Reviewing Document Versions

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 12, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

If you are using Word to manage different versions of your document, you may want to review a particular version of a document at some time. To review a saved version, follow these steps:

Choose Versions from the file menu. Word displays the Versions dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Versions dialog box.

Using the list of existing versions, select the version you want to review.
Click on View comments if all your comments do not fit within the Versions dialog box.
Click on Open.

At this point, Word opens the version in addition to your already open (current) version of the document. Word displays the two in separate windows, on-screen at the same time. When you are through reviewing the version, simply close it as you would any other document file.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1779) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Shortening ZIP Codes

US ZIP Codes can be of two varieties: five-digits or nine-digits. Here's how to convert longer ZIP Codes to the shorter ...

Discover More

Adding Page Numbers

Ever want to add page numbers to your document? Word allows you to control many aspects of page numbering. Here's how to ...

Discover More

Cleaning Text

You can use the CLEAN worksheet function to remove any non-printable characters from a cell. This can come in handy when ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Periodically Delete TMP Files

After using Word for a while, you may notice some "litter" of unused files on your hard drive. This tip explains how ...

Discover More

Saving Document Versions

Documents often go through several versions during development. For this reason, Word provides a feature that allows you ...

Discover More

Creating Two Versions of the Same Document

You may often need to create two versions of the same document, one with everything and the other with a subset of what ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 7 + 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.