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How do I enable "track changes" in Microsoft Word?

I've moved into a new position at work and am now responsible for editing press releases to ensure they have proper grammar prior to their release. In the past, I've seen people work with Microsoft Word such that any changes they make are highlighted on the screen, easily tracked, but I have no idea how to do that. How do I turn it on?


Dave's Answer:

The feature you're talking about is "change tracking" though most people I know call it "revision tracking". Same thing. To enable it, you simply select "highlight changes" from the "change tracking" option under "Tools":

Microsoft Word: Track Changes / Revision Tracking

Once you've done that, it pulls up a small dialog box that gives you access to the critical setting:

Microsoft Word: Track Changes / Revision Tracking

As you can doubtless guess, the key box to check is "Track changes while editing". Now the program is keeping track of any tweaks you -- or anyone else in your organization -- makes. Usually you'll want to show the changes on screen and with printouts, but you can turn that off, as you can see, and it still keeps track of everything. Very useful.

Now, when you add or delete material, it shows you visually what's happened:

Microsoft Word: Track Changes / Revision Tracking: Showing Changes

This is the old style revision tracking, actually. You might start out with "edit balloons", which some people prefer, but I like the old style because it lets you have more of the document on screen. You can switch between them by clicking on the "Options..." button on the earlier dialog box. The key setting is "Use balloons to display changes". Try both, see which you prefer!

When you're done with all of your editing, don't forget to accept the changes, either en masse or stepping through them one-by-one by using "Accept or Reject Changes..." off the Tools --> Track Changes menu, as shown above.


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Categorized: Computer and Internet Basics   (Article 7752, Written by )
Tagged: change tracking, document editing, microsoft word
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Reader Comments To Date: 1

nila said, on August 16, 2010 6:09 PM:

Hi Dave,
Parts of a word document I've been working on seems to be lost when I opened the file yesterday. I tried different file recovery software but it did not turn up. The document up to where I was last working is missing but the final six pages are still there, which I haven't started working on yet.
This paper is for a conference that will take place on this friday morning and therefore I'm frantic with worry. it would be much, much appreciated if you can help me by telling me a way to recover the lost content. I didn't have back ups enabled and when I searched for temporary files, these don't appear in the folder.
could you please take the time to advice me how to get this resolved?
thanks so much in advance.

Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











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