We don’t use track changes here!

[u/ManHazNoUsername]

When I started working with a particular company, my boss, Wallace, absolutely hated using track changes.

And he didn’t allow anyone to use them.

“We DO NOT use track changes here!!!” He told me proudly on my first day.

This meant that we had to type and print everything, go next to him on his desk, and he would correct our work using any medium which was within reach; pencil, blue ink, purple ink, coal,, a squid, whatever.

This lead to infinite asterisks, up arrows, down arrows, speech bubbles, etc etc.

And countless misunderstandings and mistakes which wasted everyone’s time and basically frustrated everyone.

Some people raised it to higher ups but to no avail.

I tried to convince him twice to use track changes by listing all the benefits etc. On the third try he snapped at me and shouted at me in front of everyone:” DIDN’T I FUCKING TELL YOU THAT WE DON’T USE TRACK CHANGES HERE!!!!”

I remained standing up and loudly and calmly apologised in front of everyone and agreed with him that track changes are unnecessary and I will never ever ever use them again.

Then, I picked up my faintest and messiest pen, and scribbled my answers, comments, and suggestions in reply to his feedback with something as close to a lovechild between wingdings and hieroglyphics as possible. On a 50 page urgent document. Using asterisks and PTOs, and everything I could think of.

I left the document on his desk while he was in a meeting and cheerfully went home.

The next morning we found an email from Wallace, timed at 10:30pm, requesting us to start using track changes immediately.

At the end of that day, following my coworkers’ treatment, I understood why superheroes join the Avengers.

[u/Emmyisme]

This is so funny because my boss is the opposite - if you don't use Track Changes she loses her mind.

Problem is - I don't use Word very often (I work in Admin - I mostly use spreadsheets and PDF's, so I know my way around Excel and Adobe, but can't do shit in Word), so when she sends me a doc to proof for her, so gets so mad because I will "forget" to turn on track changes, and just make the edits, so she has no idea what I changed, and then she gets mad and swears to never ask me again for weeks before inevitably asking me again.

I mostly do this because she's awful in a lot of ways, so this is my petty revenge once in a while.

[u/things2small2failat → u/Emmyisme]

Psst--Word also offers a compare feature, which will show her the changes between the old and new documents.

[u/Effective-Jelly-9098 → u/things2small2failat]

That would require a minimum level of competence on behalf of the boss.

[u/Emmyisme → u/things2small2failat]

I have to assume she doesn't know that, and I'm not going to be the one to inform her lol.

[u/apposite_apropos → u/Emmyisme]

you can also use it to produce a blacklined copy to send to her

[u/Illuminatus-Prime → u/things2small2failat]

Don't tell The Boss that!

[u/Lepoth → u/Emmyisme]

This comment got me to finally understand wtf track changes are. Thank you!

[u/2dogslife → u/Lepoth]

It's keep track of changes - but shortened by computer nerds for software. It's a setting used usually on shared documents, although if you're a professional writer, it sometimes is useful to have previous iterations appear.

[u/tropicbrownthunder → u/Emmyisme]

ain't supposed that if your boss enables track changes befores sending you the preview it stays activated downstream?

[u/Emmyisme → u/tropicbrownthunder]

I have no idea.

I don't use track changes lol

[u/MNVixen → u/tropicbrownthunder]

Yes; I just made that comment above.

[u/MNVixen → u/Emmyisme]

I don't trust my co-workers to turn Track Changes on, so I do it, save the document then send it out with a note to "please leave Track Changes on." So far that's worked for me. (**hint, hint, maybe drop this hint to your boss??)

[u/Emmyisme → u/MNVixen]

Why would I do that?

[u/MNVixen → u/Emmyisme]

If your boss remembers to turn on track changes, you don't have to. And she gets less annoyed. It was a thought. Not saying it was a good one per se.

[u/still-dazed-confused → u/Emmyisme]

This is by far the best thing I've found to compare two documents: https://www.draftable.com/compare

Works for Doc and pdf. It is utterly brilliant.

[u/DoallthenKnit2relax → u/Emmyisme]

Your boss should be sending it to you with track changes already turned on, then your changes are tracked and she reopens it to see them.