Yep, like anyone who's been around the forums for a while I was introduced to the Shauna Kelly site and everything is set up that way. It's been a while since I worked in a team off a server, but I'm pretty sure this issue didn't happen then and it's only since we've transitioned to SharePoint that this has appeared.

I'm not opposed to your theory about the browser view messing it all up. I've tried to troubleshoot it before but everyone I've asked swears they are using the application, and I always set up the SharePoint libraries to use the application rather than editing in the browser (so clicking opens Word). You can't entirely prevent the web browser from coming into it though, because if you send a link to a file (rather than a location) in an email, clicking on it will open the document in the browser no matter what your settings are.

I wish there was a way to disable the browser editor entirely. I hate it I hate it I hate it and want it to play no part in any workflow I'm in charge of.

Is there any way to tell after the fact if a document has been edited in the browser rather than in the application?