Fix various Word document issues via copy-and-paste

Dec 31, '08 07:30:04AM

Contributed by: kirkmc

Working on a long, complex Word document recently, with several layers of tracked changes, I was preparing the document for final distribution. While trying to clear all the tracked changes, I noticed that after accepting all changes, there still remained one that displayed each time I opened the document. Whenever I accepted it, saved the document and closed it, it would return to haunt me the next time I opened the document. The change was to the document's table of contents, located on page three, but the change "bubble" showed up at the very top of page one. Clearly something was amiss with the document, something that tends to happen with Word documents that have been through the blender a few times.

I tried a number of techniques to resolve the problem, such as accepting the change in each possible method (by clicking the bubble, from the reviewing pane, and from the reviewing toolbar), by saving the document as a new file, and by deleting the change and re-doing the change. Finally, in my desperation, I asked robg via iChat, and (after suggesting the same operations I had tried), he suggested that I copy the entire text of the document and paste it into a new file.

This worked! Not only did it remove the change, but the copy retained my document's footer (which I was worried would not be copied). I had never had this problem before, but should it happen again, I can save a lot of time.

[robg adds: This 'copy all and paste to a new doc' trick is one I've used with Word a lot in the past, and its utility extends beyond tracked changes issues. I've had other situations where I wasn't able to modify a style, or a table just wouldn't format properly. Pretty much any time I have a Word issue that seems immune to the normal solutions, I try a fresh start via copy and paste, and this nearly always seems to do the trick.]

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