Microsoft Word has many different ways to view a document and now three primary options are available on a single menu; Editing, Reviewing plus Viewing which is a simple ‘read only’ mode to stop accidental changes while reading.
The new menu appears on the top-right between the existing Comments and Share buttons.
Editing
The standard Word mode for working on a document yourself.
Reviewing
More appropriate for collaboration, adding comments etc.
Reviewing mode will automatically turn on Track Changes | Just mine.
If Track Changes is on, the document goes into Reviewing mode (though you can switch to another mode).
If Track Changes is locked on, the Editing option is greyed out.
Viewing
A ‘Read only’ mode. A nice option which ensures you don’t accidently make changes while just going over a doc.
Of course, if you only have ‘Read only’ access to the document, only Viewing mode will be available.
If you try to change a document in Viewing mode, the only warning is on the bottom status line.
“You can’t make this change because the selection is locked” isn’t a very helpful message
It is a clue to how Microsoft has quickly made the whole document read-only. They appear to be using the Protect feature because it’s the same warning message if someone tries to edit a protected document.
Who gets it?
The Edit/Review/View menu appears now for everyone using in Word for the web.
Word 365 for Windows is also getting the menu starting with some on Insiders Beta Channel v 2206 build 15314.10000 and later.
Comment View change in Word and Office
How to accept an Office document share or collaboration
