TrackChanges Help
GUI



The TrackChanges GUI can be used to quickly find and take action on edits made in LaTeX documents. To add the editing commands to LaTeX use the trackchanges.sty style file.


Notes and Warnings

It is quite easy for an editor to incorrectly place the TrackChanges edit commands into the TeX file. The most common mistake is to not add spaces in the correct places. This is particularly true for \remove commands. This GUI does not attempt to correct these mistakes. Make sure that you proofread the file after using TrackChanges.

It is highly recommended that a versioning system be used along with TrackChanges. There are a number of these available (for free) such as bazaar, mercurial, git, svn and a host of others (including some LaTeX specific ones). A document should always be committed to the versioning system before edits are made using TrackChanges. If something gets changed inadvertently or otherwise goes wrong, it will then be possible to undo the changes.


Main Window

The main window is split into two halves:
  • On the left hand side is a text editor.
  • On the right hand side are the editing controls.

When A TeX file is loaded, the document will be displayed on the left hand side.
A search of the document will begin for any of the TrackChanges edit commands. When an edit is found the contents of the edit will be shown on the right hand side.


Editor

The TeX document can be edited at any time by working in the text editor. Once an edit has been detected the editing controls (on the right hand side) will be paused. To resume using the editing tool press on the resume button. This will restart the search for edits.


Editing Controls

When an edit is found, its contents will be shown on the right hand side.
There are three text boxes on the right hand side. These will display the relevant parts of the edit. The text in the "Old Text" and "New Text" boxes can be edited before an action is taken. This allows you more flexibility than simply accepting or rejecting the edit outright.

For each edit there are 4 basic actions.
These can be performed using the buttons on the bottom of the right hand side.
Which actions are available will depend on which command was found.
  • Skip
    This skips the current edit. The edit will be left in place and no changes will be made to the document.
  • Keep Old
    This is valid for the \add, \remove and \change commands.
    This will replace the command with the text in the "Old Text" box. If you have not changed the text in the "Old Text" box then this is equivalent to rejecting the edit. If the "Old Text" box is empty then the command will be entirely removed (the default for the add command).
  • Keep New
    This is valid for the \add, \remove and \change commands.
    This will replace the command with the text in the "New Text" box. If you have not changed the text in the "New Text" box then this is equivalent to accepting the edit. If the "New Text" box is empty then the command will be entirely removed (the default for the remove command).
  • Remove Note
    This is valid for the \note and \annote commands.
    This will remove the note from document. With the annote command the annotated text will be displayed in the "Old Text" box. This text may be edited and will be used to replace the command when the "Remove Note" button is pressed.


Additional Editing Controls

Additional editing controls are available from the menu bar. These can be found under "Commands".
  • Skip All
    This skips the remainder of the edits. If the document has been changed the save window will pop up.
  • Cancel
    This skips the remainder of the edits. No save window will be brought up. The document can still be saved from File→Save.
    Note: This does not revert the document. To reset the document, reload it.


Main Menu

Loading and Saving can be done from the main menu.

The File menu:
  • Load
    Load a new TeX document.
  • Save
    Save the current document. The default action is to replace the original file. You may choose a different location.
  • Exit
    Exit TrackChanges.