If your business is moving from Microsoft Office to Google Workspace, your team will need to get used to some fundamental changes. One is how to see and make changes to documents, which Microsoft users will call “Track Changes.”
Google calls this function “Suggesting Edits” and it does it better, but differently. All suggested edits are viewable by users of either Google Docs or Microsoft Word, and all edits are tracked and accessible through Version History. You can even name each of your versions to make key revisions easier to find.
Google’s “Suggested Edits” are viewable as “Track Changes” in Microsoft Word if the file is saved as a .docx file and shared or sent to a reviewer. Conversely, “Track Changes” in Word is viewable as suggested edits in Google Docs.
Generally, you want to use suggested edits to show where you’ve made changes to people who are reviewing or working on the document. The changes you’ve made are shown in Version History, and you can even name your versions to make the history of your document easier to track.
This makes it much easier to revert to versions of the document before people have made specific edits. If, for example, you want to remove edits made in a particular version for your final draft, you can revert to that version easily in Version History, whether it is named or not - named versions just make this process easier.
Working With Suggested Edits in Google Docs
The default setting is to edit the document directly (Editing).
To turn on suggested edits, click the pencil icon in the top right corner of your Google Doc, and choose “Suggested Edits” from the selections.
Once you make this selection, it acts exactly like Track Changes in Microsoft Word. The people you are sharing the file with will be able to see your edits. If you want to draw attention to specific edits, you can make a comment and tag the people who you want to review it.
What is viewing mode?
You would use viewing mode if you want to review the file without the suggested edits being underlined. This is helpful to switch to if you have a number of suggested edits throughout the document and you want to give the document a final read-through before passing it on.
How to Use Version History in Google Docs
How can I access Version History?
There are two ways to find it. The easiest is to click on the clock icon on the very top right of a Google Doc. The second is to access it through File->Version History. Once you’re in there, you can choose to view all versions or just named versions of the file.
Naming file versions
If your document is going through several stages of revisions, you may want to name your versions when you are done with an important step. If, for example, you make edits recommended by a key stakeholder, you may want to name that version “<Key Stakeholder Name> Requested Edits.”
Note that file version names have nothing to do with the file name, they just make it easier to see when specific changes were done by incorporating the gist of those changes into the version name. You can only see them when you access Version History.
More Google Docs suggested edits tips
What happens if I accidentally use edit mode instead of suggested edits?
If you forget to turn on suggested edits and edit the document, you can leave a comment for your reviewers highlighting the portion of the document that you want them to review. Alternatively, you can name your version and ask your reviewers to view the version history.
How do I accept suggested edits?
If you want to accept one or all of your suggested edits, go to Tools ->Review suggested edits. You’ll then have the option to accept some or all of the edits. Once you accept suggested edits, you can still see what they are by going back to the file’s version history.
It’s always a good idea to review your document after accepting suggested edits, just to make sure that your file reviewers haven’t made any mistakes while making their own edits.
Working with others using suggested edits
If your team requires training, you can point them to Google’s support article for how to use them. Usually, suggested edits are used only when reviewing a document, rather than in its initial creation. The best practice is for the editor to use suggested edits, and then the original file creator accepts them and adds their own suggested edits if needed. When the document is finalized, all suggested edits are accepted by the original creator.
If you want to convert everything from Microsoft Office to Google Workspace, we’re one of Google’s Premier Partners and have helped thousands of businesses make the switch. Contact us today for a demonstration!
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