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Word 2016 - Is there a way to type in all new text as a different color?

Anonymous
2017-08-23T22:15:11+00:00

We have a number of documents that go through editing and revisions.  We would like to color code the changes to reflect the revision level.

Currently, the method is to type in the changed text, then manually change the color.  This is very cumbersome and time consuming.  Ideally, it would be useful to be able to set the default font color to a specified value, rather than taking the style format.

Also, sometimes the editor forgets to apply the new color, and the change level is lost.

We have tried track changes - that does not work as the track changes document becomes to unstable after a number of authors work on it.  Also, the changes do not appear as marked revisions after the changes are accepted.

Styles are just as cumbersome since the text must still be highlighted, and the style applied.

Is there a way to change the color of all new text added to the document?

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-09-20T21:48:14+00:00

    UPDATE - I found a rather odd work-around...

    I send the text I want to edit to myself in an e-mail (the e-mail body).  My e-mail is set to reply with a specific color.  When I respond to the e-mail, and edit the text, all of the new text is in the reply color as I wanted it to be!

    With the new text in the e-mail reply color, and the original remaining text is in the color from the main document, I then cut and paste the entire edited text back into the main document.  

    It is a bit cumbersome, however this accomplishes exactly what I need to do.  It is curious to me why Word cannot perform this simple action.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-08-24T23:07:46+00:00

    Thank you for your response.

    This seems like such a logical feature to have - like using a different color pen to mark up a document without all the related complexity of having to change color, style, etc. for every edit.

    The track change feature works similar to this, but it does not give a revision history in the final document.

    Another thought...

    When a document is issued as a revision controlled document, any revisions have to be identified in the document.  This is normally done with some type of indication in the margin such as a vertical bar, then a revision level notation.  

    Does this feature exist in Word?

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  3. Stefan Blom 339K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2017-08-24T23:17:57+00:00

    You can set options for Tracked Changes so that you get the behavior you want. For example, you can have a Word document (or template) track edits but not formatting changes. The problem is that some of the display options for Track Changes are user- and machine-specific rather than document-specific, which means that they probably wouldn't be useful to you.

    If the ability to set up numbered versions would suffice for you, have a look at MVP Graham Mayor's article at http://www.gmayor.com/SaveVersionsAdd-in.htm.

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  4. Suzanne S Barnhill 277.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2017-08-23T23:08:51+00:00

    In a word, no. You have already eliminated Track Changes and styles, which are the only mechanisms Word offers.

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