When you’re in a doc, you’ll see a pencil icon button on the upper right-hand corner of the screen. That means you can use it immediately, whether you’re working on a new doc or you’ve created one from scratch.It’s simple and easy to use. “Track Changes” is the name of Microsoft Word’s editing tracker, which many writers used long before transitioning to the more collaborative Docs.Unlike Google Doc’s old Track Changes, which was somewhat clunky in that it required the installation of an add-on, Suggest Edits is now a built-in feature in Google Docs. It’s since been a great way for multiple people to access and revise the same document in real-time without the frustration of wondering if you’ve got the “latest” version or if someone’s working off a different draft than you — I’m looking at you, Microsoft Word.If you haven’t taken the ever-evolving Suggest Edits feature for a ride to see how it’s been updated, we’ve taken several trips for you, and here’s what we found.While Google’s new editing collaboration tool is called Suggest Edits, many writers still refer to it as Track Changes, and not just because that was the name of Google Doc’s previous editing tool. Initially, Google Docs dropped a track changes add-on that came with a few quirks and kinks that needed to be ironed out, making the editing process more clunky than desired.Within the last few years, however, the process of tracking changes in Google Docs has immensely improved. (Here at The Write Life, we’re big fans of Google docs!)Since its emergence in 2014, Google Docs’ Suggest Edits feature has had editors everywhere rejoicing because of its almost-seamless ability to make content collaboration a whole lot easier.That wasn’t the case at first, though.Viewing, which allows you to see what the doc will look like in its final stateThe mode you’re currently in will appear next to the pencil icon.To suggest an edit, simply select Suggesting mode and make changes in the text of the doc — add words, change fonts, add subheadings, delete paragraphs, etc. Suggesting, whereby revisions are visible via tracked changes and Editing, or straight-up working on the doc, where your changes are not tracked
![]() Now all the changes are highlighted individually and you can see them all at a glance. This allowed you to see everything that was different between your current doc and its previous versions, but you had to play compare-and-contrast to guess which specific changes had been made between versions, a tedious and imperfect process. Here’s why: Huge improvement over revision historyBefore Track Changes and Suggest Edits came along, the only way you could tell which changes had been made to a Google Doc was via the less-than-stellar “revision history” setting. Pros of Google Docs’ Suggest Edits toolOverall, I’m a huge fan of using this new tool to track changes in Google Docs. Ability to preview your suggested changesRemember when Google Docs Track Changes required you to accept/reject each individual change if you wanted to see the final product? Those days are long gone. From there, you can either accept or reject all, or even make your selections individually from the neat pop-up box without having to scroll through the page. If you’re working on a Doc with numerous changes and you want to accept or reject everything a previous user suggested, hit the “Tools” button on your toolbar, then select “Review Suggested Edits” from the drop-down menu. “Accept all” optionThis long-awaited feature is finally here, and it’s as useful as it was anticipated to be. And Suggest Edits’ in-text revision boxes are much easier to scan and work with than the old Track Changes add-on, which displayed all revisions that had been made to a doc in one long sidebar you were forced to scroll through. Once you know where to find Suggesting mode on the navigation bar, you’re good to go. Thankfully the comment-like format of Suggested Edits addressed that issue and it’s now clear to see who’s made which changes. Ability to differentiate editorsTrack Changes didn’t demarcate which revisions had been made by which users, which could prove troublesome if you were working with a team of people and needed to know who’d done what to your doc. This Google Docs feature allows you to work in the same document as your peers and view changes as they happen , keeping everyone on the same page and storing that page conveniently in the cloud where anyone can access it at any time. Easy to share and collaborateWith Word’s track changes, you still have to trade documents back and forth, updating them as you go and hoping everyone is working off the same draft. With Suggest Edits, you can make these notes right underneath your revision box, making dialogue and discussion much easier than in the old static sidebar. Added dialogue potentialSometimes you need to explain why you’ve made a certain change, or you want to add extra comments or questions for your team to see when they’re considering your revisions. You can update document users and permission levels as often as you’d like and at any time as you see fit — users you’ve given “can comment” permission can suggest edits but not approve or reject them those with “can edit” permission can do both and the “can view” permission prohibits users from making any changes to the document. Can i disable the keychain on my mac os for sierraWhen you click that option, a drop-down menu will reveal all of the editing options you can access. At the top right-hand corner of your screen, you’ll see three black dots. Gotta edit and track changes on-the-go? No problem! Whether you’re #TeamAndroid or #TeamiPhone, all you need is the Google Docs app to suggest edits, accept/reject edits, add comments, share the document with others and more. Mobile accessIt used to be that you needed an actual computer to take advantage of prevalent Doc functions, but not anymore. You lose access to edits once you accept themBefore you reject or accept all suggested edits, make sure you’re absolutely sure, because there’s no going back (…ish). To avoid this sticky situation, set up your offline access beforehand, or only set it up for certain Drive files. Working on a Google Doc without setting up offline access means your work won’t save automatically and you’ll lose all of it. Google, on the other hand, requires a bit more finagling. If it’s installed on your computer, you can access and edit a Word document just about anywhere. You need to plan ahead for offline useA big difference between Microsoft Word and Google Docs is accessibility. While the edits disappear from your revision history, it doesn’t from theirs! Since you’re not the document owner, your final decision isn’t so… well, final.The verdict on tracking changes in Google DocsGoogle Docs’ first attempt at offering an editing feature with its Track Changes add-on had a decent amount of pros and just a few cons.But the product keeps improving, and has even more pros and two cons that come with solutions. Say you’re doing a final edit of a document whose owner has already edited the copy under the “Suggesting” mode, and you go through accepting/rejecting each one. It’s not the greatest view, but it’s better than losing access to all the suggested edits entirely. Alternatively, you can click the comment box icon (next to “Share”) to see all the suggested edits and comments in one place. Here are two silver linings that weren’t available with Google Docs Track Changes:
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