Collaborating with Ink

You can certainly use Ink created via the Ink Drawing and Writing toolbar in a collaborative way. You can jot notes or suggestions right on a worksheet or slide, or you can add them to Word's ink drawing canvas. But for truly collaborative work with Ink, you need to use the specific handwriting collaboration tools that come with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. All three programs enable you to add Ink annotations, and Word goes one better by also enabling you to add Ink comments. The advantage to using these tools is that you (and any other reviewer) can then view and manipulate this Ink just like any other collaborative text. The next few sections provide you with the details.

Adding Ink Annotations

You can annotate any Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document with Ink. In Excel and PowerPoint, Ink is similar to the handwriting that results from using the Drawing and Writing pen in that it resides in the drawing layer and so appears to sit on top of the document. The only visual difference is that, by default, the Annotation Pen uses red ink. In Word, however, Ink annotations are different from Drawing and Writing annotations. Not only is the default color of the Annotation Pen red, but the Ink itself resides in the document's drawing layer, not in a separate drawing canvas. Therefore, your Ink markup appears directly on the document text.

To get started, in any Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document, select View, Toolbars, Ink Annotations (or right-click any toolbar and click Ink Annotations). To add Ink annotations to your document, click the Annotations Pen button (which is also available on the Standard and Reviewing toolbars) to use the default red felt-tip pen, or drop down the arrow to display all the pens and then click the pen type and color you prefer. Then handwrite your markup. Figure 9.10 shows a PowerPoint slide with a few Ink annotations. Note that you can use the same Ink editing techniques that I outlined earlier for the Drawing and Writing pen (see "Editing Ink"). When you're done, click the Stop Inking button.

Figure 9.10. A PowerPoint slide with Ink annotations.

Adding Ink Comments in Word

Besides annotations, Word also enables you to add comments in Ink. To get started, you have two choices:

• Select Insert, Ink Comment.

• Click the Ink Comment button in the Reviewing toolbar.

Word then adds a comment box, which looks like a small sheet of lined writing paper. Write your Ink within the box, as shown in Figure 9.11. Use the Eraser to fix any mistakes you make, and then click the Pen button to continue inking. When you're done, click outside the comment box.

Figure 9.11. Word enables you to insert Ink comments in a document.

Working with Ink Annotations and Comments

As I mentioned earlier, Ink annotations (and Ink comments in Word) are different from Ink writing in that Ink annotations are grouped with other document markup, including typewritten changes and comments. Therefore, you can use the Reviewing toolbar to work with Ink annotations.

To toggle ink annotations and comments on and off, use the following techniques:

• In Word, select View, Markup or click Show/Hide Markup in the Ink Annotations toolbar. You can also click Show in the Reviewing toolbar and then click Ink Annotations. (Or you can click Comments to toggle both typed and inked comments on and off.)

• In Excel, click Show/Hide Ink Annotations in the Reviewing or Ink Annotations toolbars.

• In PowerPoint, select View, Markup or click Show/Hide Markup in the Reviewing or Ink Annotations toolbars.

To delete ink annotations or comments, use the following techniques:

• In Word, delete the current Ink comment by clicking the Reject Change/Delete Comment button in the Reviewing toolbar. To delete all the comments in the current document, drop down the Reject Change/Delete Comment list and select Delete All Comments in Document. To delete all Ink annotations in the document, drop down the Reject Change/Delete Comment list and select Delete All Ink Annotations in Document.

• In Excel, you can delete all the Ink annotations in the current workbook by clicking the Delete All Ink Annotations button in the Reviewing toolbar.

• In PowerPoint, drop down the Delete Comment list in the Reviewing toolbar and then click either Delete All Markup on the Current Slide or Delete All Markup in this Presentation.