I need to ask a question about Word and I’m going to sound like a dumbass…

[TheLightSideOfTheMoon]

So, you write a document, you email it and the other person received it.

You then edit the document and send it again.

Does the first emailed document stay the same or will it change because I’ve edited it?

I know I’m a twat. I genuinely don’t know. I’m now in a job doing this stuff with no previous experience.

Stays the same ie unedited.

Stays the same- each version is the senders own

That’s what I thought but decided it would be sensible to check…

You’re not a twat! Everyone has to start somewhere!

the first emailed document will stay the same so any new edits will have to be re-sent.

documents can be edited and saved online like in SharePoint for example (so you don’t have to email them) but if you physically email a document to someone that won’t change.

The first document will stay the same IF you attached the document to the email and sent it (you were sending a copy) but if you were attaching a link to a document that's saved on a system (eg cloud drive) then it will change because you didn't send a copy of the document, just a signpost to the original (which you've since changed)

What many organisations will have you do is add "_rev0" at the end of the first file. Subsequent edits will be rev1, rev2 etc.

This. Office usually prompts you to choose which you are doing

Well if you send as an attachment it won't change.

If you send as a share point link then they'll see the amended version which is saved to share point.

Sorry- just repeated what @CastleCrasher said

If you have the choice of sending a link to the source document, rather than as an attachment, that's the better option if the person you're emailing the link to has permissions to the same file storage location where the file is. That way any revisions are all done into that source file. It's surprising how people haven't sussed that one, it is a very different way of working but it makes life so much easier. I remember the nightmare of receiving numerous files each with separate edits and comments in that have to be reviewed and updated into a "Version 2"