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Microsoft Word 2008
For Macintosh

Working with the Track Changes Feature

Microsoft Word's tracking and editing features are designed to make collaborative work run more smoothly. The key feature, Track Changes, records all revisions to a document and registers who made which changes at each point in the revision process.

return to topThe Reviewing Toolbar Buttons

Using the Reviewing toolbar will provide you with quick access to many tracking and editing operations.

Displaying/Hiding the Reviewing Toolbar

  1. To access the toolbar, from the View menu, select Toolbars » Reviewing
    The Reviewing toolbar appears.

The following table provides information on the commands found on the Reviewing toobar.

Name Button Action
Display for Review Final Showing Markup pull-down list Provides a pull-down list to specifiy a document view
HINT: For more information, refer to Viewing Options.
Show Show button Provides a pull-down list to specify editing features to be displayed
HINT: For more information, refer to Viewing Options.
Previous Previous button Shows the previous change or comment in the text
Next Next button Shows the next change or comment in the text
Accept Change Accept Change button Accepts a change permanently
Reject Change/
Delete Comment		 Reject Change/Delete Comment button Rejects a change or deletes a selected comment
Insert Comment New Comment button Adds a comment to the selected area
Track Changes Track Changes button
 Enables and disables the Track Changes feature

 

return to top Viewing Options

While viewing your document, you can select the desired viewing option and the desired Track Changes features.

  1. Open the document to be reviewed

  2. On the Reviewing toolbar, from the Display for Review pull-down listFinal Showing Markup pull-down list, select a view:

    View Description
    Final Showing Markup Displays the final version of the document with changes noted as markups
    Final Displays the document after it has been revised
    Original Showing Markup Displays the text of the original document with changes noted as markups
    Original Displays the text of the original document

  3. On the Reviewing toolbar, from the Show buttonShow button, select the editing features to be displayed:

    Editing Feature Description
    Comments Shows comments that were added to the document
    Insertions and Deletions Shows what reviewers added and deleted from the original
    Formatting Shows what changes have been made to the formatting of the document
    Reviewers Shows which reviewer a particular edit or comment
    Reviewing Pane Displays a pane which sorts tracked changes by type
    Preferences... Displays a dialog box that provides options to stylize tracked changes

 

return to top Inserting Comments

Word allows users to create comments within documents. Comments can be used to guide a reviewer's attention to areas where special input is needed. The writer or reviewer can insert comments by using the Insert menu or the Reviewing toolbar.

  1. Select the text to which you want to add a comment

  2. From the Insert menu, select Comment
    OR
    On the Reviewing toolbar, click NEW COMMENTNew Comment button
    A Comment box appears.

  3. In the Comment box, type your comment

  4. When finished, click outside the Comment box

return to topEditing and Deleting Comments

Once you add comments, you can edit or delete them. You cannot make changes to comments made by other reviewers.

Editing Comments

  1. Select the comment to be edited

  2. In the Comment box, type your changes

  3. When finished, click outside the Comment box

Deleting Comments

  1. Select the comment to be deleted

  2. On the Reviewing toolbar, click REJECT CHANGE/DELETE COMMENTReject Change/Delete Comment button
    The comment is deleted.

return to topAccepting and Rejecting Changes

When you have finished editing your document, you will want to review and accept or reject the changes and comments that have been made. Accepting and rejecting changes works much like the Spell Check feature. By cycling through the changes made to a document, the reviewer can accept or reject any or all changes.

WARNING: It is critical to perform these steps prior to sharing the final version of your document. If you do not do this, others will be able to turn on Track Changes and see early mistakes and edits.

  1. Open the document to be reviewed

  2. On the Reviewing toolbar, click NEXTNext button
    The first change is displayed.

  3. To accept the change, click ACCEPT CHANGEAccept Change button
    To accept all changes, click ACCEPT CHANGE » select Accept All Changes in Document
    To reject the change, click REJECT CHANGE/DELETE COMMENTReject Change/Delete Comment button
    To reject all changes, click REJECT CHANGE/DELETE COMMENT » select Reject All Changes in Document

  4. Repeat steps 2-3 until all changes/comments have been reviewed

  5. When finished, save your document

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