Do you ask for small content changes using from X to Y?

When asking for changes on a web page, Word document, PowerPoint slide, or code, always use "Change from X to Y".

This process consists of including the original version of the content ("X") along with the changes you require ("Y"). It means you easily see the page or file content as it was prior to your changes. This history is convenient for future reference and also makes it very clear to the person doing the changes exactly what the new file is meant to look like.

Video: Best way to ask for content changes | Ulysses Maclaren | SSW Rules (5 min)

Using email for small edits

Make the changes even easier to see and understand by highlighting:

In yellow - Content you want to add/update (only do this on the "To" section)
In red (with white and bold text) Content you want to delete, whether it be specific text or an entire sentence (only do this on the "From" section) Note: Only indicate in red the content that will not be replaced/updated with something correlated.

Note: All text we do not write ourselves should be indented, so this includes paragraphs we are copying and pasting.


To:	Dave
Subject:	Update CodeAuditor features list

Hi Dave

For the CodeAuditor web page, please make the list read:

Scan all your projects for coding errors:

- Guarantee Industry best practices

- Friendly licensing model, bloggers even pay $0 for the full version!

Figure: Bad example - The original version of content has not been included in the email... it is hard to tell what needs to be changed


To:	Dave
Subject:	Update CodeAuditor features list

Hi Dave

On CodeAuditor web page ssw.com.au/ssw/codeauditor

Please change:

From:

Scan all your projects for coding bugs and errors:

- Enforce industry best practices.

- Friendly licensing model pay nothing for the full version!

To:

Scan all your projects for coding errors

- Guarantee industry best practices

- Friendly licensing model - bloggers even pay $0 for the full version!

Figure: Good example - 'From' and 'To' changes are highlighted... it is clear what needs to be changed

Video: Top 10+ Rules to Better Email Communication with Ulysses Maclaren

Tip #1: Microsoft Teams - Use the same X to Y style

change from x to y microsoft teams — Figure: Using change from x to y in Microsoft Teams

Note: Microsoft Teams doesn't currently allow you to set the font color to white

Tip #2: Microsoft Outlook - Add a style to make delete highlightings easy

change from x to y saving styles — Figure: Remember when saving the style to select "New documents based off this template"

change from x to y using styles — Figure: The style will show in your styles list to be applied when needed

Tip: You can right click to bring up the format text toolbar

Tip: By default, saved styles are ordered alphabetically. Add numbering in their name to customize their order of appearance

change from x to y organising styles bad example — Figure: Bad example – Custom styles are disorganised

change from x to y organising styles good example — Figure: Good example – Custom styles are numbered and organised

Alternative - What if there are too many changes?

Sometimes you have a lot of content and too many changes, making the process "from X to Y" too arduous. In this case is recommended to use Word 'Track Changes' functionality.