Starting a Discussion

Word 2000 and later versions include an online collaboration feature called discussions. After you have connected to a discussion server (as described in previous WordTips), you can load a document and start either an inline or general discussion. You use an inline discussion to trade comments on a specific part of a document, such as a paragraph, table, graphic, or other element. To start an inline discussion, follow these steps:

1. Position the insertion point anywhere within the paragraph or table that will be the subject of the discussion.
2. On the Discussions toolbar, click on the Insert Discussion In the Document tool. The Enter Discussion Text dialog box appears.
3. In the Discussion Subject area, enter the subject for your discussion.
4. In the Discussion Text area, enter your comments.
5. Click on OK.

Your comment is posted on the server, and Word places the discussion icon at the end of the paragraph, table, or graphic. In addition, Word displays the Discussion pane at the bottom of your screen.

You can use a general discussion to discuss global issues concerning a document. To start a general discussion, follow these steps:

1. Open the document you want to discuss.
2. On the Discussions toolbar, click on the Insert Discussion About the Document tool. The Enter Discussion Text dialog box appears.
3. In the Discussion Subject area, enter the subject for your discussion.
4. In the Discussion Text area, enter your comments.
5. Click on OK.

Your comment is posted on the server, and the discussion icon appears at the end of the paragraph, table, or graphic. In addition, Word displays the Discussion pane at the bottom of your screen.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (772) applies to Microsoft Word 2000, 2002, and 2003.