How to Use Track Changes in Word 2007

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A friend has asked you to edit a written piece of work. But you don't want to just delete and add words, you want to make comments, show them what you have moved around. Microsoft Word 2007 allows you to do just that and is not much different from previous versions.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Microsoft Word 2007
A document to edit

How to Use Track Changes

Step1

Open up the document you would like to edit. If you wish, you may want to save a copy of the document. To do this, click on the Microsoft icon at the left-hand corner of Microsoft Word. On the drop-down menu, click on save as. It is better to save the document as a Word 97-2003 document, as Word 2007 is not compatible with older versions.

Step2

When you have opened and saved a copy of your document, on the top menu, click on "Review". Select "Track Changes". You are now ready to edit.

Step3

To add a comment to a word or paragraph, place your cursor at the end of the word or paragraph and then click on "Comment" in the review tab. This will open up a red box in which you can insert your comment.

Step4

To add in a missing word, just simply type in your text. Word will use red text with underlining, which cannot be changed at this point.

Step5

When words are deleted, the word will be struck through and in red font. When words or paragraphs are moved around, a red strike will also be used on that word or paragraph's original place and it will appear in its new position in red font.

Step6

If you are the receiver of a document which has been edited using track changes, you must accept or reject the changes. To do this you can either right click on all changes (including comments) and choose the action steps (accept or reject changes). Alternatively, there is a choice on the top-bar menu to accept or reject each change one by one, or to accept or reject all changes in one move!

Step7

When you have finished, ensured that the document is set to final markup. This is done in the Review tab, next to the button for Track Changes. From the drop-down menu, select "Final". This will retain any changes you selected but will return all font to its original formatting, which means you will not see any strikes, red fonts or comment boxes.