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View Merge Changes in Word

Learn how to display merge changes by author in different colors in Microsoft Word after downloading a document from Version Story. Follow these simple steps to update your Word settings and preserve author-specific change tracking.

Overview

When you merge documents in Version Story, we show the changes from each version/author in a different color in our document viewer:

Merged document in the Version Story viewer with each author’s changes in a different color
Merged document in the Version Story viewer with each author’s changes in a different color

When you download the merged document and open it in Microsoft Word, you may find yourself taken aback to see all the changes in a single color:

The same merged document opened in Microsoft Word showing all changes in a single color
The same merged document opened in Microsoft Word showing all changes in a single color

This occurs because your settings in Microsoft Word determine the color of the changes. The Version Story application, unfortunately, cannot influence these colors. Fortunately, you can easily adjust your settings in Word by following these steps:

(1) Navigate to the Review tab.

(2) Select the expand button in the Markup section:

The expand button in the Markup section of Word’s Review tab
The expand button in the Markup section of Word’s Review tab

(3) Choose Advanced Options... in the popup window that opens:

Choosing Advanced Options in Word’s Track Changes settings popup
Choosing Advanced Options in Word’s Track Changes settings popup

(4) Select the dropdown menu for Color next to Insertions:

The Color dropdown next to Insertions in Word’s Advanced Track Changes Options
The Color dropdown next to Insertions in Word’s Advanced Track Changes Options

(5) Choose the By author option, and do the same for Deletions:

Selecting the By author color option for insertions and deletions
Selecting the By author color option for insertions and deletions

(6) Close the settings window. You will now see the changes from different versions/authors appear in different colors in Word:

The merged document in Word with each author’s changes now shown in different colors
The merged document in Word with each author’s changes now shown in different colors

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