Changing 'track changes' default settings in an existing file

[Amy]

I routinely receive documents created by others that require the use of
tracked changes at the point that I receive them, not before. New documents
that *I* create always have the settings that I prefer--inserts blue,
deletions red--but the received documents are all set to 'by author.'

I'm working with people who are confused/upset/occasionally panicked by the
on-screen craziness of a file with more than one editor, and all they really
need to see is what's going in and what's coming out anyway--hence my dislike
of 'by author'.

I understand that I (or anyone else) can change the settings during an
editing session; what I'm hoping is that there's a way to change the settings
so that the 'by author' settings aren't back in place every time the document
is reopened, by me or anyone else. I guess what I'm asking is if there's a
way to create what amounts to a 'default' setting for a single document that
will then travel with that document.

Amy

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The Track Changes setting are specific to a given computer. You will see
documents according to the settings in your copy of Word, and others will
see documents according to their settings. I think "By Author" is probably
the default, so that's what novice users are going to see. The only way you
can really help them is to instruct them on how to change their settings.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org