Learn VersionPoint Open the test version

Lesson 78 minutesThe Lake Shuttle, version 2

Send a clean copy

Check the copy that leaves the office, fix what the check warns about with Edit it yourself, and download a clean copy marked with who it's for.

Why it matters

The copy that leaves the office (to the press shop, a partner, the web team) has to carry the words and nothing else. VersionPoint checks every copy before you can download it, and warns about text that looks like a placeholder, like the [insert year] you let through in lesson 5.

Watch

The Clean copy form on version 2. Callout 1 marks the green alert: The copy passed the check. No margin notes, tracked changes, hidden text or names in its properties. Callout 2 marks the yellow alert: Worth a look before it goes out: Paragraph 8 has "[insert year]". Is it meant to be there? Callout 3 marks the line: The clean copy is the latest approved version as a plain Word file, for anyone outside the review: Track Changes off, nothing from the record. Each copy carries its own hidden mark, so if it leaks, Trace a leak tells you which copy it was. Callout 4 marks the empty box Who is this copy for? (optional, kept on this computer for tracing), with the example For example: press office, regional director. Callout 5 marks the Download a clean copy button, which is still available, beside Close.
Clean copy on version 2: it passes, with one thing worth a look.
  1. The copy passed the check. Nothing hidden is in the file: no margin notes, tracked changes, hidden text or names in its properties.
  2. Worth a look before it goes out: text that looks like a placeholder. Paragraphs are counted from the top, so NEWS RELEASE is paragraph 1 and paragraph 8 is the grant paragraph.
  3. What the clean copy is: the latest approved version as a plain Word file, for anyone outside the review. Each copy you download carries its own hidden mark, and Trace a leak reads it.
  4. Who is this copy for? (optional, kept on this computer for tracing): who gets this copy. It's saved with the copy's mark, on this computer only.
  5. Download a clean copy still works. A warning doesn't stop you, so it's your call.

Say who each copy is for

Fill in Who is this copy for? every time, even though it's optional. If the release turns up early in a newsroom or a forwarded email, Trace a leak (lesson 9) reads the copy's hidden mark and names it: Clean copy for the press office, made by Sam Sample. Left blank, it can only say Clean copy, made by Sam Sample, and you're back to asking around.

You can choose Download a clean copy more than once in the same form: type a new name before each one. The box empties after each download, and Downloaded: lists every file with who it was for.

Fix it with "Edit it yourself"

Don't fix the year in the downloaded clean copy: that change would never reach VersionPoint or the record. Make it the same way a reviewer would, as a round of your own.

The Edit it yourself form. Callout 1 marks its text: You'll get a copy of the latest version with Track Changes on. Your edits come back as revisions in your name, decided like anyone else's, so the record shows every change. Callout 2 marks the checkbox Lock Track Changes on (only if they'll use desktop Word: Word in a web browser, such as from Outlook on the web, can't edit a locked copy), not ticked. Callout 3 marks the Make the copy button, beside Cancel.
Edit it yourself asks for no name: the copy is in yours.
  1. Your own edits come back as revisions in your name and are decided like anyone else's.
  2. Lock Track Changes on is off unless you tick it. Leave it off here: Track Changes is on either way, and VersionPoint compares the returned file word by word, so even an edit made with tracking off is listed.
  3. Make the copy downloads Lake Shuttle news release - edit copy - round 2.docx.
The document page, version 2, while the edit copy is out. Callout 1 marks the banner: Edit copy out with Sam Sample since Oct 13, 2026, 9:08 AM (round 2). Callout 2 marks the Bring back the returned file button in the banner, beside Download the copy again and Cancel round. Callout 3 marks [insert year] at the end of the grant paragraph: The grant pays for the shuttle through [insert year].
Round 2 is out with you. Send for review and Edit it yourself wait until it's back.
  1. Edit copy out with Sam Sample: the round is open, in your name.
  2. Bring back the returned file is the same button as for a reviewer. Its form says Bring back the edit copy.
  3. The placeholder you're fixing, still in version 2.
The reviewer's desk after the edit copy was dropped on it. Callout 1 marks the green result: You (Sam Sample) sent it back (your own edit copy). What they did. Callout 2 marks the one change: Changed "[insert year]" to "2028", with Track Changes, in Sam Sample's name. Callout 3 marks the Download the returned file button.
If you'd rather not open Word, the reviewer's desk makes the same edit for you.
  1. The desk knows an edit copy from its file name and plays you.
  2. It puts in 2028 with Track Changes, in Sam Sample's name, just as Word would with Track Changes on.
  3. Download the returned file keeps the copy's name.
The round page for Round 2: own edits by Sam Sample, sent from version 2, 0 of 1 decided. Callout 1 marks the heading Round 2: own edits by Sam Sample. Callout 2 marks the grant paragraph, where [insert year] is struck through as removed and 2028 is underlined as added, numbered 1. Callout 3 marks revision card 1, Changed: The grant pays for the shuttle through [insert year] changed to 2028, by Sam Sample, with Accept, Reject and the Why? box. Callout 4 marks the Finish button, greyed out.
Your edit, back as a revision like any other.
  1. Round 2: own edits by Sam Sample. The record will say who changed the year and when.
  2. In the text, [insert year] is struck through as removed and 2028 is underlined as added.
  3. One card: Changed, in your name, with Accept, Reject and Why? (optional, kept in the record).
  4. Finish is ready once the card is decided. It makes version 3, Own edits by Sam Sample.

