Training Module: Using change tracking and comments

The Editor includes track changes feature which allows you to manage changes that you or another user has made, including accepting and rejecting them as well as recording and managing comments.

📘 Introduction

Using tracked changes

📚 Exercises

🛠️ Getting Started

Before you can draft a bill, you will need to create your own training project containing a half finished bill to continue drafting.
If you haven’t got one already, create a project containing a half finished bill: Drafting a bill.xml
The following steps will allow you to create the data required for this exercise.

How to create a new project

Download the XML document for the exercise by clicking on the link you’ve been provided with. By default, the downloaded file is usually placed in the “downloads” folder on your computer.
Log in to Lawmaker.
From the Dashboard, create a new project of the type you need for the exercise. Give it a title such as [Your Initials] Drafting a bill. (See Creating a new project.)
From the Project tab for that project, select Document Actions > Upload document, and select the XML file for the exercise which you have downloaded. It can be uploaded into the default folder that has been created in the project. (See Create a new document by uploading an XML file.)
On the newly uploaded document version, select Actions > Update Document Information and update the Title to match the title you originally gave the project.
Duplicate this document version using Actions > Duplicate version and call the new version the name of this module. We will create a new document version per module.
Open the duplicated version in the Editor

✏️ Exercise 1: Turn on change tracking

This exercise will take you through the process of tracking changes in your document.

If you haven’t already done so, duplicate the imported bill version and name it the description of this module so you can easily track work related to these exercises. When the Editor has finished loading, turn on change tracking before you edit the document

How to activate change tracking

Click on the binoculars in the upper tool bar to turn on and turn off change tracking
If the binoculars are highlighted blue then change tracking is enabled

✏️ Exercise 2: Insert and delete text and provisions

Recreate the following changes in sections 1 and 2—

Brief summary of the changes made in sections 1 and 2

Delete section 1(2)
Delete and insert text in section 2(1)
Insert a new subsection after section 2(1) (which will cause the remaining subsection to renumber)

✏️ Exercise 3: View the changes

View the document with changes applied and then as it was originally

Detailed steps to show different views of the document in tracked change mode

Select Review > View Final which will show you the document as though all changes were accepted
Select Review > View Original which will show you the document as though all changes were rejected
Return to the tracked change view by selecting Review > View all changes/comments

✏️ Exercise 4: Insert some comments

Recreate the following comment—

Detailed steps to create a comment

Insert a comment into section 1(1) by highlighting the text Subsection (1)
Right-click and select Add Comment…
Add the text Was this not subsection (4) to the comment

✏️ Exercise 5: Generate a PDF with different views

Generate a PDF, experimenting with the different display options

Detailed steps to create PDF with different views of the changes

Select Document > Generate PDF
In the Generate PDF dialog box, select Show review comments in the Extras section
Generate a PDF and see how the comments are inline with the text of the bill, surrounded by square brackets and in italic
Generate another PDF, this time selecting Show changes applied and see how the document appears in Final mode as though all changes have been applied
Generate another PDF, this time selecting Show changes applied, side-lining and Show review comments and see how the side-lining will show any inserted changes to the document

✏️ Exercise 6: Accept and reject changes

Accept and reject changes using the Review right-hand panel

Detailed steps to accept and reject changes in your document

Start at the top of the Review right-hand panel, reply to the comment with the text Subsection (3) is correct
Move to the deletion of subsection (2) and reject by clicking on the cross
Move to the deletion of district and reply with the text it's definitely district
Move to the insertion of county and reject by clicking on the cross
Assuming you disagree with all the suggested changes, click on the Reject All button at the bottom of the Review panel

Due to some hidden, ‘behind the scenes’ actions that take place on some actions, tracked changes can sometimes look a little odd (e.g. renumbering can create additional attribute changes visible in the Review right-hand panel but not visible in the Editor)
As a general rule of thumb, use change tracking for inserting or deleting text and provisions.
Consider using comments to draw attention to changes made from the more involved edits such as merging/splitting/unwrapping/changing the structure (drag & drop)/promoting and demoting
Attribute changes can all be accepted - they concern the underlying data and should concern your drafting.