CREATE MACRO FOR "ACCEPT CHANGE" & "REJECT CHANGE"

I have Word 2013.  I want to create a keyboard driven macro that accepts changes made in Track Changes and one that rejects such changes.  In my previous version of Word (Word 2003) I was able to do this easily, assigning a keyboard combination of "Alt + W" to accept changes, and "Alt + Q" to reject them.  After several tries I have been unable to do this, even after following the "Help" instructions (which I found wanting).  Can someone take me through the steps for word 2013?

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Joel,

I don't think you need a macro; you can just assign the desired behavior to any available key combination you choose. Until one of the experts replies with a better approach, here's how I'd do it:

  1. Go to File>Options>Customize Ribbon.
  2. The "Word Options" box appears. Below the tall box that appears on the left side is the label "Keyboard shortcuts:" and a button that says "Customize." Click it.
  3. In the ensuing "Customize Keyboard" dialog box, go to the left side ("Categories") and scroll almost to the bottom. Click on "All Commands."
  4. In the "Commands" window on the right, individual commands are listed alphabetically. The first one you want ("AcceptChangesSelected") is about the seventh one down. Click it.
  5. Below that window is an input window labeled "Press new shortcut key." Enter the triggering command you want to use. (I would avoid straight Alt+key choices, because they may interfere with built-in ribbon options; suggest something like Ctl+Alt+W and Ctl+Alt+Q instead.)
  6. At the bottom-left corner, click the "Assign" button. Upon clicking, your choice should appear above that, in the "Current Keys" window.
  7. Assuming that worked OK, let's activate a key combination for "Reject"; go back to the right-hand window ("Commands") and scroll down to "RejectChangesSelected"; click it.
  8. Enter your trigger key combination (e.g., Ctl+Alt+Q).
  9. Click "Assign." Your choice should show up in the "Current Keys" window.
  10. Click "Close."
  11. Test your work.

Just let us know if this is unclear, or fails to work as advertised.

-Phil

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Thank you Phil.  I'm very familiar with that procedure as I've assigned many commands to keystrokes that way. However, I tried this one several times but it simply wouldn't work.  I even have designated keys assigned to both "accept" changes and "reject" changes - but they simply won't execute. That's when I assumed that Word didn't allow this method and required me to go deeper into the netherworld of macros to accomplish this.  So I give up.  I'll just have to hit the buttons on my Quick Access bar to accept or reject.

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Right-Click a heading in the ribbon menu.

Click Customize the Ribbon...

Check the checkbox for Developer and hit OK.

Open a document that has Track Changes Enabled.

Click Record Macro in the Code group of buttons on the Developer tab of the ribbon.

Fill in the Macro Name Field

Click Assign Macro to Keyboard

If it is only going to be used in this document, then I would select the name of the document in the Store macro in: field rather than the main normal.dotm which all new documents will inherit from.

Click the chevron (down arrow) on the Accept button to expand the options for Accept.

Select Accept and Move to Next.

Click Stop Recording in the Code group of buttons on the Developer tab of the ribbon.

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You can also:

type Alt + R + A + M for Accept and Move Next.

type Alt + R + J + M for Reject and Move Next.

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Thanks for the suggestion.

Once I got past "Click Assign Macro to Keyboard", the choices in the "Accept" drop down menu did not include "accept changes shown" (or "reject changes  shown") which is what I wanted.  Word 2013 is not as flexible in this regard as Word 2003 was.  That's progress!   I'll just continue to use the buttons I created in the Quick Access Toolbar (although a keyboard combination would be more efficient for me).

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No problem.  Hope it helped.

I can say that "Accept Changes Shown" appears to only be available in Word 2013 as an option if you have applied some sort of filter, such as only showing changes of a certain type, or from a certain author, etc.

All you need to do is open a document that has a filter applied to the changes shown, then record the macro as described above substituting "Accept Changes Shown" for "Accept and Move Next."

You bring up the opportunity for a valid critique of the design I believe though.  If I were to redesign this.  I would perhaps have "Accept Changes Shown" be enabled as an option even if no filters have been applied and treat it the same as "Accept All Changes" until a filter is applied.

Alt + R + A + A is the default keyboard shortcut for "Accept Changes Shown"

Alt + R + J + A is the default keyboard shortcut for "Reject Changes Shown"

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The Alt +R+A+A  and the Alt + R + J + A are the closest thing to what I wanted to achieve.

To be accurate, what I wanted was a keystroke combo which would allow me to "Accept This Change" or "Reject This Change" with respect to Tracked Change language I selected.  Sorry if I was unclear before.

Now it would be nice if I could shorten those keystrokes above to "Alt + W" to "Accept This Change" and "Alt + Q" to "Reject this Change".  This is what I had achieved in Word 2003 and these were the keys I had assigned to those functions.  And there was no additional step with the drop down menu. But thanks to everyone for their input.

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Assigning keyboard shortcuts to AcceptChangesAndAdvance and to RejectChangesAndAdvance, respectively, should do what you want. (I realize that the "AndAdvance" part is confusing, but just ignore it and test these commands.)

Stefan Blom
MS 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
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Note that I do not work for Microsoft
https://mvp.microsoft.com/
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Thank you Stefan but having tried your suggestion, the keyboard shortcut does advance to the next change, which is what I do not want. I simply wanted to create a simple 2-stroke keyboard shortcut for "Accept Change" or "Accept This Change", same for "Reject Change" - and nothing more.  Unfortunately those commands are not available using the Customize Keyboard route.  When I tried to create  Macros, the choices of "Accept Change" "Reject Change" were grayed out.  I was able to customize my keyboard so easily in Word 2003 - it's a shame it was removed.  Who makes these decisions for everyone else?  I finally just created new "Groups" in the Ribbon section for "Accept and Reject"  At least the icons are large and easier to click with my mouse than the Quick Access Toolbar (where they are much smaller).  I thank everyone for their suggestions but I'm giving up on any further attempts to get back what I had in the 12 year old version of Word.

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How strange! On my system, assuming that I choose the AcceptChangesAndAdvance (as opposed to AcceptChangesOrAdvance), it doesn't move to the next change.
Stefan Blom
MS 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
~~~
Note that I do not work for Microsoft
https://mvp.microsoft.com/
~~~
Please specify Word version & OS in your question

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Last updated November 24, 2023 Views 3,054 Applies to: