Proofread and edit a Word document by viewing tracked changes and including comments.
Microsoft’s word processing software is loaded with little-known features. Often ignored by users, who are content to exploit the most basic functions, they can nevertheless be of great service by simplifying tedious tasks. This is the case, for example, with the correction of documents.
Word includes a Review module, which allows you to apply non-destructive corrections to a document. Corrected passages are crossed out, and the suggested correction is displayed alongside, while the corrector can incorporate comments into his correction. Even better, the author of the document can then choose to validate, or not, the suggested corrections.
1. Activate track changes
To start correcting a document, you must first activate the track changes. To do this, in the Word document, go to the Review tab, and click Track Changes.
2. Add corrections
Once change tracking is enabled, remediation can begin. Make mistakes, erase words or entire sentences, and write your corrections directly in the document.
To the left of the line where a correction has been applied, a red line should appear. It allows the corrector to view the location of the corrections applied.
Click on this red line to reveal the details of the corrections made. You should then be able to view the deleted items (they are crossed out), and the added items (visible in red).
3. Add a comment
If you are not sure of the correction to be made on a specific passage, it is possible to add a comment in the file.
Select the passage then, still in the Revision tab, click on New comment.
Highlighted in red, the element selected and directly linked to the comment that takes place in a column to the right of the document. Click on the comment frame to edit it.
4. Validate the corrections
When you open a document that has been corrected with the integrated Review module, there are several possibilities to validate or reject the corrections. Place the cursor at the start of the text, then on the Review tab, click Accept.
The first suggested correction should be selected. Click on Accept again to validate it.
For any comments entered, click on the comment in the right column and, after reading it, click on the Delete button.
Corrections can also be validated one by one, directly from the right click menu. You will then have to choose to Validate or Reject the insertion.
Finally, if you do not want to review all the corrections made in a document, you can perfectly decide to validate them all at once.
To do this, click the drop-down menu of the Accept button from the ribbon, and choose to Accept all changes and stop tracking.
All the corrected elements in the document will then be validated, and the follow-up of corrections, which allows all the modifications made in a document to be displayed in red, will be deactivated. The original document reverts to its classic display and can again be edited by its author.