Who is this article for?

Document managers who manage documents /users.

folder level permissions.

If a section appears in your tracked-changes Word file but is missing from the published PDF, this is almost always caused by how Microsoft Word records and applies tracked changes — not a system error.

Understanding how Ideagen Quality Management Core generates the published document

When a controlled document is checked out for editing and Track Changes is active in Word, Ideagen Quality Management Core retains two versions of the file once it is checked back in:

The published PDF is generated from the proposed published version — that is, the document with all tracked changes accepted. It does not reflect what you see in the "All Markup" view in Word. If a change results in content being removed when tracked changes are accepted, that content will not appear in the published PDF.

During the approval step, approvers are presented with both versions side by side — the tracked-changes view and the proposed published version — so they can compare what changed and confirm what will be published. The published PDF is based on the proposed published version at the point of approval.

Understanding the move-then-delete scenario

The most common cause of content disappearing from a published document is a move + delete combination within tracked changes that is not immediately visible in the standard markup view.

To understand how this happens:

1. An editor moves Section 7.4 to a different location in the document while Track Changes is on.
2. Word records both actions: the section is marked as moved from its original position and moved to the new location.
3. If the destination paragraph or the surrounding content is also marked as deleted in the same or a prior editing session, when all tracked changes are accepted, Word first moves the section and then deletes it — because the destination is flagged for deletion.
4. The result is that Section 7.4 is absent from the accepted (published) version, even though it was visible in the tracked-changes markup view.

This combination is particularly hard to spot because:

• The section appears present when viewing the document in All Markup mode
• The deletion of the destination content may be buried in a different part of the document and is easy to miss during review
• Checking out the document after publication provides the stored accepted revision — so the checked-out file also will not contain the section

In "All Markup" view, Section 7.4 appears present (shown in green as a move). However, if the destination where it was moved is also marked as deleted, accepting all changes will remove it entirely from the published output.

Validating the final published content before approval

To confirm exactly what will appear in the published PDF before the document is released for approval, switch Word's display mode from All Markup to No Markup. This shows the document exactly as it will look after all tracked changes are accepted — the same view Ideagen Quality Management Core uses to generate the published output.

To validate the final content:

1. Open the checked-out Word document.
2. In the Review tab, locate the Tracking group.
3. Click the Display for Review dropdown (which shows All Markup by default).
4. Select No Markup.
5. Read through the document carefully — every section, heading, and paragraph visible in this view will be present in the published PDF.
6. If content is missing, switch back to All Markup.
7. Use the Reviewing Pane to inspect each tracked change — paying particular attention to move + delete combinations — before checking the document back in.

You can also open the Reviewing Pane (Review tab > Reviewing Pane) to see a chronological list of every tracked change. This makes it easier to identify pairs of actions — such as a section being moved and its destination being deleted — that would not be obvious from reading the document visually.

Understanding what reviewers and approvers see during the approval cycle

When a document using Track Changes is released for review or approval, Ideagen Quality Management Core provides both versions so that reviewers and approvers can compare them:

• The tracked-changes version — showing all edits marked up in Word's revision format, including moves, deletions, and insertions
• The proposed published version — the document with all changes accepted, representing what will be published

Approvers should always review the proposed published version — not only the tracked-changes view — to confirm the final content is correct before approving. Approving based on the tracked-changes view alone can lead to unexpected content being missing from the published document, because what is visible in markup is not always what is retained after changes are accepted.

Once all approvers have approved, the document is automatically placed in the published step and the PDF is generated from the accepted (final) version of the document.

Recovering missing content after publishing

If content has already been published without a section that should be present, a new revision must be created. The published revision is locked once approved and cannot be edited directly — this protects the audit trail and ensures revision history is accurate.

To recover missing content:

1. Navigate to the document in the Documents Tree.
2. Open its Properties page.
3. Select Edit from the context menu to start a new revision.
4. Check out the document.
5. Re-insert the missing section into the Word file.
6. Before checking the file back in, switch to No Markup view to confirm the section is present in the final accepted state.
7. Check the document back in.
8. Release it for approval.
9. Complete the approval workflow.

Note: Any time a user attempts to view a document while it is in edit, Ideagen Quality Management Core opens the last published revision by default. The new revision being edited is only accessible to the editor and those with the appropriate permissions until it is published.

Using the pre-publication checklist for documents with tracked changes

Before checking a Word document back into Ideagen Quality Management Core for release to review or approval, work through the following checklist to avoid content being unintentionally removed from the published output:

• Switch to No Markup view and read through the entire document to confirm all sections are present
• Open the Reviewing Pane and check for any move + delete pairs that could cause content to be removed when changes are accepted
• Verify that any section moved to a new location has not also been marked for deletion at its destination
• Confirm that all intended content appears correctly in the No Markup view before checking the document back in
• If content is missing in No Markup view, investigate and correct the tracked changes before proceeding to the approval stage

During review and approval, both the tracked-changes view and the proposed published version are available. Approvers should use the proposed published version to verify final document content — not only the tracked-changes view — before approving.