Track Changes in Word: How to Turn It On and Use It

To turn on Track Changes in Microsoft Word, open the document and select Review > Track Changes > Track Changes on the Windows ribbon. On a Mac, open the Review tab and select Track Changes. Once it is on, Word marks edits made from that point forward so they can be reviewed, accepted, or rejected.

Turn on Track Changes on a computer

In Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, open the file you want to edit and go to the Review tab. In the Tracking group, open Track Changes and choose Track Changes from the menu. In some ribbon layouts, the control appears as a button rather than a prominent menu, but it is still on the Review tab. A highlighted button or other active-state indicator means tracking is on.

On Word for Mac, the control is also on the Review tab. Select Track Changes to switch it on; depending on the version and ribbon layout, you may see a small menu or a direct toggle. Word for the web also has a Track Changes control on the Review tab, although its arrangement and available review options can differ from the desktop app.

After enabling tracking, make a small test edit if you are unsure whether it is active. For example, add a word to a sentence and check whether Word marks the insertion. Undo the test edit if appropriate, but remember that undoing an edit and accepting or rejecting a revision are different actions. Changes made before tracking was enabled are not reconstructed or marked retroactively.

Use the keyboard shortcut

The shortcut for toggling Track Changes is Ctrl+Shift+E in Word for Windows. On a Mac, use Command+Shift+E. Press the shortcut once to turn tracking on and again to turn it off. Check the Review tab or the status indicator afterward if you need to confirm the current state, particularly when working in a document with other reviewers.

Keyboard shortcuts can be useful when you are switching between editing and reviewing, but they do not replace checking the document’s status. If you accidentally turn tracking off, edits made while it is off will not appear as revisions. Turn it back on as soon as you notice, and tell collaborators if the missing edits matter; Word cannot automatically recreate a revision history for that interval.

Choose how revisions appear

Turning tracking on controls whether new edits are recorded. The display setting controls how much of the recorded information you see. In desktop Word, use the Review tab and the Display for Review menu to select a view. Names and controls can vary slightly across Word versions, but the main choices are:

Simple Markup: Shows a cleaner page with indicators that revisions are present. Select an indicator or inspect the relevant area to see the edits.
All Markup: Displays tracked insertions, deletions, formatting changes, and review balloons according to your markup settings. This is useful for a thorough review.
No Markup: Shows the document as it would look with revisions applied, without displaying the markup. It does not accept or remove the revisions.
Original: Shows the document as it appeared before the tracked changes, while keeping the revisions available for review.

A common mistake is to choose No Markup and assume that all edits have been accepted. They have not: this is only a viewing choice. To finalize revisions, use Accept or Reject. Switch to All Markup when you need to verify exactly what is still pending.

Review, accept, or reject edits

Tracked insertions and deletions are reviewable items, not simply colored text. Select a marked change and use the Review tab’s Accept or Reject controls. Accept keeps the edit as regular document text and removes its revision mark; reject discards the edit and restores the previous text where applicable. You can usually move through revisions with the Previous and Next controls in the Changes group.

For a careful review, work through one change at a time and consider the surrounding sentence or section. An insertion can look harmless but alter a definition, number, or instruction; a deletion may remove a qualification needed elsewhere. If you are unsure, leave the revision pending or ask the author rather than accepting it simply to clear the markup.

Word also offers commands to accept or reject multiple changes, including all changes in a document. Use these only when you have actually reviewed the revisions and intend to resolve them together. Once changes are accepted or rejected, their original revision marks are removed, so save a separate copy first if you may need to preserve a review record.

What Track Changes records—and what it does not

Track Changes records edits made while the feature is active, such as inserted or deleted text and, depending on settings, formatting changes. Word associates revisions with an editor identity, usually based on the Office account or application settings. The exact appearance can vary with the selected markup view, color settings, and version of Word.

