Track Changes in Word: How to Review and Accept Edits

To use Track Changes in Microsoft Word, open the Review tab and select Track Changes, then edit the document as usual. Word will mark insertions, deletions, and other revisions so you or a collaborator can review each change and accept or reject it. Before you begin, save a copy of the document and decide who will review the edits.

What You’ll Need

A document open in Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365. The steps below describe Word for Windows; Word for Mac has the same core review tools, though some buttons may be arranged differently.
Permission to edit the document. If it is read-only, save or download an editable copy first, or ask the owner to grant access.
A saved backup if the original text is important. Track Changes makes revisions reviewable, but a separate copy gives you another way back if you accept changes or overwrite content by mistake.

Step-by-Step

Open and save the document. Open the Word file and use File > Save As to make a working copy if you want to preserve the untouched original. If you are collaborating through OneDrive or SharePoint, confirm that the document has finished saving before you start editing. A cloud document may save automatically, but it is still sensible to check the save status.
Turn on Track Changes. On Windows, select Review > Track Changes. If the command has a small arrow, open it and choose Track Changes to enable tracking. The button should appear selected or highlighted when the feature is on. On Mac, select Review > Track Changes; depending on the ribbon layout, the command may appear as a button or in a dropdown. If you cannot see it, expand the Review ribbon or use Word’s command search to find Track Changes.
Check that tracking is active before editing. Type a short test word in a low-risk spot, then undo the test with Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac. When tracking is enabled, the inserted text should appear as a revision, commonly with a colored underline or markup in the margin. Undoing the test removes it without affecting the rest of the document. This check is especially useful when you have opened a file someone else prepared.
Make edits normally. Add, delete, or replace text as you ordinarily would. Word records insertions and deletions, and it can also record formatting changes such as applying bold or changing a paragraph’s alignment. For example, if you replace “15 days” with “30 days,” Word can show the deleted wording and the new wording rather than silently replacing the original. Each change remains available for review until it is accepted or rejected.
Choose how much markup to display. On Windows, open Review > Tracking > Display for Review. Choose All Markup to see revisions and their details, Simple Markup for a less cluttered view, No Markup to preview the document without visible revision marks, or Original to view the document as it was before the tracked edits. On Mac, use the markup display menu on the Review tab; the labels are generally similar. These choices change what you see, not whether revisions are stored in the document.
Show or hide particular kinds of changes. If the page is crowded, open Review > Tracking > Show Markup on Windows and select the categories you want visible, such as comments, insertions and deletions, or formatting. You can also choose whether to show revisions from specific reviewers. On Mac, look for the Show Markup or markup options on the Review tab. Hiding a category is only a display filter; it does not delete those edits or comments.
Review each revision in context. Select a marked change in the document, or use Review > Tracking > Reviewing Pane to see a list or summary of revisions. Use Review > Changes > Previous and Next to move through changes, when those controls are available in your ribbon layout. Read the surrounding sentence or paragraph before deciding. A deletion may be necessary for a new sentence to make sense, and a replacement may affect a heading or cross-reference elsewhere.
Accept or reject changes deliberately. Select a revision, then use Review > Changes > Accept or Reject. The dropdown beside each command offers options such as moving to the next change or accepting or rejecting all changes. Use the all-changes option only after reviewing the whole document and confirming that every revision should be kept or discarded. On Mac, use the Accept and Reject controls on the Review tab. If you are unsure about a change, leave it pending and ask its author rather than guessing.
Turn tracking off when editing is finished. Select Review > Track Changes again to switch tracking off. This stops Word from marking new edits; it does not accept, reject, or remove the revisions already in the file. To create a final version with no pending revisions, review and accept or reject them first, then turn tracking off. Save the document after checking the result.
Check the final view and share the right copy. Select All Markup to verify that no revisions remain unresolved, then choose No Markup to preview how the clean text will look. If reviewers still need to see the decision history, keep a reviewed copy with tracked changes. If readers need a clean document, save a separate final copy after resolving changes. Do not rely on No Markup alone to remove revision data; it only hides the marks on screen.

Common Mistakes

Turning tracking on after editing. Word does not retroactively mark changes made before Track Changes was enabled. If edits have already been made, compare against the original or undo and redo the edits with tracking on. If the file has no original copy, do not assume Word can reconstruct every earlier revision.

Confusing hidden markup with removed markup. Choosing No Markup can make the page look final, but the revisions may still be present. Someone opening the document with All Markup can see them. Accept or reject changes if you need to resolve them, and use the display setting only to control the current view.

Accepting everything without review. Accept All may retain an incorrect edit just as easily as a correct one. Review changes individually, or at least scan the entire document and confirm the edits with the responsible reviewer before using a bulk command. The same caution applies to Reject All.

