Conflict Dialog lets you choose which text to reinstate in the document.
If you are unsure whether to Accept or Reject a change, you can click the Next button and proceed to the next change leaving the existing one to deal with later. Under the Accept and Reject buttons on the toolbar are the options for accepting and moving to the next change, accepting all changes in the document, rejecting and moving to the next change and rejecting all changes in the document.
Comments are managed the same way as changes, so when you click Next you'll be moved to the next change or comment in the document. To move through comments and not other changes, click the Next and Previous buttons in the Comments area of the Review tab.
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Avoid Embarrassing Problems
One thing to be aware of when you are working with tracking changes, particularly when you're viewing the Final version of the document, is saving the document with the changes stored in it. It's very easy to save and distribute a document with all your deletions and insertions stored in it, but that may not be something you want to do.
To avoid this, use the Inspect Document option before publishing or distributing a document where you have been working with tracked changes. This tool shows and can remove what is otherwise hidden in the document.
To do this, click the Office button, choose Prepare and then select Inspect Document. When you click Inspect you'll see if there are comments or revisions still marked in the document and you can then click the Remove All option to remove these. Here too you can remove personal information and custom XML data from the document.
When you work with others collaboratively you'll find that the Track Changes option is useful for not only giving everyone the chance to make changes or suggestions to the document but also for managing those suggestions and changes. Even if you're working on a document by yourself, you can use Track Changes to record the changes you make as you edit it.
Helen Bradley is a respected international journalist writing regularly for small business and computer publications in the USA, Canada, South Africa, UK and Australia. She blogs at http://www.projectwoman.com/blogger.html.
Be sure to check out all of Helen's articles in the Exploring Office 2007 series:
