Can I markup draft emails from my phone using tracked changes?

Outlook has no native track changes feature, but anyone who frequently reviews and settles emails has their own workaround for this. It could be manually styling each edit, using ALL CAPS, copying into Word and tracking changes there, or even printing and getting out the trusty red pen.

Yes, these workarounds are tedious, painful and take precious time away from the real reason you’re even bothering to show the changes in the first place (i.e. to provide feedback and help develop your team), but they exist.

On the other hand, the workarounds when you’re away from your desk and working from your phone are less obvious:

• it’s not exactly easy to style text on mobile email apps;
• using ALL CAPS is a horrible experience on a phone keyboard;
• copying into the Word mobile app...well, technically this should be possible (please give it a shot and let us know how it goes); and
• printing...

So one thing we’re often asked, especially by senior lawyers who are constantly on the move, is whether Sideline can help in this situation.

The answer is absolutely, and it’s really easy.

Sideline gives you the freedom to edit in clean

Microsoft’s architecture doesn’t currently support installing Sideline on the mobile version of Outlook.

This is not a problem though.

Rather than worrying about using track changes on a tiny screen and fiddly keyboard, provided the colleague who’s draft you’re reviewing has Sideline on their computer, you can simply make your changes in clean on your phone and send it. When your colleague receives the edited email, they can click one button in Sideline to instantly see a redline on their desktop version of Outlook.

The thing is, if you’re settling emails on your phone, it’s hard enough putting the cursor in the right place and typing out the changes without also having to find a way to ensure your colleague can see the edits. Knowing your colleague has Sideline allows you to simply focus on the substance. It doesn’t matter whether you use the Outlook mobile app, Apple Mail app or any other mobile email app, Sideline will easily display the redline on your colleague’s end.

Want to try it out?

To find out more, please feel free to have a play with the clickable demo on our homepage, or get in touch for a live demo. We’d love to help.