Version control: keeping track of collaborative editing projects
Image: Mitchell Luo from Unsplash
Whether you’re writing for yourself, as part of a small team or a large government agency, version control is an essential part of the drafting process. Editing is no different. When editing a collaborative document, it’s vital to keep track of where changes are being made, by whom and for what purpose.
One of the main goals of editing is to create consistency in language and tone. In the age of web-integrated writing apps like Word online and Google Docs, multiple authors can work on the same document simultaneously. This is great for increasing productivity and collaboration, but it can be a nightmare for consistency and version control. Here are some recommendations for using these programs to collaborate more effectively.
Tracking changes
The most obvious place to start is to check that the ‘track changes’ feature is turned on and that your name is being properly displayed in Microsoft Word. Go to File > Options > General and scroll down to ‘Personalise your copy of Microsoft Office’. Select ‘Always use these values regardless of sign on to Office’ to ensure the username entered here is the one used to tag your changes and comments.
If you’re working in a document which has been through many iterations, you can set the appearance to ‘Simple Markup’ rather than ‘All Markup’ in the Review tab to reduce the clutter. When the time comes, it might be tempting to simply select ‘Accept All Changes’, but I recommend checking each modification individually before accepting and moving to the next.
Comment is free
In the comments function of both Word and Google Docs you can tag someone in your team by using the ‘@’ symbol followed by their name. This is a good way to bring their focus to elements in the document which need their attention, while also ensuring someone is accountable for actioning the task.
These questions and comments don’t always have to be internal – they can be a way of bringing an editor or designer into the conversation. Questions are the backbone of the collaborative process and asking them directly through comments saves time spent in meetings.
Subject matters
Collaboration is about trust. Editors aren’t subject matter experts and subject matter experts aren’t editors (generally speaking). If I’m editing a document and I come across a term which isn’t in the dictionary but may have a technical function I’m not aware of, I’ll ask the question in a comment with a request for a subject matter expert to review. The editing process is a learning exchange and part of the exchange is understanding the different roles.
In short, collaboration is all about communication. While we have the technology to make simultaneous editing possible, I would argue that we require even better communication skills to manage working in this way. Asking the right questions, clearly delineating between versions and saving files regularly will allow you to realise the full potential of these platforms for writing and editing.
