Word Annoyances: How to Fix the Most ANNOYING Things about Your Favorite Word Processor

Deflate Comment Balloons

The Annoyance:

I use the Comments feature all the time. It worked fine in Word 2000, but it Word 2003 it drives me nuts. In Word 2000, the comment appeared in a pop-up balloon above the word to which it was anchored. When you printed the document with comments, they appeared on a separate page at the end of the file. In Word 2003, when you add a comment in Print Layout view, Word reduces the zoom level and creates a wide right margin where the comments appear. This makes it harder to edit the textand when you print, the whole page image is smaller, so it's hard to read, too.

The Fix:

Word XP offers the same annoyance. To stop Word from using right-margin balloons for comments and tracked changes, choose Tools Options, and click the Track Changes tab. In Word 2003, choose "Never in the "Use Balloons (Print and Web Layout)" drop-down list. In Word XP, uncheck the "Use balloons in Print and Web Layout" box. Word then displays each comment in a balloon when you hover the mouse pointer over the text to which it's connected, as in Word 2000.

If getting rid of the balloons altogether is too drastic, use the "Preferred width" setting on the Track Changes tab to reduce the amount of space Word uses for the balloons.

Shrink the Comment Window

The Annoyance:

If you add a comment in Normal view, Word opens an absurdly large comment window at the bottom of the screen. It takes up far too much screen real estate, even on my 19" monitor. To make matters worse , you can't close the window by clicking on an X. You have to go to the menu bar and find the option to close it.

The Fix:

As you say, Word does tend to display the Reviewing Pane at far too large a size . Drag its split bar to slim it down a bit. To close the Reviewing Pane quickly, drag its split bar all the way to the bottom of the screen, or simply double-click the split bar. You can also press Alt+Shift+C to close this pane (or any other pane except the task pane, which requires Ctrl+F1).

Turn On and Use Track Changes

The Annoyance:

I have to circulate my reports around half the department for helpful suggestions. Comparing each of their documents with my copy and integrating the changes takes forever.

The Fix:

You should be able to save plenty of time by turning on Word's Track Changes feature. Either double-click the TRK indicator on the status bar so that it goes black instead of being grayed out, or choose Tools Track Changes (in Word 2000, the menu option is more involved: choose Tools Track Changes Highlight Changes, check the "Track changes while editing box, and click OK). Word will start tracking the changes you make. Teach your colleagues how to turn on Track Changes, and you'll be able to see the changes they've made.

For the best effect, circulate a single copy of the document around to each of your colleagues in turn, rather than letting each person loose on a separate copy. By default, Word tracks insertions, deletions, and formatting changes, and it shows each person's changes in a different color (for up to eight different people). To change what's marked and how, choose Tools Options and click the Track Changes tab (see Figure 5-2).

With Track Changes on, you'll be able to see easily who has changed what in your document and to accept or reject changes (see Figure 5-3). The Display for Review drop-down list on the Reviewing toolbar lets you switch among four views of your document: Final Showing Markup, Final, Original Showing Markup, and Original. You can even print out the document with the change balloons if you need to keep an audit trail.

Turn Off Revision Marks for Formatting

The Annoyance:

Format changes are always tracked if tracking is on. Sometimes it's useful to track them, but in the kind of work I do, it's usually not. Is there any way to make tracking these changes optional instead of inevitable?

The Fix:

No, but you can at least hide the marks for formatting changes. Choose Tools Options, click the Track Changes tab, and select None from the Formatting drop-down list (or, in Word 2000, the "Changed formatting drop-down list).

Toggle Revision Marking Quickly

The Annoyance:

Where the heck do I turn off that stupid document revision control thing?

The Fix:

Word offers you three ways of toggling Track Changes on and off:

• Press Ctrl+Shift+E.

• Double-click the TRK indicator in the status bar.

• Choose Tools Track Changes (or, in Word 2000, choose Tools Track Changes Highlight Changes, check the "Track changes while editing box, and then click the OK button).

