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.

<endIntro />


<boxEmbed
  style="info"
  body={<>
    **Tip:** For any changes that aren't text-related, [YakShaver is the way to go](https://yakshaver.ai/). It captures the exact user context, and automatically creates and assigns issues to the right team, saving time and improving accuracy.
  </>}
  figurePrefix="none"
  figure=""
/>



<youtubeEmbed url="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zP5xdELqlBY" description={"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 <mark style="background-color: #FEF08A">yellow</mark> - Content you want to add/update (only do this on the "To" section)
* In <mark style="background-color: #CC4141">red</mark> (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](/do-you-use-indentation-for-readability), so this includes paragraphs we are copying and pasting.

<emailEmbed
  from=""
  to="Dave"
  cc=""
  bcc=""
  subject="Update CodeAuditor features list"
  shouldDisplayBody={true}
  body={<>
    ## Hi Dave

1\. 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!
  </>}
  figurePrefix="bad"
  figure="The original version of content has not been included in the email... it is hard to tell what needs to be changed"
/>

<emailEmbed
  from=""
  to="Dave"
  cc=""
  bcc=""
  subject="Update CodeAuditor features list"
  shouldDisplayBody={true}
  body={<>
    ## Hi Dave

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

1\. Please change:

From:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scan all your projects for coding &lt;mark style="background-color: #CC4141"&gt;bugs and</mark> errors:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Enforce industry best practices.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Friendly licensing model pay nothing for the full version!

To:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scan all your projects for coding errors

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - &lt;mark style="background-color: #FEF08A"&gt;Guarantee</mark> industry best practices

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Friendly licensing model&lt;mark style="background-color: #FEF08A"&gt; - bloggers even pay $0</mark> for the full version!
  </>}
  figurePrefix="good"
  figure="'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](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAqRokqq4jI)

***

<boxEmbed
  body={<>
    **Tip: **You can use AI to suggest content changes. In these cases, **don’t tell AI to rewrite your content**. Train it to use the same “from X to Y” format.
    
    Prompt example:
    
    > **Check the below email. Number your suggestions in the form of change x to y.**\
    > \
    > **\[number] change \[new line]**\
    > **x \[new line]**\
    > **to \[new line]**\
    > **y \[new line] **
  </>}
  figurePrefix="good"
  figure="Getting AI to follow this rule"
  style="tips"
/>

***

## Microsoft Teams - Use the same X to Y style

<imageEmbed
  alt="Image"
  size="large"
  showBorder={false}
  figurePrefix="none"
  figure="Using change from x to y in Microsoft Teams"
  src="/uploads/rules/change-from-x-to-y/change-from-x-to-y-microsoft-teams.jpg"
/>


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

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

<imageEmbed
  alt="Image"
  size="large"
  showBorder={false}
  figurePrefix="none"
  figure='Remember when saving the style to select "New documents based off this template"'
  src="/uploads/rules/change-from-x-to-y/change-from-x-to-y-saving-styles.jpg"
/>

<imageEmbed
  alt="Image"
  size="large"
  showBorder={false}
  figurePrefix="none"
  figure="The style will show in your styles list to be applied when needed"
  src="/uploads/rules/change-from-x-to-y/change-from-x-to-y-using-styles.jpg"
/>

**Tips:** 

* You can right click to bring up the format text toolbar
* By default, saved styles are ordered alphabetically. Add numbering in their name to customize their order of appearance

<imageEmbed
  alt="Image"
  size="large"
  showBorder={false}
  figurePrefix="bad"
  figure="Custom styles are disorganised"
  src="/uploads/rules/change-from-x-to-y/change-from-x-to-y-organising-styles-bad-example.png"
/>

<imageEmbed
  alt="Image"
  size="large"
  showBorder={false}
  figurePrefix="good"
  figure="Custom styles are numbered and organised"
  src="/uploads/rules/change-from-x-to-y/change-from-x-to-y-organising-styles-good-example.png"
/>

## 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'](https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/track-changes-in-word-197ba630-0f5f-4a8e-9a77-3712475e806a?ui=en-us&rs=en-gb&ad=gb) functionality.

<imageEmbed
  alt="Image"
  size="large"
  showBorder={false}
  figurePrefix="none"
  figure="A Word document with 'Track Changes' ON is recommended if you have too many changes"
  src="/uploads/rules/change-from-x-to-y/word-track-changes.jpg"
/>

## Alternative - What if you have a website managed by GitHub?

Some websites use GitHub to manage their files (e.g. [SSW Rules](https://github.com/SSWConsulting/SSW.Rules.Content)). GitHub makes reviewing changes easy through "Pull Requests".

<imageEmbed
  alt="Image"
  size="large"
  showBorder={false}
  figurePrefix="none"
  figure="This visual preview of the changes to a Markdown file in GitHub"
  src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/79821522/113648341-d15f1c00-96cf-11eb-8357-81a79ac0765d.png"
/>

<boxEmbed
  style="info"
  body={<>
    **Note:** When highlighting text in HTML/Markdown you [should avoid `<font>` tags](/do-you-know-font-tags-are-no-longer-used). Use `<span>` instead.
  </>}
  figurePrefix="none"
  figure=""
/>