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Backspace with Track Changes

I am working on a Word document where I have recently turned on Track Changes.  

While typing a new sentence, I spot that I have spelt a word incorrectly, so naturally try to use the backspace key to erase the letters and try again.  Except that the backspace key does nothing.   

In a different document, also with Track Changes turn on (and open at the same time as the offending doc) the backspace key works as expected.

Reverting to an older version of the document - before Track Changes enabled - the backspace works as expected.

Verified on two different computers and the same document.

What could be going wrong?

Thanks

Derek

The document may be damaged. Have you tried copying the content, minus the final paragraph mark (¶), into a new blank document? To show/hide paragraph marks as well as other nonprinting marks, you can use the ¶ button on the Home tab.

Important: To preserve the changes after you paste, turn off Track Changes in both the source and target documents before copying and pasting (see http://shaunakelly.com/word/sharing/howtrackchangesworks.html#HowToCopyTextContainingTrackedChanges for more on this).

Stefan Blom
Microsoft 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator (Office)
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
~~~~
Please note that I do not work for Microsoft
MVP program info: https://mvp.microsoft.com/
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Another possibility is that the Track Changes options are set wrong.

If I have the Deletions markup set to "(none)" and display set to All Markup, then backspacing appears to do nothing. However, the characters really are deleted, as seen when the display is switched to Simple Markup.

To verify and possibly fix this, click the dialog launcher arrow in the bottom of the Tracking group on the Review ribbon. Then click the Advanced Options button. If the Deletions dropdown is set to "(none)", change it to one of the other values, such as Strikethrough.

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Good point.
Stefan Blom
Microsoft 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator (Office)
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
~~~~
Please note that I do not work for Microsoft
MVP program info: https://mvp.microsoft.com/
~~~~

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Question Info

Last updated February 7, 2024 Views 740 Applies to: