We have a large MS Word document with a rigid structure that gets updated annually.  There are approximately 6 users who make personal annotations for their own view or global annotations to be viewed by others.

I am thinking of extending the Word document to have other text layers, one or two for each user, in addition to the one main text layer.  We would preserve the other built in layers used for headers, footers, graphics or images, etc.  Each layer assigned to a user would have dedicated permissions for who can view it - hopefully even by groups.   The document would be accessible from SharePoint.  I want to address as a separate problem the potential for two or more global annotations from individuals to visually overlap.

I have reviewed the comments capabilities of MS Word up to version 2013 and feel that these do not address what the users want to achieve.

Is this use case do able with Microsoft Word?

• Moved by Fei Xue - MSFTMicrosoft contingent staff Wednesday, September 25, 2013 3:01 AM

Is it possible to change the presentation of the Word document? To put it into a container of some sort perhaps while in SharePoint?  Then maybe programmatically putting layers over the Word Document presentatiion?

No, that is functionality that simply does not exist in Word. You are trying to do something that word has never considered. 

Remember where Word came from: a simple not-networked stand-alone x86 PC that replaced a typewriter. The document was created and printed by one person. Rarely the file was shared via "sneaker-net".

Since then, pictures, headers, comments, references etc have been added. Some include some degree of  "layer" concept, but for the most part a document is straight text.

As Rich pointed out, the closest you can come to what you are looking for is track changes that are identified by userid.

You can "share" files using SharePoint server to allow more than one person to edit the file AT THE SAME TIME. Changes will be noted using track changes.

The only other way I can think of to approach what you want is using some sort of file "Version Control" software (maybe sharepoint?) to allow each person to check out a version of the file, then use file compare to identify the changes by individual. That gives you better control over each pseudo "layer".

I think you missed the nature of my second question but that is ok because it is probably out of the scope of the forum.

My second question was trying to find a solution outside of MS Word.  I know that we have viewers for word that work within IE for example.  Or I might consider just doing an HTML layer over the page with the viewer in it.  My question now goes along the lines of what kind of access do I have to the text layer of MS Word document that would help as far positioning?  If I know that I can make layers of my own using whatever technology and I know that the document is a rigid structure that doesn't change but once a year then I might make my own comment mechanism.

   I know it doesn't sound like a graceful solution but sometimes thinking "outside the box" gives possible alternatives.