How can I make Track Changes the default setting in all Microsoft Word documents?
January 202010
I do a lot of freelance editing projects and most clients prefer that I use the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word so that they can see what changes I’ve made to their manuscripts. However, sometimes I’ll be several pages into a document before I remember to turn on Track Changes. How can I make Track Changes my default setting for all Microsoft Word documents created or changed on my computer?
Real Helper, that’s a spam ad site. Nice try.
Not a problem. We’ll fix it by changing your global template. NOTE: THIS METHOD WILL NOT AFFECT ANY OTHER CHANGES YOU’VE MADE TO THE TEMPLATE. Here’s how:
In Word versions prior to Word 2007 (Vista):
1.Close all open copies of Word.
2.Open Word.
3.Click on the File->Save As menu item.
4.In the "File of Type" list box, scroll down to Document Templates and select it. The directory should change and there should be a Normal.dot file in it. DON’T SAVE THE FILE. Click Cancel instead.
5.Press CTRL/O.
6.Select Normal.dot. Normal.dot should become your open document.
7.Turn on Track Changes.
8.Save the file with CTRL/S. You may get a warning message about the Global template having been changed. This is OK. Click Yes.
9.Close Word.
In Word 2007:
1.Close all open copies of Word.
2.Open Word.
3.Click on the round Office button in the upper-left corner of the window.
4.Click Open.
5.Select Templates in the Favorite Links pane.
6.Select Normal.dotm. Normal.dotm should become your open document.
7.Turn on Track Changes.
8.Save the file with CTRL/S. You may get a warning message about the Global template having been changed. This is OK. Click Yes.
9.Close Word.
Word sometimes leaves the last directory used incorrectly set, so the next time you open or save (especially!) a file, be careful that Word’s pointed at the right place.
Hope that helps.
January 20th, 2010 at 11:18 am
I believe you set Track Changes in word, then Save As… *.dot (Document Template). If you save it as "Normal.dot" that will overwrite the default start up template and the change will be until you save "Normal.dot" again. Backup your "Normal.dot" before you do any changes to it, just in case.
For some reason, when I do this, I loose all my additions to my AutoCorrect library and it reverts to the default entries.
Anyway, that’s the way to do it.
T
References :
January 20th, 2010 at 11:24 am
Not a problem. We’ll fix it by changing your global template. NOTE: THIS METHOD WILL NOT AFFECT ANY OTHER CHANGES YOU’VE MADE TO THE TEMPLATE. Here’s how:
In Word versions prior to Word 2007 (Vista):
1.Close all open copies of Word.
2.Open Word.
3.Click on the File->Save As menu item.
4.In the "File of Type" list box, scroll down to Document Templates and select it. The directory should change and there should be a Normal.dot file in it. DON’T SAVE THE FILE. Click Cancel instead.
5.Press CTRL/O.
6.Select Normal.dot. Normal.dot should become your open document.
7.Turn on Track Changes.
8.Save the file with CTRL/S. You may get a warning message about the Global template having been changed. This is OK. Click Yes.
9.Close Word.
In Word 2007:
1.Close all open copies of Word.
2.Open Word.
3.Click on the round Office button in the upper-left corner of the window.
4.Click Open.
5.Select Templates in the Favorite Links pane.
6.Select Normal.dotm. Normal.dotm should become your open document.
7.Turn on Track Changes.
8.Save the file with CTRL/S. You may get a warning message about the Global template having been changed. This is OK. Click Yes.
9.Close Word.
Word sometimes leaves the last directory used incorrectly set, so the next time you open or save (especially!) a file, be careful that Word’s pointed at the right place.
Hope that helps.
References :