When adding to a bulleted list while tracking changes, the last untracked number is treated as a deletion. Is there a way to stop this?

Question

Why does line 3 show as an insertion when tracking the changes? All I did was hit "Enter" and type in the sentence for line 4. The strikethrough of the number 3 doesn't makes sense.

Answer 1

Hi,

I'm Sneha and I'd be happy to help you out with your question. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

I understand that you are having an issue with Microsoft Word when adding to a bulleted list while tracking changes. Specifically, you are seeing that the last untracked number is being treated as a deletion, which is causing confusion when working with long lists. I would be happy to help you with this issue.

This is a known issue in Microsoft Word when working with tracked changes and bulleted or numbered lists. Essentially, when you add a new item to the list, Word automatically assigns the next number or bullet point to the new item. However, when you are tracking changes, Word sees the assignment of the number or bullet as a deletion of the old number or bullet and an insertion of the new one. This can be confusing and frustrating, as you have experienced.

Unfortunately, there is no way to stop Word from treating the last untracked number as a deletion when adding to a bulleted list while tracking changes. However, there is a workaround that you can use to avoid the confusion caused by the strikethrough of the old number or bullet and the insertion of the new one. Simply turn off the tracking of changes before you add to the list, and then turn it back on again afterwards.

To turn off tracking of changes, click on the "Review" tab in Word, and then click on the "Track Changes" button to toggle it off. You can then add to the list as normal, without Word treating the last untracked number as a deletion. After you have finished adding to the list, turn tracking of changes back on by clicking on the "Track Changes" button again.

As for the second question, line 3 shows as an insertion when tracking changes because Word treats the entire bulleted list as a single object. When the user adds a new line to the list, Word assumes that the user wants to continue the list and has inserted a new item. The strikethrough of the number 3 is a result of Word trying to maintain the numbering of the list. Since the user has added a new item to the list, Word strikes through the old number 3 to indicate that it is no longer part of the list.

To avoid this behavior, the user can turn off the "Automatic Bulleted Lists" feature in Word. Alternatively, the user can manually number the list items and turn off the "Automatic Numbered Lists" feature in Word.

Here are the steps to turn off the "Automatic Bulleted Lists" feature in Word:

1. Click on the "File" tab in the ribbon.
2. Click on "Options" in the left-hand menu.
3. Click on "Proofing" in the left-hand menu.
4. Click on the "AutoCorrect Options" button.
5. Click on the "AutoFormat As You Type" tab.
6. Uncheck the "Automatic bulleted lists" checkbox.
7. Click "OK" to close the AutoCorrect Options dialog box.
8. Click "OK" to close the Word Options dialog box.

Once this feature is turned off, Word will no longer automatically create bulleted lists when the user types a hyphen or asterisk followed by a space. The user will need to manually create the bulleted list using the "Bullets" button in the ribbon.

For more Information, please refer to following resource "Track changes in Word" - https://support.microsoft.com/office/track-changes-in-word-197ba630-0f5f-4a8e-9a77-3712475e806a

If you have any other questions or need assistance with anything, please don't hesitate to let me know. It will be my pleasure to Assist you.

Best Regards, Sneha

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Answer 2

Try selecting the whole third paragraph, up to and including the paragraph mark that terminates the paragraph, and accept the current change. Does that improve the situation?

To show/hide paragraph marks, ¶, as well as other nonprinting marks, use the ¶ icon on the Home tab.

Answer 3

Thank you for your response. The problem with this solution is that it doesn't track the "4." as a change. Only the sentence part of the bullet is tracked. See the screenshot.

Answer 4

Thank you for your response. This known issue is unfortunate but I appreciate the insight on why it is happening.

Answer 5

Thanks for the follow-up. I see what you mean. As far as I know, there is nothing you can do about that behavior. The Track Changes feature does not deal with number formatting in a convenient way. A similar limitation exists with field results.