Hi db
There are four independent things going on here.
First, for security reasons, when Word 2003 opens a document that
contains one or more tracked changes, it will open in Final Showing
Markup mode.
Second, whether you can *see* any tracked changes in a document depends
on the settings you have at Tools > Options > Tracked Changes.
Third, whether Word tracks changes you make depends on whether Track
Changes is on. You can toggle it on and off by double-clicking TRK on
the status bar. If it's black, Word is tracking changes.
Fourth, you can accept (or reject) individual tracked changes or all
tracked changes in the document by using the Accept Change or Reject
Change buttons on the Reviewing toolbar.
So it's possible that your documents have tracked changes saved in them,
which you can't see. You can find out whether there are any tracked
changes in your document by clicking the "Next" button on the Reviewing
toolbar. If there are no tracked changes in the document, Word will let
you know. Otherwise, Word will take you to that tracked change.
Hope this helps.
Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word
Melbourne, Australia