Track Changes 101

[Fallenfromgrace]

So, who wants to help li'l Gracie with her track changes education?

I know NOTHING about it, cept that it gave me a headache when it was last explained to me 'practically'

Seeing as some editors use TC's and others dont, i had better learn sooner rather than later!

So please explain to me how they work, what they do, how to view them, remove them, make them and edit them. Consider me a tabula rasa on the TC front...

If it helps i have word 2002.

*i just checked* im editing my own work atm, and what looks like TC's is coming up i have the 'TRK' symbol down the bottom active. All i know about them NOW is that a comment bubble appears on the right everytime i change something.

So i guess now my q is, how do i view them in a doc i get sent, and does each comment bubble tell me what was done to what and where? if so is that all i really need to know?

*arrrrrgh begininngs of a headache!*

 

[tanyachrs]

Probably differs a little depending on the version of Word and I have '03. (Are you sure such a thing as '02 exists?) Anyway, it's something like Tools, Track Changes to turn it on and off. When it's on, you hopefully have a track changes tool bar with buttons for accept change and reject change. There will also be a drop down menu on the toolbar to view Final or Final Showing Markup. Because the track changes format can be hard to read when dealing with spaces and punctuation, showing it in Final view can sometimes give you a better idea of what the editor intended. If you're working in Print Layout mode (3rd icon in bottom, left corner of screen), you should see any comments in a column to the right of your text.

How I would approach it is:
1. click Next button on Track Changes toolbar
2. switch between Original and Final view as needed to visualize the change
3. click either Accept or Reject as desired
4. repeat

To delete a comment, right click and select Delete.

You can also read through their suggestions and comments and then make the edits you like directly to your original document.

OK, so there was such a thing as Word 2002. I must have skipped that one. Anyway, looking at the help for it online, it sounds like Track Changes worked the same as in 2003, so what I said above should apply.

 

[Weird Harold]

So please explain to me how they work, what they do, how to view them, remove them, make them and edit them. Consider me a tabula rasa on the TC front...

If it helps i have word 2002.

I still use Word 97 and the racked changes are shown in different colors, which are configurable for each reviewer; I use green for new text and red for deleted text.

The key to using the tracked changes and comments function is the "reviewing tools" toolbar. Go to view/toolbars and check "Reviewing Tools" to display the toolbar with the next/previous buttons and Accept/Reject change buttons.

Different versions of Word display the changes differently, but as long as the Next Change button in the toolbar is highlighted, there are still changes left to review; when you've dealt with all the changes, the next/previous buttons should be shadowed.

The comment functions work the same way; if there are comments to dealwith, the next or previous comment button on the reviewing tools toolbar with be active and take you directly to the section of the document where it's located. Double clicking on a comment marker (looks like this: [HAN1]) wil open the comment window at the applicable comment.

You have to use the Tools/track changes menu to turn the display on and off, but once the changes are tracked the Reviewing tools tooolbar is the only thing you need to deal with them.

 

[S-Des]

One thing I found out the hard way, track changes shows up on the other end with your name (the one you used to register Office). If you don't want the other person to see your full name, you have to go into Word and change it. I have a very unique name (you can literally Google my first name and find a picture of me and the phone number of my work). I was shocked to find it added my name to the text and quickly changed everything that has to do with writing to S-Des.

It's the best program to work with. I like using the comment feature as well. Let's my editor tell me what he thought (good or bad) while he was reading a section. That kind of insight is very helpful to how I write.

 

[scheherazade_79]

What are track changes?

 

[S-Des]

What are track changes?

It's in MS Word. You can set it up so that it keeps your previous type, but you can add new type in a diffferent color (and a line goes through the old stuff). The editor can make suggestions that way so you can decide what you like and what you don't. Makes it easier to go through recommendations.

 

[Fallenfromgrace]

What are track changes?

How did Vana edit for you!? (im learning coz she says she uses TC's!!!)



~~ Thanks all for the help

When i was working last night, TC's seemed to be on already...god knows how as i never really used them before this!

But, everytime i did something the boxes showed up at the side- now when i get a doc back from an editor, will the edit's display one at a time!? or all together with a series of boxes all down the right?

if they display all together how do i make it display one and at a time and vise versa?

also, in my version when i delete something it just gets deleted with a comment bubble saying *deleted: ''~~~''* no strikethrough...does that make a difference?

 

[tanyachrs]

You don't want track changes on for your initial typing and you probably don't want it on when editing your own document. If it's tracking every letter you type, turn it off by going to the Tools menu and selecting Track Changes. If you received something back from an editor who used Track Changes, then the feature will be turned on and you should use the toolbar to go through their changes. Then, when you've either accepted or rejected all changes, you should probably turn it back off again while doing your own final edits.

When I want to track my own editing, I do it using versions, which is just a fancy way of saying that I save the file with a slightly different name before I start working on it, in case I want to go back to a previous version.

 

[Weird Harold]

If it's tracking every letter you type, turn it off by going to the Tools menu and selecting Track Changes.

It probably wouldn't hurt to "Accept All Changes" to clear all of the change tracking in that case -- unless there are other changes that need to be reviewed, of course.

Turning change tracking on and off doesn't affect any changes that have already been tracked; only accepting or rejecting changes will clear them.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

What are track changes?

Evil incarnate, that's what they are!

<---hates track changes...

But I do like the lovely little comment feature...

 

[Fallenfromgrace]

Evil incarnate, that's what they are!

<---hates track changes...

But I do like the lovely little comment feature...

Hehe yes, i thought that when Dampy was trying to explain it all to me! my current VE hates them like sin as well

The comment feature RULES, but now that im figuring out track changes, i'm starting to get it a bit now

Once i get used to using them, im sure i wont mind either method

~~ thanks again for all the help!

 

[Weird Harold]

my current VE hates them like sin as well

A tip for people who like tracked changes but use editors who don't or won't use them:

Also in the Tools/Track Changes submenu is "Compare Documents".

Compare documents allows you to compare the editor(s) changes to the file you sent to the editor; doing so combines the two versions into the first file opened and shows every difference as a tracked change.

I like track changes because they give me a complete picture of what changes the editor made so I can learn where I make habitual mistakes and correct them. I also will NOT edit for someone who does't have the capability because I want the client to know exactly what I did to their story.