Track changes, comments and versions

Sooner or later Priya says the words: "Can you review Rahul's draft?" Now you are editing someone else's work — and how you do it decides whether Rahul thanks you or quietly resents you for a month.

The tools make this easy. The etiquette is what nobody teaches. This lesson covers both.

Two modes of editing

Every serious writing app has two modes:

• Just typing — your changes silently replace what was there. Right for your own documents.
• Tracked editing — every change is recorded, coloured and reversible. Word calls it Track Changes (Review tab); Google Docs calls it Suggesting mode (the pencil icon, top right). Right for anything owned by someone else.