WD97: Can't Merge Documents with Tracked Changes

• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

If you attempt to use the Merge Documents feature to merge the tracked changes in two or more copies of the same document, you may receive the following error message:

   The merged documents contain unmarked changes. Do you want to merge
   up to the first untracked change?

CAUSE

This error message occurs when there are differences in the two documents that have not been marked as tracked changes.

WORKAROUND

To successfully complete the merge, you can either compare documents using the Compare Documents command, or mark all differences between the copies as tracked changes.

To compare documents correctly, you must turn off the Track Changes feature, accept all tracked changes, and then run Compare Documents. To do this, follow these steps.

1. Open the first document.

2. On the Tools menu, point to Track Changes, and click Highlight Changes.

3. In the Highlight Changes dialog box, click to clear the Track Changes While Editing check box and click OK.

4. On the Tools menu, point to Track Changes, and click Accept Or Reject Changes.

5. Use the Accept and Reject buttons to review the changes in the document.

6. Save and close the document.

7. Repeat steps 1 through 6 for the second document.

REFERENCES

For more information about comparing versions, click Contents And Index on the Help menu click the Index tab in Word Help, and type the following text

   tracking changes

   ARTICLE-ID: Q182057
   TITLE     : WD97: Merging Documents vs. Comparing Documents