Comments are separate from tracked edits. A comment is a note attached to text or a location; it does not itself show that the text was changed. Use Review > New Comment to add one, and review or resolve comments separately from accepting or rejecting revisions. A file can contain comments with no tracked changes, tracked changes with no comments, or both.

Tracking also is not a complete audit or security system. It does not prove who made a change, prevent someone from copying content, or guarantee that confidential information has been removed. If you need a final version without revision marks, resolve the changes and inspect the file before sharing it. Merely hiding markup does not remove the underlying revision data.

Work with other reviewers

When several people edit the same Word document, agree on whether tracking should remain on and how reviewers should identify themselves. Track Changes makes proposed edits visible, but it does not decide which edits are correct or settle conflicting suggestions. In a shared cloud document, collaborators may see edits and presence updates as they work; their exact experience depends on where the file is stored, their Word version, and their permissions.

Before sending a document for review, save it with a clear filename and explain whether reviewers should edit directly, add comments, or do both. For example, an editor might track wording changes while leaving a comment asking whether a technical term is correct. This separates a proposed correction from a question that needs an answer.

Tracking can sometimes be protected so that reviewers cannot turn it off without a password. In desktop Word, check the menu beside Review > Track Changes for Lock Tracking; availability and wording can differ by version. This is not a substitute for controlling access to the file, and a password should be shared only with people who need to manage the review settings.

Fix common Track Changes problems

Edits are not marked: Confirm that Track Changes is on, then make a new test edit. Remember that changes made before you enabled tracking are not added to the revision history.
Markup seems to have disappeared: Check Display for Review and switch to All Markup. No Markup and Simple Markup can conceal details without resolving the revisions.
Text looks like it changed, but no revision appears: The change may have been made while tracking was off, or the visible text may be the result of a display setting. Check the tracking toggle and the review view.
You cannot turn tracking off: The document may have Lock Tracking enabled, or you may have limited editing permissions. Ask the document owner or the person who set the protection rather than trying to bypass it.
Reviewer names look wrong: Check the Office account and Word’s user information settings. Names already attached to revisions may not be changed simply by changing the current account name.

If the document is important, save a copy before making broad changes to its revisions. If markup looks inconsistent after opening the file in another app, reopen it in Word and check the view and revision status there; third-party editors may display some Word features differently.

A practical review workflow

A simple process helps prevent confusion between proposed edits and a clean final document:

Save a working copy and turn on Track Changes before editing.
Use comments for questions or explanations that should not become part of the document text.
Review the file in All Markup, moving through each revision and checking its context.
Accept or reject each edit, and resolve comments separately when they have been answered.
Switch to No Markup to inspect the reading experience, then return to All Markup to confirm that no unresolved revisions remain.
Save the reviewed file under a clear name. If you need a record of the proposed edits, retain the marked-up copy as well as any clean final version.

This workflow is more reliable than hiding markup and sending the document as if it were final. For a short document with only a few edits, reviewing each item may take little time. For a long policy, contract draft, or collaborative report, keeping a marked-up review copy can make decisions easier to explain later. Track Changes helps show what was proposed; the people responsible for the document still need to decide what to keep.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does turning Track Changes off delete existing edits?
No. Turning it off stops Word from recording new edits, but revisions already in the document remain until they are accepted or rejected. They may be hidden by the current display setting.

Can I turn on Track Changes after editing?
Yes, but Word will track only edits made after you turn it on. It cannot infer which earlier text was changed or recreate those revisions automatically.

Why can I see changes in No Markup?
No Markup shows the document as if the revisions were applied. It does not remove or accept them. Choose All Markup to see the pending edits and use Accept or Reject to resolve them.

Are comments included in Track Changes?
No. Comments are separate review notes. Track Changes records edits to document content, while comments are added, replied to, and resolved through the comments controls.

Can I use Track Changes in Word for the web?
Yes. Word for the web includes a Track Changes option on the Review tab. Some review controls and layouts differ from desktop Word, so use the desktop app if a particular advanced review or protection command is unavailable.

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