Track changes: Moves

[grammatim]

There's an option under Track Changes to track "moves" (with double
underline/strikethrough in green). But when I move something, it
simply appears as a deletion and an insertion. What gives?

 

[Lene Fredborg]

Is your document in 97-2003 format? Then that explains why. Special marking
of “moves†is not supported in Word 2003 and earlier. You should see the
marking of “moves†correctly in documents in 2007 format.

--
Regards
Lene Fredborg - Microsoft MVP (Word)
DocTools - Denmark
www.thedoctools.com
Document automation - add-ins, macros and templates for Microsoft Word

 

[Jay Freedman]

There's an option under Track Changes to track "moves" (with double
underline/strikethrough in green). But when I move something, it
simply appears as a deletion and an insertion. What gives?

According to
http://blogs.msdn.com/microsoft_off.../13/nice-move-move-tracking-in-word-2007.aspx,
"In Word 2007, Track Changes now includes 'move tracking'. If you cut a sentence
or more from one location and paste it to another, it is tracked as a move and
not as a deletion and insertion."

The criterion is apparently "one sentence or more". This seems to be open to
interpretation; for example, if I move a one-word heading including its
paragraph mark, that's tracked as a move.

 

[grammatim]

I tried it with a paragraph. Not only did it wipe out the existing
Tracked Changes (simply presenting the final version as an insertion),
it treated it as deleted and inserted.

 

[grammatim]

Is your document in 97-2003 format?

Of course not! (And the option isn't available in Compatibility Mode.)

 

[grammatim]

If there were _no tracked changes_ in the moved sentence, it changes
to green in both places when it's pasted.

That's not useful!

 

[grammatim]

Once something has been tracked as a Move, it cannot be rejected.
Selecting text that's green gives you the check and x for accept and
reject, but they have no effect; attempting to drag a double-
struckthrough passage simply gives the "This text is marked as
deleted" message.

The only way to undo a Move is via Undo -- and if some editing has
been done since the move, it of course all goes away, too.

I will therefore be unchecking "Keep track of moves" ...