Weird things with track changes

[pd]

Word doc originally created in XP. Has been passed around
to several people with track changes active. The last
person to edit the file accepted the changes. That last
person is not me. When I print the document I can view it
and print it without track changes. Several people can
print it and view it and no track changes show up. I
opened the file in Xp and Word 2000 and when I
toggled "track changes" on and off nothing happened to
the doc. That is the way it is supposed to happen right???
However, this file was sent to several other people (not
sure which version of Word they are running) and when
they open the file the track changes are there
automatically. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[Margaret Aldis]

I don't think you are clear about the difference between 'toggling track
changes on and off' and whether or not you see the changes - and I suspect
that is the root of this problem.

If the last person to edit really did accept all changes in the document and
saved it, then the changes will no longer be in the document. If on the
other hand they toggled track changes off (which stops tracking, but does
nothing to the revisions that are already marked) and/or changed the view to
hide the revisions, then they are still in the document and will reappear
whenever the reader's view shows markup. There is a new default in 2003,
which shows any revisions present when the file is opened, so people who
have been living in ignorance of the fact that their editing history is
available to anyone who cares to look are in for a surprise. (I think the
idea is that people using 2003 get warning that they have left revisions
on - in practice, people blithely change the view, save and send, and it
seems more often the recipient who benefits from the full frontal view.)

 

[pd]

Thanks very much Margaret. I am running with this
information.

 

[Jameseee]

Margaret,

I hate to butt in but you mentioned something that I'm looking to solve and
hopefully, you can help.

There is a new default in 2003,
which shows any revisions present when the file is opened, so people who
have been living in ignorance of the fact that their editing history is
available to anyone who cares to look are in for a surprise.

We recently upgraded to Office 2003. I have one user who is proficient at
tracking changes and really hates this new behavior. Is there any way to
change the default in Word 2003 so that this feature is turned off by
default? Nothing seems to work.

Please help.

Thanks.

James E. Wood

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

What behavior? Making hidden markup visible when opening or saving (Tools |
Options | Security)? Believe me, you *want* this so that you know it is
there and have the opportunity to get rid of it before sending it to
clients. Track Changes is not on by default, but display of tracked changes
is.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

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