Using tracking tools in Word 2010 (Introduction)

Documents evolve over time and with the input of others.  Tracking changes is a perfect for editing Word documents as you can see any sections that have been deleted, had format changes or include new content.

With tracking tools you can control the changes by accepting or rejecting suggestions and approve the final version.

To access the Track Changes options, you need to use the Review tab.

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Nestled in the Review tab, the track changes options.

If I click on Track Changes, the button changes to yellow (to show that I’ve applied it) and now, when I type in new content, it appears in red font with deletions crossed through and changed to red font.

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Reminiscent of being back in the classroom, changes appear in red pen with the deleted items with a line through them.

Now, if red pen brings back bad memories of C- scores in essay writing, how about changing the way the tracking is shown?  When you click on the down arrow below the Track changes button, you can select the Tracking options menu, giving you the choice of how to show changes.

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Tracking changes can be more than just red pen. Hurrah!

Customise the tracking style.  For my example document, I decide to use teal for the font colour for new content and for the strike-through of deletions.  Teal is a bit easier on the eye I think.  I click OK, and the new colour is applied.

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Ah, teal…so much more calming than red…

Using tracking views
I can customise the way tracking is viewed to speed up my work.

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Viewing your Word document using different views can help compare versions.
  1. Final: Show Markup
    This view shows any edited content and formatting with the track changes text in red (or other) colour or strike-throughs for deletions.
  2. Final
    This view shows the content with all the changes in place.   You won’t see all the track changes colour or deletions.
  3. Original: Show markup
    This view shows your original document and includes all the edits that have been made.
  4. Original
    This view shows you the document at the beginning before you made any changes or edits.

Tip: Remember to check which view you are using before emailing your final version, as you may also be sending them all the comments and changes.

Accepting or rejecting changes
You’ve tracked all the changes, and now you need to sort through them and accept or reject them.  The buttons you need for this are next to tracking in the Changes section.

You can whizz through the document from start to finish, or work in sections – either way, you can use the different views and the changes buttons to work through the edits.

Once you have explored these tracking tools, you can build on your skills to include more intermediate and advanced techniques.  I’m working my way through tracking and more with Microsoft Word Training at the moment.  If you want to find out more about the skills you can learn, take a look at: https://www.stl-training.co.uk/word-training-london.php

Improve the way you create and use meeting papers in Word

In a previous job, I compiled meeting agendas and papers, which were subject to changes right up to the moment the meeting papers were sent out.  This would mess up bullet point numbering in the agenda and in the meeting papers.

With many people working on the same agenda, I could have saved a lot of time, by using a template and sharing the document (rather than emailing versions backwards and forwards).  Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Word training is even better.  In a recent Word Intermediate course, I learned some great new tips and techniques that could save me lots of time and frustration.  Here is a couple of time-saving features.

Don’t reinvent the wheel – use a template
When you open a new document, take a look at the ready made templates that you can then customise.

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This agenda template is available from the Office.com templates. All set up, and all I need to do is customise it.

With a ready-made template, I have the content I need.  I can now add my regular agenda items and save them to the template. So each time I create a new agenda, the regular items are already there.

Make the most of the Insert tab – Customise using Quick Parts and building blocks
I recently upgraded from Word 2003 and Word 2010 has opened up a whole new Microsoft world to me.

Building blocks are a quick to use, and save the repetition of typing the same information time and again. Here, I can set up everything from headers, footers, watermarks, page numbering, even the organisation’s logo.  I can use these building blocks across all my meeting papers.

To create building blocks or use the library of those set up for me, I go to the Insert tab,   Text section.

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There are lots of building blocks that I can use. I can add my own, tailored to the organisation’s branding guidelines

These are only two features that could save time and create a much better document.  I’ll be experimenting with more of the things I learned on the Intermediate Microsoft Word course. If you want to know more about the Intermediate features of Word, take a look at https://www.stl-training.co.uk/word-2010-intermediate.php