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Craft of Writing

Joan McNulty Pulver

Take Full Advantage of MS Word's Editing Capabilities

As a Senior Editor for ePress-Online and a freelance editor, I needed to find a way to communicate with authors in a way they would understand and be able to make informed decisions. The most efficient way I’ve found is using MS Word Track Changes. During this process I need to communicate with the authors just how this works. For that reason I put together this little tutorial on using that feature as I edit and what the author has to do when I am done.

Track changes while you edit

In all versions of Word: Double-click the TRK text in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. If TRK is black, Word is tracking changes.

1. Open the document you want to revise.

2. On the Reviewing toolbar, click Track Changes.



If you don’t see the Reviewing toolbar, pick Toolbars on your View menu, then pick Reviewing. This will open your Reviewing toolbar. Then pick Track Changes as shown above.

3. Make the changes you want by inserting, deleting, or moving text or graphics. MS Word uses default revision marks. Insert will be underlined and deletions will be crossed out.

4. To change the way revision marks look and work in Microsoft Word click Options (Tools menu), click the Track Changes tab, and then select one or more of the following options.

 

TRACK CHANGES WINDOW
To change the color and other formatting that Word uses to identify changes, select the formatting options you want and make your changes.

5. Be sure you have Track Changes turned on. After you are finished you will notice that there are vertical lines in the left hand margin. These lines denote changes made.

This is an excellent tool for both the author and the editor. It enables us to check that all changes are accepted or declined by the author. Minute changes, such as an inserted period or comma are hard to see. Vertical lines in the left margin alert the author to an un-addressed change.

1. Select the text or item you want to comment on, or click at the end of the text.

2. On the Reviewing toolbar, click Insert Comment.   (See above to turn on this toolbar.)

3. A text window will open. Type your comments in this window. On the finished product highlighted text indicates comments have been made. When the cursor rests on the highlights, a small window pops up to display them. The author can then make an educated decision based on the editor’s comments.

Accept or reject changes suggested with change tracking

You can review tracked changes in two ways:

1. Use the Reviewing toolbar. If you don’t see the Reviewing toolbar pick Toolbars on your View menu, then pick Reviewing. This will open your Reviewing toolbar.

2. There are three ways to accept changes and reject changes.

A. Use the Accept or Reject Changes dialog box (Tools menu, Track Changes submenu, Accept or Reject Changes command).

B. Right click on the change and choose either Accept or Reject Change.

C. Use the Reviewing toolbar and pick either Accept or Reject Change.

3. Be sure you have Track Changes turned on. You will notice vertical lines in the left hand margin to alert you to each change. This vertical line marks all errors even something as small as a common or a deleted space, which can be missed at first glance.

This is an excellent tool for both the author and the editor. It is a way to check and be sure that all changes have been either accepted or rejected. If you see the vertical line you know there is a change there which has not been addressed.

Delete a comment

1. Display the comment you want to delete. How? Rest the pointer over shaded text to read.

2. Read the comment and take the chosen action.

3. When finished, click anywhere on the highlighted word. On the Reviewing toolbar, click Delete Comment.     Word automatically renumbers any remaining comments.

4. You can also right click on the shaded text and click Delete Comment.

Other editions of MS Word might have some differences but basically they are the same.

For Word 2002 and 2003, deleting is done a little differently:

To accept or reject a tracked change

To accept or reject a tracked change, click within the change and then on the Reviewing toolbar, click the either Accept or Reject Change button.

Or, right-click on the tracked change and choose Accept/Reject Insertion, Deletion or Format Change, etc.

Track changes works well with in most cases. Be aware that different editions of MS Word will show the track changes in different ways. Track Changes in Word XP uses balloons instead of strikethrough/underline and comments. If you prefer being able to see the strikethrough/underline on the page you can change it by going to Tools, Options pick the Track Changes tab and uncheck "use baloons." In Word 2000 through 2003, the comments will show up in a little box at the bottom of the screen. The additions and deletions will only show in the text. In both editions there will be a vertical line down the left side of the page. Regardless of which edition you use, Track Changes is an excellent tool to use when editing someone else's work.


About the Author
Joan McNulty Pulver works as an Administrative Secretary for the State of Florida but considers writing and editing to be her vocation. Her love of writing shows in her short stories and monthly column, 'Recognitions', in The Writer's Ezine. She is the Acquisitions Coordinator/Editor at ePress-Online and is currently working on a non-fiction book and a fantasy novel. In an effort to help pass on what they've learned working at ePress-Online and to help other writers reach for their dreams, Joan and Donna Sundblad will open the doors to their editing and critiquing business, Team Spirit Critique and Editing, LLC, in the near future.

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