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Re: Track Changes function in Word 2002

Subject: Re: Track Changes function in Word 2002
From: Jean Hollis Weber <jean -at- jeanweber -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 13:25:11 +1000


"T. Miles" <t -dot- a -dot- miles -at- operamail -dot- com> wrote,

The general attitude that most technical editors seem to have is that Word's Track Changes function (even the Word 2002 version) is not a sufficient replacement for hand marking the text--do you agree or disagree?

I almost totally disagree. In most situations, I much prefer electronic editing using Word's Track Changes than hand-marking edits.

The messages that I found in the archive mostly discuss turning off the "balloons" and returning to the pre-Word 2002 settings. Does anyone actually prefer the balloons?

In some situations I prefer them because I have found them quite useful. For example, having the deleted text off to the side, instead of displayed as deleted in the running text, can make reviewing the document after editing much easier and less confusing. Anecdotal evidence from other lists suggests that many people do like the balloons, perhaps for that reason.

Does anyone feel that the Word 2002 Track Changes function is preferable to previous versions? Why or why not?

I don't feel strongly one way or the other, at least when everyone on the team is using Word2002. If anyone has an earlier version, and I have to exchange files with them, then the incompatible features can be a big problem. But see the comment on balloons above.

What capabilities do you think should be added to the Track Changes function to make it more useful for marking edited copy?

Can't think of any offhand, but I'm sure if I used it more I would come up with some suggestions.

BTW, Geoff Hart said,
It would be nice to be able to handle revisions by multiple authors much
more elegantly. For example, I'd like a simple way to display only the edits
by a particular reviewer so I could concentrate on those before tackling the
next reviewer's edits.

Geoff, you'll be happy to know that in Word2002 you can do just that! On the Reviewing Toolbar, you can select which reviewer's edits and comments to show, or show all of them (the default).

Regards, Jean
Jean Hollis Weber
jean -at- jeanweber -dot- com
The Technical Editors' Eyrie http://www.jeanweber.com/
-----------------
Taming Microsoft Word 2002, http://www.jeanweber.com/books/tameword.htm


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