Collaborating on documents can be messy when there are lots of edits flying back and forth. Microsoft Word’s Track Changes feature lets you simplify the process.
Step 1: Turn on Track Changes
Click on the “Review” tab and select “Track Changes” to toggle it on. When Track Changes is on, any edits made will be visibly highlighted.
- Deleted text will be crossed out in red
- Added text will be underlined in green
- Formatting changes will be indicated with blue highlighting
Multiple collaborators will be assigned different colors so you can see who made each change.
Step 2: Review Edits
Click on the markers in the left margin to open a card showing the details of each edit. You can scroll through changes using the Previous and Next buttons.
To make an edit permanent, click “Accept”. To discard a change, click “Reject”. You can also accept or reject all changes at once.
Step 3: Turn off Track Changes
Once done with reviews, click the Track Changes button again to turn it off and lock in the final edits. The colored highlights and edits will disappear, leaving a clean document.
Create Tables of Contents for Easy Navigation
Lengthy Word documents can be hard to navigate. Generate a table of contents automatically so readers can easily find sections.
Step 1: Apply Headings
Go through the document and format titles and subtitles with Word’s pre-defined Heading styles. Use:
- Heading 1 for main section titles
- Heading 2 for subtitles
- Heading 3 for subsections
Step 2: Insert the Table of Contents
Click where you want the table of contents to appear, usually near the beginning. Go to References > Table of Contents and pick a built-in style.
Word scans the Headings to build a custom table of contents. It includes the section titles and the page numbers they appear on.
Step 3: Update the Table of Contents
If edits change page numbers or sections, update the table of contents quickly. Right click the table and select “Update Field” to refresh it.
Use Styles and Themes for Consistent Formatting
Applying custom formats to individual text elements is time-consuming. Styles and themes standardize formatting across an entire document or even multiple files.
Step 1: Apply a Theme
Click Design > Themes to preview and pick an overall visual theme for the document. Themes dictate fonts, colors, and effects like a template. Any text set to use theme formatting will update.
Step 2: Use Styles
Highlight text elements like titles, subtitles, quotes, etc and apply Styles to them from the Home tab. Styles are preset formats like Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.
Step 3: Update All Style Elements
To rapidly change any text with an applied Style, right-click the Style and update formatting. For example, right click Heading 1 to resize or recolor all text with Heading 1 applied.
Conclusion
Mastering these Microsoft Word tricks will take your documents to the next level. Track Changes enables seamless collaboration, Tables of Contents facilitate navigation through long files, and Styles and Themes provide consistent and professional formatting. Spend some time learning these features and your Word skills will impress.
Now you can produce polished Word documents faster and easier. For more tips, check out our advanced Microsoft Word techniques guide.
