Comments in Word on MacOS

Hello Adrian. I don't have a solution for you using Word. I do have a workaround. Others might have more information (Oliver?).

Simply put, I use Google Docs, and I wrote a blog for using Docs that might be helpful, should you choose to go this route.

Earlier this year, I started a major collaborative writing and editing project that makes heavy use of Word, track changes, and comments. I spent a good amount of time looking into whether or not I would be able to use native Word on MacOS for this project. After posting here and scouring the internet for resources, I had little confidence that it would be practical to use comments and track changes with Word on MacOS. I was already familiar with using Google Docs in my writing critique group, so I abandoned Word and used Docs instead. I'm now a good two-thirds through the project and Google Docs has done everything I needed it to.

It's possible I could've used Word on MacOS, but I would've had to blaze new trails, and I didn't have the time to research how to do things that should be well documented somewhere, but weren't. The fact that you're posting here confirms that I'm not the only one who is unable to find the necessary resources.

Another option I considered was buying a cheap Windows 11 laptop specifically to run Word while working on this project. But there would've been a significant cost in both dollars and time to get that platform up and running. Google Docs was free, and since I already knew it, I could hit the ground running.

The only possible stumbling block was google Docs compatibility with exporting to Word. I had already been doing this for some time without issue, and after reading a few articles on the topic, I concluded I was unlikely to encounter any issues. And I have not. Docs has worked quite well.

I know I've rambled on too long already, but I also wanted to mention that you can import a Word document into Pages for review. I don't recommend exporting to Word from Pages, as comments and track changes can introduce formatting changes and extra space between paragraphs that are difficult to detect with VoiceOver.

Let us know what you end up doing.

I would suggest contacting Microsoft's Disability Answer Desk and reporting your issue. This should raise the priority of the problem within Microsoft.

Disclaimer: This is a serious, though potentially silly question.

So I have a friend who is considering going to school to become a paralegal. She is legally blind, but has enough 'useful' vision that she can walk around her town without any guide whatsoever. Having said that, she uses VoiceOver on her iPhone 14, and sometimes Zoom.

She is debating between a Windows-based Laptop and a Macbook for school, and eventually work.

So my question is how well could she get by with Microsoft Office should she go the Mac route?

I'm going to assume her eyesight is stable and not degenerating.

Both the Mac and Windows have low vision features built-in, though I can't really comment on the current state of either with my current eyesight.

Back when I was on Windows 7, I had to purchase ZoomText in order to zoom in and out using the scroll wheel. That ability was built into MacOS at the time. ZoomText is now Fusion, renamed after it was bought by Freedom Scientific, so if the scroll wheel zoom feature isn't built into Windows 11, you can still obtain it by purchasing Fusion.

I also relied heavily on a keyboard shortcut to switch between normal and inverted colors. Again MacOS has that built-in, and if it's not available in Windows 11, Fusion should have it.

Best of luck to your friend with her career.

I did neglect to mention she only has sight in one eye, and one prosthetic. Probably does not matter for word processing, but for posterity sake. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Otherwise and to my knowledge, her vision has not changed in the past 10 years.

Btw, who is Briana? 🫣

I personally have not used Pages nor Word for macOS in several years, so I am unsure the state of either on the Mac side of things. I do know I used Pages for Mac in college, and while you are likely correct about the formatting issues, do you know how the formatting is when converting to PDF? Because a lot of he time I was given the option to send in my work as a .PDF and do not remember my Profs ever commenting on formatting issues.

Nevertheless, she will likely end up with a Windows PC as she is applying for assistance from her states Blind Services, so I guess we will see what comes of it. 😅

Hi Brian. I'll step in and speak for Oliver, as I think I'm the guy who first ran into Pages introducing issues during Word export.

I've never encountered any issue with Pages exporting to PDF. The way I would normally do it would be to Print the document and select Save to PDF in the print dialog PDF menu. In that case, I would expect it to print to PDF just as if it were printing to a printer.

The issues I encountered with Word export occured after I had added comments in Pages. I'm no longer able to verify the formatting artifacts because my remaining eyesight is now gone. However, back when I could see, I recall placing comments at the ends of paragraphs, exporting to Word, then opening the documents in Word on my Windows 7 laptop and discovering extra vertical whitespace after the commented paragraphs.

I imagine it's not an issue for most users. Fully sighted people probably just use Word, as they have no reason to find an alternative.

Someone with low (or full) vision should probably verify this is still an issue.

This is one reason why I love BootCamp so much, and will miss Dual Booting when I finally upgrade my computer. Sadly i will likely just pick up a decent Windows-based Desktop model, as I have no need for a Laptop these days. Hell, most of the time I am running my Windows 10 BootCamp on this old MBP for daily web browsing and such. 🤷🏼‍♂️