Try it

Start on the document page of Lake Shuttle news release, version 2, where lesson 6 left you. In step 4 you can fill in the year in Word, or use the reviewer's desk to do it for you.

Practice files
  1. Choose Clean copy. Read the check: it passes, and under Worth a look before it goes out: it asks whether [insert year] in paragraph 8 is meant to be there. Don't download this one.
  2. Choose Close, then Edit it yourself, then Make the copy. Lake Shuttle news release - edit copy - round 2.docx downloads, and the form says Make your changes in Word. Track Changes is already on. When you're done, bring the file back here.
  3. Choose Done. The banner says Edit copy out with Sam Sample, with today's date and round 2.
  4. Fill in the year. In Word: open the edit copy, replace [insert year] with 2028, and save. Or on the reviewer's desk: choose the edit copy, then choose Download the returned file.
  5. Back on the document page, choose Bring back the returned file, and in Bring back the edit copy choose your edited copy. Round 2: own edits by Sam Sample opens, with one card: [insert year] changed to 2028.
  6. Choose Accept on card 1, then Finish. The version list now says Version 3 (latest): Own edits by Sam Sample.
  7. Choose Clean copy again. It passes, and this time there's no Worth a look.
  8. In Who is this copy for?, type the press office, then choose Download a clean copy. The form adds Downloaded: Lake Shuttle news release.docx (for the press office). Choose Close.

Check your work

The Clean copy form on version 3: The copy passed the check. No margin notes, tracked changes, hidden text or names in its properties. There is no Worth a look section. Under the description, the box Who is this copy for? is empty again, and below it the form says Downloaded: Lake Shuttle news release.docx (for the press office), above the Close and Download a clean copy buttons.
After step 8: the check passes with nothing worth a look, and the clean copy for the press office has downloaded.

Watch out for

Warnings don't stop the download. The copy passed the check. means nothing hidden is in the file. A placeholder in the words is a different problem, and only you can catch it. Read the Worth a look list every time.
Paragraph numbers count every line from the top. NEWS RELEASE is paragraph 1, so Paragraph 8 is the eighth line of the release, not the eighth paragraph of body text.
Never fix the clean copy in Word. That change lives only in your downloaded file: the next clean copy, the record and the next reviewer would all still have the old words. Fix it with Edit it yourself.
A blank Who is this copy for? can't name anyone. The copy still carries its mark, but a trace can only say it was a clean copy you made. Type who it's for before each download: the box empties after every one.
Clean copy gives the last approved version. It's there while a round is out or waiting for decisions, and it leaves out the edits still waiting for you. The form says so: the latest approved version.

Quick check

Pick an answer to see why it is or isn't right. Nothing is scored or sent anywhere.

Question 1

The check passes, but under Worth a look before it goes out: it asks whether [insert year] in paragraph 8 is meant to be there. The release goes out in an hour. What do you do?

Question 2

A partner asks for the Word file with Riley's comments, so we can see the background. What do you send?

Question 3

Your director asks why you made a round just to change one word yourself. What's the reason?