I agree with fumei that it is not the size of the document that is causing a problem. I regularly work with documents that are around 1 Mb and have worked on ones that are really large (100 Mb and more).



The .docx format is much more robust than the .doc format. I would not do the editing with lots of changes in .doc format. If one of your authors is working in an earlier version of Word, when you are done with your editing, save in .doc format for that author. Besides, my understanding is that the markup utilities are better suited to multiple authors in the later versions. (I do not know this, just believe it.)

As for formatting putting a strain on processing... Direct formatting (not done through styles) puts all sorts of commands into every paragraph return. I know of no comparisons on demand. In part, it will depend on whether you have formatting changes as something that gets noted in track changes.

Part of the reason for the recommendation to view it in Final mode is that the demand may be on your video processor rather than your computer processor.

Thanks. Well, there must be something else going on. My first instinct was the same as your comments -- 161K shouldn't be a strain on a modern word processor.

I guess I need more instances of the problem to try to figure out the cause. I've only been using Word 2013 for a couple of months, and this is the first time I've noticed any problems.

Appreciate your time.

I'm seeing the same behavior in Word 2013 running on Windows 7 on a Lenovo T61p laptop. The file is a 177kb .docx file that contains both Tracked Changes and Comments. The slowdown appears to occur as soon as I open the Reviewing Pane or add a comment. The behavior consists of repeated frequent spinning circle machine-busy indications and grayed-out file-not-responding indicators. The only way to fix the situation is to close the file and Word down and reopen. But the behavior reoccurs as soon as I either open the Reviewing Pane or add a comment.

Best,
Alan

Almost exactly the same symptoms I'm observing. I'm using Win 8.1 and the subscription version of Office 2013.

Two instances isn't a people's revolutionary movement, but it suggests that my problems aren't just operator error of some kind. Maybe the next step is to make sure I can reproduce the problem on demand and call my friendly local MS office.