Tag Archives: how to

Remove Time Stamps from Changes and Comments

a map "locator pin" styled as the MS Word logo
Learn more about creating and running macros in Part 4 (Sections 28–31) of the book.

Did you work in the wee hours? Did you scramble to finish right before deadline? Do your tracked changes and comments reveal more than you feel is professional about your work habits? If clients can’t let this go or it’s bothering you too much, try this tiny macro that Samantha Pico commissioned that will go into the background coding and remove the time stamps, and only the time stamps from all tracked changes, leaving your beautifully branded user tag in place.

Macro that erases time stamps in Word

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For Your Eyes Only: Formatting That Boosts Editing

One thing that makes Amy Schneider such a darned fast editor is that she formats manuscripts to make editing easier. It’s weird-looking, but it’s temporary. With just a few clicks, Amy uses Styles to change what is on her screens (and she uses four) to suit her needs, and then back to the publishers’ submission requirements when she’s done.

a map "locator pin" styled as the MS Word logo
Learn more about using Styles in Section 11 of the book, or take the Word Essentials course, and for more tools that make reading easier on the eyes, see Section 35.
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Q&A: Can I make a list of in-text citations without a macro?

QIs there a way to make a list of all in-text citations without using a macro?

AYes, with a wildcard search!

Great question. Many editing checks could be done with such a list, and creating one is easy:

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Q&A: How can I tell what section of a document I’m in?

QI’m working in a document with dozens of headings and subheadings. I want to check which section I’m working in without having to scroll back up to find the heading. Is that possible?

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Delete Resolved Comments Only

Grey checkmark icon on a Comment balloon icon.
Resolved comment marks go grey in the margin of a Word document.

Resolved Comments go quiet in Word, but they don’t go away. It’s important to delete them when finalizing a document so they don’t inadvertently travel into the wild with the document, or get (much worse!) printed!

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