Assuming comments and tracked edits are the same. Comments are discussion notes; tracked changes are proposed edits to document content or formatting. You can resolve a comment without accepting the related revision, and accepting a revision does not automatically answer a comment. Check both categories before sharing a finished file.

Editing with tracking off by accident. If another person has changed the tracking state, your new edits may not be marked. Check the button before you begin, and make a small test if the document’s review history matters.

Tips

Agree on a review method before several people edit the same file. For example, ask reviewers to make suggested edits with Track Changes on and use comments for questions that should not alter the wording. This makes it easier to distinguish a proposed correction from a point that needs discussion. If the document is shared online, use one shared file rather than emailing several separately edited copies where possible.

Use All Markup while making decisions, but switch to Simple Markup or No Markup when you need to read the prose without visual clutter. Before accepting a revision, compare the wording on both sides of the change. With a long deletion, click or select the marked text and inspect enough of the surrounding passage to understand what the edit affects.

Keep reviewer attribution intact when it is useful to know who proposed each change. Word may identify reviewers by their Office account or configured user name. If the name displayed is generic or incorrect, ask the author to check their Word account or identity settings before they edit. Avoid changing identifying information in the middle of a review if it would make earlier and later edits harder to distinguish.

For a clean handoff, consider saving two files: a review copy that preserves the markup and a final copy in which all agreed revisions have been resolved. Give the files clear names, such as a review version and a final version with a date, so recipients know which one to use. Before sending the final copy, reopen it and check the text, page breaks, headings, and any tables or images affected by the edits.

Remember that Track Changes is not a security or privacy feature. A document that appears clean in No Markup may still contain pending revisions. If you need to remove revision history before sharing, resolve the changes and inspect the saved copy. For sensitive documents, follow your organization’s document-handling rules rather than assuming a display setting has erased hidden information.

Troubleshooting

The Track Changes button is missing. Make sure the document is open in the Word desktop app and that the Review tab is visible. Maximize the window or expand the ribbon; a narrow window can collapse commands into menus. You can also search Word for Track Changes. If the document is protected or opened in a restricted mode, you may need editing permission or an editable copy before you can change tracking settings.

New edits are not marked. Return to Review > Track Changes and confirm that the control is on. Check that you are editing the expected file, not a read-only copy or a duplicate that is not shared with the reviewers. If you are using Word for the web, its ribbon layout differs from the desktop version; open the Review tab and check the tracking control there. When in doubt, save, close, and reopen the file, then verify the tracking state before editing further.

Changes seem to have disappeared. First set Display for Review to All Markup and make sure the relevant categories are enabled under Show Markup. Also check whether the document is showing a particular reviewer only. If the changes still do not appear, they may have been accepted or rejected, or you may have opened a different saved copy. Use version history in OneDrive or SharePoint, if available, or restore your backup rather than making more edits to a possibly wrong file.

The document looks cluttered or text appears in balloons. This is a display choice, not necessarily a fault. Use Simple Markup for a cleaner reading view, or open the Show Markup options to hide categories you do not need to inspect at that moment. You can also use the Reviewing Pane to see a list of edits. Keep All Markup available for the actual review so that hidden categories are not overlooked.

You cannot accept or reject a change. Confirm that you are selecting a revision rather than ordinary text or a comment. If editing is restricted, ask the document owner to adjust permissions. In a shared file, another person may have changed or resolved the revision; save or refresh and inspect the current version before making a conflicting change. If a bulk action behaves unexpectedly, use Undo immediately if available, then review the document again before saving additional edits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does turning Track Changes off remove existing edits?
No. Turning it off stops Word from tracking new edits. Existing revisions remain until you accept or reject them.

Can I use Track Changes in Word for Mac?
Yes. Word for Mac includes Track Changes and review controls on the Review tab. The buttons may be arranged differently from Windows, but you can still record, inspect, accept, and reject revisions.

Does No Markup delete the tracked changes?
No. It changes the display so the document appears without revision marks. Use Accept or Reject to resolve the tracked changes if you want them removed from the review state.

Can I accept only one person’s changes?
Usually. Use Show Markup to filter revisions by reviewer, then review and accept or reject the visible changes carefully. Check that the reviewer filter is not hiding other pending changes before you finish.

Are comments included in Track Changes?
No. Comments are separate review notes. Show comments while reviewing, and resolve or delete them as appropriate in addition to handling tracked edits.

Can someone tell who made a tracked change?
Word generally associates revisions with the reviewer identity configured in Office. The displayed name depends on account and document settings, so confirm the attribution if identifying the editor matters.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

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Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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