See Only the Revision Marks for Some Reviewers

The Annoyance:

Okay, now tell me how this is supposed to work. Half the department has been hacking at our yearly report with revision marks on, and I need to get it cleaned up. There are so many changes and comments that I can't see the wood for the leaves . I really want to see only the changes made by my boss; she's the one whose name goes on the report.

The Fix:

If you're using Word 2000, now's the time to upgrade to Word 2003, because Word 2003 and Word XP offer just the feature you want. Display the Reviewing toolbar if it's hidden (choose View Toolbars Reviewing), click the Show button, choose Reviewers, and then choose the name of the reviewer whose changes you want to see (see Figure 5-4). Choose All Reviewers to see all the changes.

Get Rid of the Reviewing Pane Quickly

The Annoyance:

I often edit Word 2003 files with Track Changes, using the Final setting in the Reviewing toolbar so I can see what the edited version will look like. Sometimes when I'm in the midst of editing, I want to insert a comment. After I've done so, Word changes the setting from Final to Final Showing Markup, so I have to change it back again. But here's the real annoyance: when I change back to Final, Word sometimes decides to open the Reviewing Pane at the bottom of the window.

The Fix:

Word has to switch to Final Showing Markup when you insert a comment, because otherwise you won't be able to see the comment. If you're using Print Layout view or Web Layout view and you've selected the "Use balloons in Print and Web Layout" box on the Track Changes tab of the Options dialog box (Tools Options), Word displays the balloons in your preferred margin. Otherwise, Word displays the Reviewing Pane for you to enter the comment.

There's no real fix, but here are two quick ways to get rid of the Reviewing Pane: either double-click the bar that splits the Reviewing Pane from the document area or press Alt+Shift+C.

Use "Compare and Merge Documents" to Highlight Untracked Changes

The Annoyance:

My colleagues helpfully turned off Track Changes before editing the documentor maybe I forgot to turn it on. Either way, I've got four versions of a document without revision marks, and I need to integrate all the worthwhile changes.

The Fix:

In Word 2003 and Word XP, you have several options for merging documents. Open the original version of the document, and choose Tools Compare and Merge Documents. In the Compare and Merge Documents dialog box, select the first of the other versions of the document, click the drop-down arrow on the Merge button, and choose "Merge into Current Document." Word merges the documents and marks the changes with revision marks. If the results of the merge look okay, repeat the procedure to merge the next of the edited versions of the document. Check the results again, and then finish the merges.

If your colleagues have made extensive changes to the document, the merged version will look like the site of a major editing battle, but it beats manually integrating the changes in each of the versions of the document.

In Word 2000, you don't have so many options for merging documents. Open the original version of the document, choose Tools Merge Documents, and select the first of the other versions to merge it into the open version. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Prevent Other People from Turning Off "Track Changes"

The Annoyance:

I'd like to force my boss to use Track Changes for the edits she makes to a report, but she claims that seeing the changes "impacts" her creativity and spontaneit-y.

The Fix:

Good for her, I guess. Have you tried protecting the document for tracked changes, but turning off their display? Your boss then won't be able to turn off Track Changes unless she knows your password. To set this up, in Word 2000, choose Tools Protect Document, check the "Allow only this type of editing in the document box; select "Tracked changes" in the drop-down list; click the Yes, Start Enforcing Protection button; and enter a password. In Word XP or Word 2003, choose Tools Protect Document, select the "Tracked changes option, type a password, click the OK button, and confirm the password.

If your boss is being suitably creative and spontaneous , she may not look at the TRK telltale on the status bar, which will be the main indication that changes are being tracked.

If tracking changes semi-surreptitiously isn't a go, just let her edit the document without protection and use the Compare and Merge Documents command to spotlight the spontaneity for you. See the previous Annoyance, "Use 'Compare and Merge Documents' to Highlight Untracked Changes," for details.