Track changes - insertions and deletions

[Jo]

I'm using Word 2002. Is it possible to track insertions by underlining in
red, and deletions by strikethrough in blue?
Thanks.

 

[macropod]

Hi Jo,

To do that, you configure 'Track Changes' via Tools|Options|Track Changes.

Cheers

--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]


| I'm using Word 2002. Is it possible to track insertions by underlining in
| red, and deletions by strikethrough in blue?
| Thanks.

 

[Jo]

Thanks. What I'm wanting though is to use two different colours - one for
insertions and one for deletions. Do you know if this is possible, or is
there only the one-colour option for both?

 

[Lene Fredborg]

In Word 2003, you can set different colors for insertions, deletions, etc.
However, in Word 2002, you can set only one color _per user_ for all types of
revisions (if Color is set to "By author"), or one color for all users (the
other Color options).

I think the only way you can obtain what you want in Word 2002 is to set the
Color to “By author†and change your user name (Tools > Options > User
Information tab) so that you use one name when inserting text and another
when deleting text. Even though macros could be used to quickly change the
name it may not be an appropriate solution.

--
Regards
Lene Fredborg
DocTools – Denmark
www.thedoctools.com
Document automation – add-ins, macros and templates for Microsoft Word

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

As Lene has told you, these options are available in Word 2003 but not in
Word 2002. When the new UI for Track Changes was introduced in Word 2002,
some of it wasn't as carefully thought out as it should have been, and its
errors and omissions were corrected in Word 2003. It is possible to change
its behavior through Registry edits, however; for a macro to do this, see
http://gregmaxey.mvps.org/Put_Track_Changes_Back_On_Track.htm.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Glad I could help.

 

[Sharon]

I used this macro, great! There is only one problem...when I email a copy of
the tracked document to someone it shows all deletions and additions in
violet, not additions underlined in blue and deletions struckthrough in red.
How do I change the macro to email in the red and blue instead of violet. I
am also running Word 2002. Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The appearance of tracked changes on any given machine is dependent on the
settings on that machine. There is no way you can change the settings on the
recipient's machine short of an AutoOpen macro in your document, and, if the
recipient actually allows the macro to run (which is unlikely), he may not
thank you for it!

 

[Sharon]

Suzanne, I shared the macro with my regulator, so she should be able to use
it as I did and see the red and blue. Is this correct, that she will now see
the same thing in red and blue as I do? And you said something that made me
curious..."actually allows the macro to run (which is unlikely), he may not
thank you for it!" What do you mean by that? I really don't understand that
much about macros, I do Know if they are not from a reliable source that they
can cause you problems, right?

 

[Dan Freeman]

Not just because macros can cause problems.

It is decidedly uncool to mess with someone else's settings without their
permission. They may have chosen specific colors, to name one of a few
thousand things, to suit their working style or to compensate for a physical
handicap. I once had a job where I had two direct bosses. Each was color
blind, in different ways. It was a nightmare finding color combinations that
both could see.

No software should fiddle with a user's personal settings.

Dan

 

[Sharon]

Dan, what I am saying is that the regulator asked me for the macro and I
emailed it to her. I would not never mess with anyone's settings. But I had
two questions...One, I was asking why are macros dangerous (this is my first
time to use a macro) and two, the end of the macro given to me has the color
as violet.I found out yesterday when I email to my regulator she sees my
changes in violet and I wanted to know if I could change that to red and
blue. --
slb

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Unless the regulator also has Word 2002, she should be able to set the
colors to suit herself without using the macro. If she requested the macro
and installed it herself, then that's okay. If, after installing and running
the macro, she's still not seeing the desired colors in your document, then
there's something else going on. Either the file is losing something in
transmission (in which case you might try zipping it before sending), or she
hasn't followed instructions correctly. Instead of sending her the macro
yourself, you might have referred her to Greg's page and let her download it
herself (and perhaps that's what you did do). At this point, though, I think
you have made a good-faith effort, and if the regulator can't get the
desired effects, the problem is entirely on her machine.

This is what you have to get across to her. You might refer her to Shauna
Kelly's article at
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/trackchanges/HowTrackChangesWorks.html.
Emphasize to her that the way markup is displayed on her computer is
entirely the result of her own settings, not anything that you put into the
document. Also, it makes a big difference whether you set specific colors
for *all* additions and deletions or choose "By Author," which will result
in different colors for each reviewer.