There was a time when working together with someone else on a Word document or Excel spreadsheet meant you had to flip the file back and forth, making sure you kept track of what had changed. Fortunately, the Internet has made a collaboration in real time. Teamwork:10 tips for effective collaboration in real time. Teamwork:10 tips for effective collaboration in real time online. Read More
However, problems can still arise when it is not clear which edits have been made at what time or by whom. Fortunately, the History feature in Office 2016 takes any doubt out of the process.
With a full version history at your disposal and useful information on who did what and when, you'll soon find that your collaboration is easier than ever once you take advantage of this new functionality.
One of the most useful features added to Microsoft Office 2016 9 Tips to learn everything about Office 2016 9 Tips to learn everything about Office 2016 Microsoft Office 2016 is among us. How are you mastering the latest version for the sake of your productivity? We recommend the best links for learning Office. Stealing a march with these... Read More Whether you're working on opposite ends of your workplace or across different continents, real-time collaboration is an easy way to make sure everyone is on the same page.
The first step is to ensure that all necessary users have access to the document, as well as editing rights if necessary. Open the file you want to collaborate on and click the Share button Button in the upper right corner of the Office user interface.
You'll be prompted to save a copy of the document to an online location, so other users can access it, then you can start inviting other users to edit by entering their email addresses. Note that you can choose to give them permission to view the document without making changes, if that's preferable; however, if you plan to collaborate, they will need to be able to edit.
Invited contributors will receive an email with a link that allows them to open the document in Word Online Word Online Updates With comments, list enhancements, and notes Word Word Updates with comments, list enhancements, and footnotes Microsoft's response to Google Docs has been updated to include comments, list improvements, and notes. Read more . Alternatively, you can use the Get a link to share Option to get a direct link to the document that you can distribute as you wish.
When more than one user is working on a document, you'll see their position on the page marked with a color-coded icon. If you hover over that icon, it will expand, so you can see which user it refers to. You can also check who is active on the document at any time using the Share panel.
If someone else makes a change or adds content to the document, it will automatically be highlighted in everyone else's view of the file.
Working like this can save a lot of frustration, if multiple people need to make edits to the same document, as it eliminates the possibility of messy version history that can sometimes occur when the same files are passed from one person to another. But real-time collaboration really comes through in the way that Office 2016 Upgrade to Office 2016 for free today with your Office 365 subscription Upgrade to Office 2016 for free today with your Office 365 Microsoft Office subscription 2016 for Windows is here and it's coming Lots of smart new features. If you have an Office 365 subscription, you can get it now for free, and we'll show you how below. Read More traces the history of a document.
To view the history of an individual document in any Office 2016 program, go to File> History . Please note that this functionality is only available to users with access to OneDrive for Business or SharePoint. If you're not part of this group, you can use the Track Changes feature How to Help Track Changes in Microsoft Word How to Help Track Changes in Microsoft Word Read More (see below).
You should see the History panel open on the right side of the screen. All previous versions of the document will be listed, as well as the name of the user who made the edits and the date and time the file iteration was last modified.
Clicking on individual versions will open that iteration of the document, which can be very useful if you decide something is wrong as a project progresses. You also have the option to compare multiple versions in an interface designed to help differentiate the two documents as easily as possible.
The new history functionality serves in many ways to replace the change tracking feature, although both are supported in Office 2016.
At the time, Track Changes was a great help when documents were passed from one user to another, but the reality is that this type of workflow has changed substantially in recent years. The rise of Internet-based software like Word Online doesn't pay for Word! 5 reasons why you should use Office Online Don't pay for Word! 5 reasons why you should use Office Online Office Online is the free, cloud-connected version of Microsoft Office. The limitations are offset by features, useful even for desktop Office users. Best of all, its Read More
The History functionality largely takes care of the Track Changes feature, so there's no reason to turn it on or off unless it's your personal preference. You may still want to navigate to the review tab to insert comments where appropriate.
However, the collaboration options included in Office 2016 also offer many other ways to connect with your colleagues. Hovering over someone's name in the Share The dashboard will give you access to any contact information you've added to your Microsoft account profile.
While there's no reason to stop using Track Changes if that's what you prefer, it seems clear that the History feature is gearing up to replace its functionality entirely. For now, both options are available, but it seems more than likely that Microsoft will phase out Tracking Changes in the coming years as its purpose seems best combined with the growing focus on online collaboration while using the Office suite.
Do you have any tips on how Office users can better collaborate with colleagues? Or are you having trouble integrating the History feature into your workflow? To request help or share your own insights, please visit the comments section below.
