WD2000: Document Layout Changes When You Use Compare Documents Feature (211250)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 2000
This article was previously published under Q211250

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Compare Documents feature to compare editing revisions between an original document and the revised document, the layout of the document may change. For example, additional lines and page breaks may appear, and line wrapping may change. See the "More Information" section of this article for a more complete description of the symptom.

CAUSE

When you compare documents, if revisions include deleted paragraph marks or manual line breaks, new lines may appear to indicate lines that were deleted. Word must display any paragraph marks that were deleted to accurately display the differences between the compared documents.

Also, the word immediately preceding the deleted paragraph mark or manual line break is listed as part of the revision, and therefore appears twice (as being deleted and then added back).

WORKAROUND

Although you cannot work around this behavior, you can quickly turn the display of revision marks on or off. Note that these methods do not affect whether or not changes are accepted or rejected. These methods only affect the way that the information is displayed.

To turn display of revision marks on or off, use either of the following methods.

Method 1: Create a Macro

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For more information about the support options that are available and about how to contact Microsoft, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

For additional information about getting help with Visual Basic forApplications, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

226118 OFF2000: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for Applications

212536 OFF2000: How to Run Sample Code from Knowledge Base Articles

To quickly turn revision marks on and off, use the following sample Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro: 
Sub ToggleShowRevisions()

   ActiveDocument.ShowRevisions = Not ActiveDocument.ShowRevisions

End Sub
You can also assign this macro to a toolbar or menu for quick access.

For more information about adding a command to a menu, click Microsoft Help on the Help menu, type menu in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

Then double-click the selected text to open the Add a command or other item to a menu topic.

Method 2: Use the Highlight Changes Command

To manually turn revision marks on and off, follow these steps:
  1. On the Tools menu, point to Track Changes, and then click Highlight Changes.
  2. In the Highlight Changes dialog box, click to clear or select the Highlight changes on screen check box.

MORE INFORMATION

The following sample text demonstrates the behavior described in the "Symptoms" section of this article.

NOTE: <p> denotes a paragraph mark.

Original Document (Document 1) - Before Revisions

   The Title.<p>
   More Title.<p>
   SubTitle.<p>

Copy of Original Document (Document 2) - After Revisions

   The Title.More Title.<p>
   SubTitle.<p>

After Comparing Documents

   The Title.(<- Red Strikethrough: Deletion)<p>(<-Red: Deletion)
   The Title.(<- Red Underline: Addition)More Title.<p>
   SubTitle.<p>
NOTE: Although it is not shown in the preceding text, the deleted paragraph mark is displayed as red, given default Track Changes settings. To change the setting, click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the Track Changes tab. Additional text around the deleted paragraph mark may be displayed as strikethrough or underlined.

To use the Compare Documents feature, point to Track Changes on the Tools menu, and then click Compare Documents.

REFERENCES

For additional information about revision marks in Word, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

212058 WD2000: Formatting/Drawing Layer Change Unmarked in Compare Docs

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/13/2002
Keywords:kbdtacode kbmacroexample kbprb KB211250
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.