Use a color-coded, change-tracking system to collaborate with someone on the same document, or to edit someone else's document. This feature allows the author of a document to see suggestions or changes made by other contributors.

In this project, you'll learn how to:

	Track changes in a document
	Add comments and changes
	Incorporate tracked changes

Track changes in a document

When change tracking is turned on, Microsoft Word uses revision marks — the equivalent of "redlining" or "blacklining" in the legal profession — to indicate tracked changes. After the document is reviewed, you can see the changes made by the different reviewers; each reviewer's changes are marked with a different color.

1. Open the Word document you want work together on.
2. On the Tools menu, point to Track Changes, and click Highlight Changes.
3. Select the Track changes while editing check box, and then click OK.
4. On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and click Reviewing.
5. If you're on a shared network with the person who will review your document, put the document in a public folder. If not, you can send the document as an e-mail attachment.

Tip   To attach the document to an e-mail message, on the Reviewing toolbar click Send to Mail Recipient (as Attachment) . For information about what e-mail programs you can use with this feature, search for "What programs can I use to send documents in e-mail?" in Word Help.

Add comments and changes

Reviewers can enter changes right into your text, as well as add comments that appear when you rest the pointer on marked areas of text.

1. Open the document you want to review.
2. If the Reviewing toolbar is not visible, on the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Reviewing.
3. Make your changes to the document.
4. To add a comment, select the text or item you want to comment on, or click at the end of the text. On the Reviewing toolbar click Insert Comment , and then add your comments in the comment pane.

   

   This highlighted text shows where a reviewer has inserted a comment.
   When you rest the mouse pointer on the reviewer's initials, the comment is exposed. Word marks comments with the reviewer's name
   This line shows you that a reviewer has made a change or added a comment to this part of the text.

   Tip   To edit your comments, on the Reviewing toolbar click Edit Comment , and then make the changes you want in the comment pane. Click Edit Comment again when you have finished editing.

Incorporate tracked changes

After reviewers have made changes or added comments to the document, you can review their changes and comments and choose to accept or reject them individually.

1. Open the reviewed document, which now contains the reviewer's edits and comments.
2. On the Reviewing toolbar, click Next Change or Previous Change to find the changed sections in the document.

   If the Reviewing toolbar is hidden, click Toolbars on the View menu, and then click Reviewing.

3. Do one of the following:

   	To incorporate a change, click Accept Change on the Reviewing toolbar.
   	To reject a change, click Reject Change .

4. To read a reviewer's comment, rest the pointer on the highlighted text.

Tip   You can also accept or reject changes by holding down CONTROL and clicking on a changed section in the document, and then clicking Accept Change or Reject Change on the contextual menu.