Track changes doesn't work in Word 2007

[Sally]

For some reason, track changes won't turn on in a Word 2007 document I've
just received from a client. I've edited many Word 2007 documents for this
same client and never had a problem. I tried saving the report under a
different name, but that didn't work. Any suggestions would be most
appreciated.

 

[Sally]

Now I have another problem to add. When I opened another document to see if
track changes worked in it, the backspace an delete function didn't work;
that is, when I hit either the backspace or delete key the cursor would skip
backwards or forwards but not delete the letter I was trying to delete. I
suppose that this new problem is related to the track changes problem but I
can't figure out how. Help!

 

[Sally]

Another twist to the problem. The backward and delete keys do work when the
track changes function is turned off and don't work when it is turned on.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Backspace and Delete "don't work" when Track Changes is on because deletions
are not actually made when you're tracking changes; the text is just marked
for deletion. If you're not seeing any change in the formatting of the text,
it may be that the formatting for deletions is set to "None."

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Sally]

Thanks, Suzanne, for the explanation. When you say that the problem may be
that the formatting for deletions is set to "none," do you mean the boxes
that can be checked under "Show Markup"? If so, I have them all checked.

 

[grammatim]

No, the options under Track Changes > Track Changes Options. In the
standard setup, the first dropdown (Insertions) should be set to
Underline and the second (Deletions) to Strikethrough.

 

[Sally]

It worked! Thanks a million, grammatim. It's funny because I checked under
Options several times but was looking for the wrong thing, I guess. Thanks
again.

 

[grammatim]

You won't find anyone around here saying that Word2007 is laid out
sensibly!