Track changes

[poercelain]

I found this software by chance and fell in love with it right away. It is lightweight and has many features that are perfect for writing a book. Unfortunately, I don't feel like buying it yet because it lacks the ability to track changes in the document. When you get to the editing stage it's really crucial to be able to see what you add and what you delete. If this feature is added, I will 100% buy it!

[rstroud]

Yes, Atlantis Word Processor is superb.

• It is clean and logical in appearance and use.

• Handling of footnotes and endnotes is great.

• Page formatting is easy (paper type, margins, header, footer).

• Wonderful .epub export.

• Really nice features like the Clippy Bank (I use it a lot).

But no Track Changes. I have been asking for this for several years, as have a few other people.

Another needed feature is Text Box capability. This is not as necessary, for me, as the Track Changes feature is. I will eventually import my file into Scribus for production of a PDF document that is ready for professional printing. And I can create the text boxes in Scribus. But it is not always necessary to use a page layout program for a document. Sometimes a word processor is adequate. In those cases it would be nice to be able to create a text box that you can move around.

Track Changes is really important to anyone who does serious writing. Right now I am still having to use LibreOffice, which has an excellent Track Changes capability.

So ... since the user poercelain has brought up the issue, I will add my own voice, once again, in a request for a Track Changes capability.

[Eduardo]

I totally agree. We have been waiting for a long time now (years) for this feature to be implemented. Atlantis is better than ever. However, with track changes, it will be a tremendous tool for those who write daily.

[harolnick]

Ditto, ditto, ditto!!!!~ I love Atlantis, have recommended it to many. As to Tracking, yeah, I need it. I mean we need it. When editing a long piece, I have to use Word (brrrr). But our suggestions for a tracking app go many years back. I'm certain that Atlantis has tried, but something in the program won't allow it, How nice if the Administrators would either 'fess up, or let us know progress. In the meantime, still the best personal word processor on the market.

[admin]

No news on this as of yet. We would inform you in case of any updates.

[lynneconnolly]

I'm adding my request to this. I'm going to have to switch software, which is a real shame, because I love Atlantis, but I can't manage without Track Changes. I've asked several times.

[Richard Watts]

I now use Calibri font (and blue colour) to type in text for 'hidden notes' (my term) inline, while never using that font for work which is not 'hidden notes'.
When a project is ready, I save it, open again and save a new copy under another name, so retain the 'notes' in the master document, then search all with just Calibri font selected, and it deletes all entries before distributing that file to others.
Works perfectly, having been doing this for a few years now using Atlantis, and means the need for track changes isn't so vital.
Hope that helps someone!

[rstroud]

Uh, no ... It does not help at all. It is a cumbersome workaround. What we really need is a track-changes capability. In the meantime we have LibreOffice, which is also an excellent word processor (though it handles a few things in a less polished way than Atlantis does).

[Richard Watts]

Well... I've been doing it for years now and for my purposes it is not at all cumbersome. I work with 900+ page files with hundreds if not thousands of such notes and it works seamlessly. However, I imagine it depends on your own requirements. Someone mentioned this method previously on this forum, and I adopted it effectively, so I can't take full credit (or blame!) for the idea.

[djsmith911]

This is what I do: save every day's document under <filename>A1, <filename>A2, <filename>A3, up to A20, then B1 - B20, etc.
If there's an issue that comes up about changes, then use the View side-by-side feature with 2 latest versions to resolve.
It's better than nothing.

[lynneconnolly]

Unfortunately, there is no workaround. When an editor sends you an 80,000 word document with track changes and detailed comments, it does not show up at all in Atlantis. It really needs Track Changes to be a fully capable word processor suitable for professional and home use. If that was included in the new version, I would have bought it the day it came out.

[Eduardo]

A group of us here has been repeatedly requesting that this feature be implemented. Not because it's a gimmick, but because it is an essential tool for editing and collaboration in academic work, journalism, and professional writing, for example. We are giving vague answers, which may convey the impression that our requests are irrelevant. I greatly appreciate Atlantis and respect their valuable work. However, without a clear answer and a time frame, I am forced to conclude that the creative and professional base customers of the Atlantis Wordprocessor are not among those who deserve their immediate attention.

[rstroud]

A group of us here has been repeatedly requesting that this feature be implemented. Not because it's a gimmick, but because it is an essential tool for editing and collaboration in academic work, journalism, and professional writing, for example. We are giving {given?} vague answers, which may convey the impression that our requests are irrelevant. I greatly appreciate Atlantis and respect their valuable work.

Yeah, I use LibreOffice more than I do Atlantis because for some of my work I definitely need Track Changes. For some other things it is not really a necessity but it is definitely a convenience.

I realize that the programming for Track Changes is probably very difficult. Of course, it may be possible to purchase a module that can be incorporated into the application. I do not know. But I am sure that it would be quite expensive.

Anyway, I will just carry on as I have done so far. I will reserve Atlantis for certain tasks where it really shines.

[admin]

At this point, the “Track changes” feature is not on the priority list for multiple reasons.

Atlantis is an offline word processor with a strong emphasis on privacy. The collaboration-related features simply do not jibe well with the philosophy of this word processor. The “Track changes” feature may not only be a privacy nightmare but also make maintaining document integrity and stability of the editing process much harder. This feature is not without its controversies, especially how it has been designed in MS Word document formats.

From a purely technical point of view, Atlantis cannot introduce this feature without introducing the concept of “hidden document text” first (this is different from collapsible headings). There are other technical issues related to this feature. To sum up, it is not a feature that will be introduced through a minor release of Atlantis. This is definitely a big thing that may be introduced with a new major version of Atlantis. Sorry, but there is no time frame to share.

[rstroud]

Privacy? Really? Well, so it is, then.

I will be using LibreOffice Writer from now on. I was already having to use it more and more. The LibreOffice epub export was shitty the last time that I tried it (unlike that of Atlantis, which is great), but I also have Adobe InDesign and Affinity/Canva (version 3), both of which handle epub export. I will try them and see how they do, and I know how to use Calibre and Sigil for tweaking the code.