Track changes: Display for review options (Word 2010 and 2013/2016)

People who use Track Changes sometimes find the Display for Review options confusing.  For one thing, some users don’t realize that changing the Display for Review option to “Final” (or, in Word 2013 and Word 2016, “No Markup”) doesn’t actually remove the revision marks – for insertions, deletions, formatting changes, moves, etc. – from the document.  Rather, it merely lets you preview the document as it would look if you accepted all of the changes.[1]

For another thing, the wording of the options isn’t particularly easy to understand.  And the wording has changed between Word 2010 and Word 2013 / 2016, but remains somewhat obscure.

This post is intended to help clarify the various Display for Review options available in Word 2010 and Word 2013 / 2016.

Display for Review Options in Word 2010

In Word 2010, the Display for Review options are as follows:

Original

This option shows the document as it appeared before any insertions, deletions, moves, formatting changes, etc.

Original: Show Markup

This option shows the original document, along with revision marks for any insertions, deletions, formatting changes, and moves[2].

Note that this option appears different from the Final: Show Markup option only if you have chosen to display changes in balloons.[3]  If so,  you’ll see the following differences:

• Original:  Show Markup displays deletions (including moved text in its original location, i.e., before it has been moved) inline, with insertions (as well as formatting changes and comments) displayed in balloons in the right margin – as if the revisions are planned, but not completed yet.
• Final:  Show Markup displays insertions (and moved text in its new location, after it has been moved) inline, with deletions (as well as formatting changes and comments) displayed in balloons in the right margin – as if revisions have been completed.

If you don’t show balloons, or show them only for comments / formatting, there is no apparent difference between the two options.

Final:  Show Markup

This option shows revision marks for all insertions, deletions, moves, formatting changes, etc. that have been made in the document.

Final

This option shows the document as if all proposed revisions have been accepted.

Display for Review Options in Word 2013 and Word 2016

The Display for Review Options in Word 2013 and Word 2016 are somewhat different from those in Word 2010. They are as follows:

Original

This option shows the document as it appeared before any insertions, deletions, moves, formatting changes, etc.

Simple Markup

Choosing Simple Markup means that the document appears as if all of the changes have been accepted – that is, as if insertions and deletions have been made – but with vertical lines in the margins next to portions of the document to indicate where text has been inserted, deleted, reformatted, and/or moved.

• Red vertical lines indicate that markup exists, but is hidden.  To display the markup, left-click any of the red lines (or click the Display for Review drop-down and choose All Markup).
• Gray vertical lines appear when the markup is displayed (similar to the All Markup option).  To hide the markup again, left-click any of the gray vertical lines (or click the Display for Review drop-down and choose Simple Markup).

All Markup

This option shows revision marks for all insertions, deletions, moves, formatting changes, etc. that have been made in the document.  If you have chosen to display revisions in balloons, insertions appear inline, whereas deletions (along with moves, formatting changes, and comments) appear in balloons in the margin.[4]

No Markup

Like the “Final” option in Word 2010, this option shows the document as if all proposed revisions have been accepted.

Remember, this option does not mean that revision marks have been removed from the document.  It’s just a way of previewing what the doc would look like if all of the proposed edits – insertions, deletions, moves, and formatting changes – had been accepted.

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[1]  The only way to remove the revision marks is to accept or reject each and every change, and to delete each comment.  Then you must save the “cleaned” document before closing it.  If you close the cleaned document without saving, the revision marks remain in the document.

NOTE: It’s always a good idea to run the Document Inspector – from the File tab, Check for Issues, Inspect Document – after accepting / rejecting the changes and deleting the comments just to make sure that you didn’t miss anything.  (TIP:  I always uncheck “Headers, Footers, and Watermarks” even before running the Document Inspector so that I don’t inadvertently delete headers and footers from the document.)  Again, be sure to save the doc after running the Document Inspector.

[2]  You can disable revision marks for moved text and/or formatting changes if you like.  In Word 2010, click the bottom portion of the Track Changes button (in the Tracking group on the Review tab), then choose “Change Tracking Options…”  When the Track Changes Options dialog opens, you can uncheck (disable) Track Moves and/or Track Formatting.  If you prefer to show revision marks for moved text and/or formatting changes, you can choose from among several different display options.

In Word 2013 and Word 2016, click the dialog launcher and when the collapsed Track Changes Options opens, click “Advanced Options” to disable or configure revision marks for moved text and/or formatting changes.

[3]  There are two ways to enable balloons in Word 2010.  From the Tracking group on the Review tab, do one of the following:  (1)  click the Track Changes drop-down and choose Track Changes Options…., then under Balloons> Use Balloons (Print and Web Layout), choose “Always”; or (2) click the Show Markup drop-down, Balloons, and choose Show Revisions in Balloons.

[4]  There are two ways to enable balloons in Word 2013 and Word 2016.  From the Tracking group on the Review tab, do one of the following:   (1)  click the dialog launcher to open the Change Tracking Options dialog and, from the drop-down labeled “Balloons in All Markup view show,” choose “Revisions”; or (2) click the Show Markup drop-down, Balloons, and choose Show Revisions in Balloons.

 

 

Watch out for “Your recent purchase with your Apple ID” scam

Lately, I have received several e-mail messages purporting to be alerts from Apple (presumably iTunes), warning me about a purchase ostensibly made with my “Apple ID” and asking me to click a link in the message if I didn’t actually make such a purchase (which I did not).  When I hover over the link with the mouse, I can readily see that the URL clearly is not a legitimate Apple site.[1] Even if it were, I wouldn’t click it.  The message has all the hallmarks of a scam.

As a rule, never click on a link in an e-mail message unless you are absolutely, positively certain it’s legitimate.[2]  And should you be concerned that your iTunes or Apple ID has been compromised, go directly to Apple’s site by typing http://www.apple.com in your browser, rather than by clicking a link.

If you do inadvertently click a link in a “phishing” e-mail – as in “phishing” for information – don’t provide any personal information whatsoever.  That includes, but is not limited to, payment info such as a credit card number.  Sadly, the world is full of scammers, eager to take advantage of people.  And you shouldn’t assume that your spam filter, antivirus software, or firewall will intercept fraudulent e-mail messages.

When it comes to e-mail, always keep the old adage, “Better safe than sorry” in mind.

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[1]  Before clicking any link in an e-mail message, hover over it with your mouse.  That will give you some idea of whether the link is legitimate.  But even if the URL appears legit, use caution – because the potential adverse consequences (unleashing a virus, inadvertently giving a thief access to your computer, etc.) are so serious.

[2]  Unfortunately, even if the message appears to come from a trusted person, it could be a fake.  Some forms of viruses (often called “worms”) operate by raiding your address book and sending e-mail messages to your contacts, and those e-mails show your name as the sender, even though you had no hand in preparing or sending the messages.

Tiplet: Set Outlook to open the *next* message after deletion

People frequently ask how to change the default setting in Outlook so that the program moves to (highlights or opens) the next message, rather than the previous one, when they delete a message from their Inbox. The solution is easy but a little obscure.

In both Outlook 2010 and 2013, click the File tab, scroll down to Options, and then when the Outlook Options dialog opens, click to select the Mail category (at top left).

Next, scroll all the way down to “After moving or deleting an open item,” click the drop-down, and choose “open the next item.”

OK out to save your changes.  (CAUTION:  Don’t click the red “X” in the top right corner of the Outlook Options dialog; doing so will close the dialog without retaining your modified settings.)

The next time you delete an e-mail message – whether from the Outlook main screen or from within a message – the program should move to the next message rather than the previous one.