Tracking changes with balloons

[docproteus]

Up until about a month ago I was using Office 2004 for Mac for writing.
When i would send something out and get changes back, they would be in
red and a line leading to the right hand side would attach to a balloon
with what had been there and an accept or decline tab. I recently
bought a full version of Office 2004 for mac and am using the track
changes feature for the first time. I wrote up a piece and sent it out
expecting what I usually had gotten as far as change formatting.
Instead, the old word is struck through and the new word is next to it.
I went into preferences and made sure the show balloons and the
accept/decline box were checked. I have been able to pull up a change
dialog box at the bottom of the screen but I miss the little diagram
that used to attach balloons to the word that has been changed. How
can I get this back?

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

I went into preferences and made sure the show balloons and the
accept/decline box were checked. I have been able to pull up a change
dialog box at the bottom of the screen but I miss the little diagram
that used to attach balloons to the word that has been changed. How
can I get this back?

You only can see the baloons in Page Layout view. Are you by any chance
in Normal or Outline??

Corentin

 

[blaggie]

You only can see the baloons in Page Layout view. Are you by any chance
in Normal or Outline??

I have discovered this too, that comments are only really visible if
you're in page layout view. I find this a nuisance, because I prefer
working in 'normal' view and find that when working on a big document
with lots of tracked changes it takes AGES to repaginate to 'page
layout' view. Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing this, or do
we have to wait for WORD to realise it made a bad move in 'marrying'
comments and track changes functions. (I have just switched from system
9 and badly miss the highlighted and numbered comments that made it so
easy to say to another reviewer, "See comment 56.")

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing this, or do
we have to wait for WORD to realise it made a bad move in 'marrying'
comments and track changes functions. (I have just switched from system
9 and badly miss the highlighted and numbered comments that made it so
easy to say to another reviewer, "See comment 56.")

Track Changes and Comments were always married, as Reviewing features, or if
they weren't, I don't think we can do anything about it. But try Help | Send
Feedback to ask for the return of more visible brackets and numbered
comments.

I doubt Normal View has the graphic power to show the balloons. I also
preferred the Comments pane of Word 2001 (although it could not be used with
footnotes). I have grown accustomed to the balloons, however.

There is still a Reviewing Pane that is sorta like the Comments pane, but
it's a nightmare, mainly because it shows everything, not just comments, and
I think AutoCorrect doesn't work in it, which is a dealbreaker for me. But
you could try it, it should avoid the repagination issue. Actually, I just
checked something, and if you really *only* use comments, it may be
functional for you. (Off the Reviewing Toolbar, icon for it, or use the
Show menu)

I once saw a macro to call up the old Comments pane:
ActiveWindow.View.SplitSpecial = wdPaneComments

After messing with it, I decided to stick with the balloons, but, again, you
could try it, maybe you will like it.

Things that make the balloons easier for me:
1) a one-click macro to reset my view to Page Layout, change the zoom and
the window size
2) a one-click macro to change the Comment Text and Balloon Text styles so
that I could easily read the comments I was typing.

Matt Neuberg's ebook Take Control of Word 2004 (Advanced) has more info on
the new Reviewing setup, I believe ($5), and may be helpful.
http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/word-2.html

 

[blaggie]

try Help | Send
Feedback to ask for the return of more visible brackets and numbered
comments.

Thanks Daiya, this is my first use of the group. Where do I find "try
Help | Send
Feedback"???

There is still a Reviewing Pane that is sorta like the Comments pane, but
it's a nightmare, mainly because it shows everything, not just comments

Exactly. And the absence of numbering, and the fact that you can click
on the commented material in the text, but it doesn't 'jump' you to the
matching comment in the pane.
, and

if you really *only* use comments, it may be

functional for you. (Off the Reviewing Toolbar, icon for it, or use the
Show menu)

The trouble is, I am a book editor and use both, a lot.

I once saw a macro to call up the old Comments pane:
ActiveWindow.View.SplitSpecial = wdPaneComments

I don't know what a 'macro' is (I'll try to find out), and I'm afraid
I've got no idea what you are telling me here.

After messing with it, I decided to stick with the balloons, but, again, you
could try it, maybe you will like it.

Things that make the balloons easier for me:
1) a one-click macro to reset my view to Page Layout, change the zoom and
the window size
2) a one-click macro to change the Comment Text and Balloon Text styles so
that I could easily read the comments I was typing.

Again, this looks helpful, but I don't know where to start. Will the
book mentioned below help?

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Thanks Daiya, this is my first use of the group. Where do I find "try
Help | Send
Feedback"???

Sorry. In any Office program, under the Help menu--it will take you to the
right website.

I don't know what a 'macro' is (I'll try to find out), and I'm afraid
I've got no idea what you are telling me here.

The Comments pane still exists in the code for the program, but there is no
User Interface (UI) setting to turn it on. Sometimes in that situation, you
can use a macro, written in VBA, to turn stuff on. If you want to try this,
you would install the macro on your computer, then run it. I don't remember
why I didn't like it, after trying it.
How to install a macro:
http://word.mvps.org/Mac/InstallMacro.html
(the macro is that one line starting with Active)

Again, this looks helpful, but I don't know where to start. Will the
book mentioned below help?

I just recorded these macros, I think, so that I didn't have to manually
make those changes on every doc I reviewed. They are pretty
individual/machine-specific, so sending you mine wouldn't do much. But you
wouldn't want to mess with such macros until you knew what UI changes would
make the balloons workable for you.

The Take Control book doesn't mention macros to do such things, it just
gives a thorough overview of how the features work and highlights some bugs.
Also, repagination speed is greatly improved by extra RAM, I think.

Daiya

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

Thanks Daiya, this is my first use of the group. Where do I find "try
Help | Send
Feedback"???

In the application itself.
Help menu, command "send feedback"



[...]

I don't know what a 'macro' is (I'll try to find out), and I'm afraid
I've got no idea what you are telling me here.

A macro is some kind of a script used to automate repetitive tasks. You
can create some with AppleScript, and in Word, with another language
called VBA (Daiya gave you an example in VBA). THe Help of Word can give
you a lot more details about macros.

Corentin