Track Changes in Word: How to Remove Them

To get rid of Track Changes in Word, first turn tracking off, then accept or reject the recorded edits; switching to No Markup only hides them. In Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, use the Review tab to manage tracking and the Accept or Reject controls to decide what becomes part of the document. Save a backup first if you may need to recover the original wording.

What You’ll Need

The Word document you want to clean up, opened in the desktop version of Microsoft Word.
Permission to edit the document. If tracking is locked or the file is read-only, you may need the owner to unlock or share an editable copy.
A copy of the original file if you might want to reverse accepted or rejected edits later. Track Changes actions are not a substitute for a backup.

Step-by-Step

Make a separate copy before changing anything. In Word for Windows, choose File > Save As and save a new copy with a name such as Report-cleanup.docx. Keep the original unchanged until you have checked the cleaned version. This is especially useful when the edits include substantial rewrites or when you are unsure which revisions should remain.
Turn off tracking for future edits. Open the copy and select Review > Track Changes. In Microsoft 365 for Windows, clicking the Track Changes control toggles it off; if the menu offers choices, select Track Changes to turn it off. The control should no longer appear selected. This prevents new edits you make from being recorded, but it does not remove revisions already in the file. On a Mac, use Review > Track Changes to switch tracking off; the ribbon layout may differ slightly by Word version.
Decide what to do with the existing revisions. You can accept a change to keep the edited text, or reject it to restore the text that was there before that edit. If you need to check the document first, use Review > Display for Review and choose All Markup to show the edits, or select Review > Reviewing Pane to see a list of revisions. In some Word layouts the display control is labelled Display for Review; the important point is to choose a view that shows revisions rather than No Markup.
Review important edits one at a time. Click a revision in the document, then select Review > Accept or Review > Reject. Use the Previous and Next controls on the Review tab to move among changes. Accept wording that should remain in the final document; reject wording that should be removed or replaced with the original. Read the surrounding sentence before deciding, because one tracked change can affect punctuation, spacing, or a whole paragraph. Repeat until you have reviewed all changes you intend to resolve.
Resolve all revisions at once only when you are sure. If every recorded edit is approved, select the arrow next to Review > Accept and choose Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking, if that option appears in your Word version. This incorporates every tracked edit and turns tracking off. If you want to discard all tracked edits, use the arrow next to Review > Reject and choose Reject All Changes, then confirm tracking is off separately if necessary. Do not choose a bulk option just to make the markup disappear: it makes a decision about every revision, including ones you may not have read. The Mac Accept and Reject menus offer similar commands, though their placement can vary by release.
Handle comments separately. Accepting or rejecting tracked edits does not necessarily remove comments. If comments should also be removed, open Review > Delete and choose Delete All Comments in Document, or delete individual comments using the comment’s menu. Check with collaborators before removing comments that contain questions or approvals. In current Word versions, comments may appear in a side pane; select the comment and use its More options menu to delete it if the ribbon command is not visible.
Check the document, then save it. Set Review > Display for Review to All Markup and confirm that no revisions remain, then switch to No Markup to preview the clean reading view. Save the file with Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac. Close and reopen the saved copy if the document is going to someone else, and check that the edits and any intended comments are in the expected state.

Common Mistakes

Choosing No Markup and assuming the revisions are gone. No Markup changes the display, not the contents. The edits can reappear when someone selects All Markup, and they may still be present when the file is shared. Accept or reject revisions to remove them from the tracked-change record.

Turning off Track Changes but leaving old revisions behind. The toggle controls whether Word records future edits. It does not resolve previous changes. Check the document using All Markup after turning tracking off.

Accepting everything before checking what it does. Accept All Changes keeps every proposed edit. That could retain an accidental deletion, an incorrect replacement, or wording another reviewer intended to reject. Keep a backup and inspect the revisions first when the document matters.

Forgetting about comments or hidden content. Comments are separate from tracked edits. Deleting them is a separate action, and other review-related content may also need a check before sharing. Do not treat a clean-looking page as proof that all review information has been removed.

Editing a shared file without coordinating. If someone else is reviewing at the same time, a bulk accept or reject can resolve their changes too. Agree on who will finalize the document, or work in a separate copy.

Tips

Use All Markup while deciding what to keep, then use No Markup only as a final preview. This makes the difference between hidden and resolved revisions easier to spot.
When several people have edited a file, check the reviewer names shown in the markup or Reviewing Pane. If your version provides filtering by reviewer, use it to inspect one person’s edits at a time, but remember that filtering does not remove anyone’s changes.
Use the Reviewing Pane when revisions are hard to find in a long document. It can help you count and navigate changes, but make decisions in context: a list entry may not show why an edit matters to the paragraph.
Keep a clear filename for the final copy, and avoid overwriting the source until the recipient has confirmed the result. A separate clean copy is easier to compare with the original than an overwritten file.
If you only need to print or read a clean-looking draft, No Markup can be convenient. For a final file that should no longer contain revisions, resolve the changes and check again in All Markup before sending it.

Troubleshooting

Track Changes will not turn off. Check whether the document is protected or whether tracking is locked. On Windows, look under Review > Track Changes for a lock or protection option. If Word asks for a password, contact the person who protected the file; you may not have permission to unlock it. Also confirm that you are editing the document rather than viewing a read-only copy.

Changes are still visible after you accepted them. First check whether the remaining marks are comments, formatting revisions, or edits made by another reviewer. Choose All Markup and inspect the Reviewing Pane, then accept or reject the remaining tracked items. If the page only looks marked because balloons or formatting marks are displayed, adjust the markup display settings; do not hide unresolved revisions if the goal is to remove them.

The Accept All command is missing. Make sure you are on the Review tab and open the small dropdown arrow beside Accept. The exact menu wording can differ between desktop releases. If you are using Word for the web and cannot find the full set of review controls, open the document in the desktop app and use its Review tab. In the browser, available commands and layout can vary, so verify the result in the desktop app before distributing a final copy.

The file still shows edits after saving. Confirm that you saved the copy you intended to change, not the original or a second open version. Reopen the saved file and select All Markup. If edits reappear, they were likely hidden rather than accepted or rejected, or changes were added after you cleaned the file. Resolve them again and save.

You cannot undo a bulk action. If the document is still open, try Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac immediately. If you have closed the file or saved over the only copy, undo may not be available. Restore the backup or use version history if the file is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint and version history is available to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does turning off Track Changes remove existing edits?
No. It stops Word from recording new edits but leaves existing revisions in the document. Accept or reject those revisions to resolve them.

Is No Markup the same as accepting all changes?
No. No Markup hides the revision marks in the current view. Accepting changes makes the edited text part of the document and removes those revisions from the tracked-change list.

Can I accept some changes and reject others?
Yes. Select each revision and use Review > Accept or Review > Reject, or navigate with the Previous and Next controls. You do not have to use a bulk command.

Will accepting all changes delete comments?
Usually not. Comments are separate review items. Remove them individually or use Review > Delete > Delete All Comments in Document if you have decided they should not remain.

Can I remove Track Changes from Word on a Mac?
Yes. The process is the same: turn off tracking from the Review tab, then accept or reject existing edits. Review controls may be arranged differently on Mac, so look for the Accept, Reject, and Track Changes commands on that tab.

Can someone recover changes after I accept them?
Accepted edits are no longer tracked as revisions in the saved document, but the original file or cloud version history may preserve an earlier copy. Keep a separate backup if you need to retain the unedited version.

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