Can track changes be turned off when sending Word docs through ema

[lkthompson]

Reps at my employer use a web-based database (Siebel) to handle customer
calls, and they send emails with Word attachments. We're in the process of
upgrading everyone to Office 2003, but there are problems that need to be
solved before going any further. I have been all over microsoft forums and
help sites to figure this out - I know how to permanently turn off track
changes so that when you open a doc in Word, you will not see the track
changes because they are hidden.

However, they are still in the doc and will be transmitted if sent
electronically...the recipient will probably have the track changes view on,
as it is the default setting. With 2002, we did not have this problem,
because the default setting was NORMAL.

We have hundreds, probably thousands of Word files in the database that can
be sent as attachments. Not all of them were saved with the markup view on,
but a lot were. We cannot go through every one and resave them by Accepting
Changes, saving and publishing them again.

I went to Tools > Options > Security, and I checked "Warn before printing,
saving, or sending..." and unchecked "Make hidden markup visible when opening
a file." The second part helps, but I tested this by sending one of the
markedup files to my email through the database. No warning, and the track
changes were there, of course.

Is there any way around this? It's very frustrating, and while I understand
that Microsoft was trying to prevent markedup docs from being sent, it's a
hard feature to turn off and confuses lots of people. I really appreciate any
help.

Thanks.

 

[Jay Freedman]

You need to understand that *not displaying* tracked changes isn't the same
as *not having* tracked changes. Even when you used Word 2002, the changes
were still in the documents, and anyone could see them just by turning on
the display. All that has happened in 2003 is that the display is
automatic -- and that is to protect you against exactly the situation you're
complaining about.

The way to have documents in which changes are not displayable is to remove
the changes from the documents entirely -- and to do that you must *accept
or reject* all the changes. Nothing you do with the view will be sufficient.

If you need to retain a record of the changes, you'll have to maintain two
sets of documents: one with the changes, which *never* leave your office,
and another that has been "scrubbed" and can be sent out.

Read these articles for more information:

Remove Hidden Data add-in for Office 2003 and Office XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=834427
Protecting Personal Data in Your Word 2003 Documents
http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/libra...a/html/odc_WDProtectWord2003.asp--Regards,Jay FreedmanMicrosoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.orgEmail cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup soall may benefit.lkthompson wrote:> Reps at my employer use a web-based database (Siebel) to handle> customer calls, and they send emails with Word attachments. We're in> the process of upgrading everyone to Office 2003, but there are> problems that need to be solved before going any further. I have been> all over microsoft forums and help sites to figure this out - I know> how to permanently turn off track changes so that when you open a doc> in Word, you will not see the track changes because they are hidden.>> However, they are still in the doc and will be transmitted if sent> electronically...the recipient will probably have the track changes> view on, as it is the default setting. With 2002, we did not have> this problem, because the default setting was NORMAL.>> We have hundreds, probably thousands of Word files in the database> that can be sent as attachments. Not all of them were saved with the> markup view on, but a lot were. We cannot go through every one and> resave them by Accepting Changes, saving and publishing them again.>> I went to Tools > Options > Security, and I checked "Warn before> printing, saving, or sending..." and unchecked "Make hidden markup> visible when opening a file." The second part helps, but I tested> this by sending one of the markedup files to my email through the> database. No warning, and the track changes were there, of course.>> Is there any way around this? It's very frustrating, and while I> understand that Microsoft was trying to prevent markedup docs from> being sent, it's a hard feature to turn off and confuses lots of> people. I really appreciate any help.>> Thanks.

 

[lkthompson]

Thanks very much. It's what I expected. I guess people haven't complained
about it before because they couldn't see it.

You need to understand that *not displaying* tracked changes isn't the same
as *not having* tracked changes. Even when you used Word 2002, the changes
were still in the documents, and anyone could see them just by turning on
the display. All that has happened in 2003 is that the display is
automatic -- and that is to protect you against exactly the situation you're
complaining about.

The way to have documents in which changes are not displayable is to remove
the changes from the documents entirely -- and to do that you must *accept
or reject* all the changes. Nothing you do with the view will be sufficient.

If you need to retain a record of the changes, you'll have to maintain two
sets of documents: one with the changes, which *never* leave your office,
and another that has been "scrubbed" and can be sent out.

Read these articles for more information:

Remove Hidden Data add-in for Office 2003 and Office XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=834427
Protecting Personal Data in Your Word 2003 Documents
http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/libra...a/html/odc_WDProtectWord2003.asp--Regards,Jay FreedmanMicrosoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.orgEmail cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup soall may benefit.lkthompson wrote:> Reps at my employer use a web-based database (Siebel) to handle> customer calls, and they send emails with Word attachments. We're in> the process of upgrading everyone to Office 2003, but there are> problems that need to be solved before going any further. I have been> all over microsoft forums and help sites to figure this out - I know> how to permanently turn off track changes so that when you open a doc> in Word, you will not see the track changes because they are hidden.>> However, they are still in the doc and will be transmitted if sent> electronically...the recipient will probably have the track changes> view on, as it is the default setting. With 2002, we did not have> this problem, because the default

setting was NORMAL.>> We have hundreds, probably thousands of Word files in the database> that can be sent as attachments. Not all of them were saved with the> markup view on, but a lot were. We cannot go through every one and> resave them by Accepting Changes, saving and publishing them again.>> I went to Tools > Options > Security, and I checked "Warn before> printing, saving, or sending..." and unchecked "Make hidden markup> visible when opening a file." The second part helps, but I tested> this by sending one of the markedup files to my email through the> database. No warning, and the track changes were there, of course.>> Is there any way around this? It's very frustrating, and while I> understand that Microsoft was trying to prevent markedup docs from> being sent, it's a hard feature to turn off and confuses lots of> people. I really appreciate any help.>> Thanks.