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Known Participant
August 18, 2026
Question

I'm planning to develop a track changes plugin similar to Word.

  • August 18, 2026
  • 6 replies
  • 34 views

I want to develop a plugin similar to Word's Track Changes feature. Looking for clear guidance on where to start.

It should include the following functionalities:

  1. Building a Plugin Panel:
    The panel interface should roughly look like this:
    a. dropdownlists to view changes from version XXX to version YYY.
    b. An "Add" button to create a new version.
    c. An "Accept All Changes" button.
    d. A toggle to enable/disable Track Changes.
    e. A "Deletion Show State" toggle: Toggles the display of deleted text between a small red dot and strikethrough text.

  2. Deletion Tracking:
    When text is deleted in real-time, a small red dot marker should be generated. Clicking the "Deletion Show State" button on the panel should toggle the visibility of the deleted text, displaying it with a strikethrough effect. (Note: This should be a custom visual effect, not InDesign's built-in strikethrough formatting.)

  3. Insertion Tracking:
    Newly added text should be displayed with an underline. (Note: Just like the deletions, this should be a simulated visual effect rather than the actual underline character formatting.)

I have some experience with JavaScript, but I found that it alone cannot achieve the desired results, as I want to build a true plugin for text tracking. However, I am unsure which learning path I should take.

Should I learn UXP?
Or CEP?
Or would learning C++ and the InDesign Plugin SDK be sufficient?

Any guidance would be appreciated!

    6 replies

    leo.r
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 18, 2026

    -Do not learn CEP. CEP is dead.

    -If you can afford to allocate the time to learning C++, InDesign SDK, and the required development tools (Xcode/Visual Studio), as well as numerous other aspects required to successfully build an InDesign plug-in, then by all means do that. It’s the most complex and time-demanding option but then you’ll be able to do anything you want.

    Known Participant
    August 18, 2026

    Then C++ and the InDesign Plugin SDK are definitely my next steps. Thank you so much!

    Could you point me to any up-to-date reference documentation to help me get started?

    Community Expert
    August 18, 2026

    inDesign already has a Tracked Changes

    https://helpx.adobe.com/ie/indesign/desktop/collaborate-and-review/track-changes-and-review/track-text-changes.html

     

    Is there something it doesn’t do that you need specifically?

    Known Participant
    August 18, 2026

    I need more than just the track changes feature in the Story Editor; I need track changes to be visible on the regular page as well. Some of my requirements are already shown in the post.

    Community Expert
    August 18, 2026

    Interesting and thanks for the additional detail. 

    There are things out there already
    https://ctrlsoftware.com/home/products/ctrlchanges/

    https://www.kerntiff.co.uk/products-4-indesign/editmarks

     

    good luck with it - I’d imagine a plugin would be best. But way beyond me.

    The closest thing I can come up with out of the box is I’d dock the Story Editor to the side - and you can use the track changes panel.