Track Changes in software inconsistent between tool bar and menu

[Gifteddood]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

When I open Track Changes in a Word document, there seem to be two versions with different default preferences. One app is accessed through Word, the other through Reviewing. Do I have a conflict? It has made it hard to work on a Word document.

 

[CyberTaz]

You'll need to be more explicit about this... Details & specifics including
history & content of the document. Just that one, or are you experiencing
the same thing in any/all? It's hard to envision what you're referring to.

There is only one Track Changes which is a _feature_ of Word, not an "app",
its settings are controlled by way of Word> Preferences> Track Changes, and
it's turned on/off in the Tools menu. The Reviewing Toolbar is a
"convenience item" which provides tools for use in a document where Track
Changes or Comments are active. I have no idea what you mean by "One app is
accessed through Word, the other through Reviewing."

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Gifteddood]

Have tried to figure out how to describe what is happening.
Perhaps it is the norm.
When I hit the Delete key after selecting a word in the text, the deleted word is crossed out, and the replacement appears to the left of the word.
When I select a word, don't hit the Delete key, and insert a new word, the selected word is crossed out, and the new word appears on the right. This makes it very confusing for the person I am copyediting for. What procedure can I follow to avoid this?
I can't find a detailed tutorial anywhere for Track Changes for Office 2008 for Mac. Thanks.

 

[CyberTaz]

That's happening because the changes being made in each instance -- although
resulting in the same content -- are different types of changes, therefore
they're being tracked accordingly. IOW,

Instance 1= One Deletion + One Insertion

Instance 2= One Replacement, not 2 separate actions

I don't know of any way to cause that to work differently.

 

[Gifteddood]

Thanks - now i have a reason - although I think it will be like trying to relearn how to type.

Any suggestions on where I can find a detailed tutorial for Track Changes? The one on your website, while helpful, is not detailed enough for my purposes. What happens, for instance, when I change punctuation? How should I show this so my collaborator sees that it was changed, not just added, if it was missing to begin with - such as quotation marks, period at end of a sentence, missing half of parentheses? If I add it, it will show in the color I choose, but is there a way to show that it was a change, other than the use of balloons?

 

[John McGhie]

Yes: Insertions and deletions are shown as different colours (if you set
your preferences that way).

So if you change , to ; that will show as one deletion and one insertion:
conventionally, a red , and a blue ;

Cheers

Thanks - now i have a reason - although I think it will be like trying to
relearn how to type.

Any suggestions on where I can find a detailed tutorial for Track Changes? The
one on your website, while helpful, is not detailed enough for my purposes.
What happens, for instance, when I change punctuation? How should I show this
so my collaborator sees that it was changed, not just added, if it was missing
to begin with - such as quotation marks, period at end of a sentence, missing
half of parentheses? If I add it, it will show in the color I choose, but is
there a way to show that it was a change, other than the use of balloons?

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[CyberTaz]

Use the Reviewing Pane [last button or Show button list on the Reviewing
Toolbar]. All changes will be identified individually in list form.

One of the best references on using Word [in general] is "Bend Word To Your
Will" by Clive Huggan. It's available as a free download from the following
link. It hasn't been updated for Word 2008, but nothing has really changed
in the functionality. Track Changes is dealt with beginning on page 69.

http://word.mvps.org/Mac/Bend/BendWordToYourWill.html

You'll find the consensus of opinion, however, is to avoid Track Changes &
use Compare Documents instead. Details are included in Bend Word &
comparable suggestions are "borrowed" from a recent reply by John McGhie:

*****************************************************************
It's risky to attempt to co-edit with change tracking if one of you is on a
PC and the other on a Mac. There's a high chance of corrupting the
document.

It is better for each of you to work on your own copy, without tracking any
changes, and then to use the Compare and Merge function to merge the two
sets of changes into the original document.

That will show you who made each change, and has a very low chance of
corrupting the document.

You should both be working in the same format: for preference, work in the
XML format, it stands a lot more abuse.

There's an online course that covers the basics: look up the Word 2008 Help
for "Collaborate effectively with Track Changes" (and make sure you allow
the Help System to go online ‹ this is one of many items that are not
installed on the local computer).

Compare documents is in the topic "Compare two versions of a document". What
it doesn't tell you is to start with the original, then merge both his and
your changes into the same document: you will get two sets of changes.

Be careful of your "Privacy" settings: if you have "Remove personally
identifiable information" set, you remove the ability to track WHO made each
change. If you also disable "Store random number" (which appears only on
the PC...) you disable Word's ability to track changes within changes.

For balloons to show up, you need to have them turned on, and you need to
set the options in preferences according to what you want to see in them.
Then in the Reviewing toolbar, you need to adjust the viewing preferences to
your taste.

Hope this helps
*****************************************************************

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Gifteddood]

Getting there - thanks again.