How to Get Rid of All Track Changes in Microsoft Word

To get rid of tracked changes in Word, choose whether to keep or discard the proposed edits, then use Review > Accept or Review > Reject to apply them all. For example, select Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking to keep every edit and clear its markup, or Reject All Changes and Stop Tracking to undo every tracked edit. Save a copy first if you may need the original. Comments are separate and must be deleted separately.

These steps are for Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows. The same basic choices are available in Word for Mac, though ribbon layout and button labels can vary slightly. Removing tracked changes changes the document itself; hiding markup does not.

What You’ll Need

The Word document you want to clean up, opened in the desktop version of Word.
Permission to edit the document. A password-protected document may require its owner’s password.
A decision about whether to accept or reject the edits. If you are unsure, keep an untouched copy before proceeding.

Step-by-Step

Save a backup copy. Open the document and choose File > Save As (or File > Save a Copy, depending on your version and storage location). Give the copy a distinct name, such as Report before accepting changes. If the file is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, saving a separate copy is safer than relying only on version history, which can be affected by account or retention settings. Make sure you are working in the copy before continuing.
Show all revisions before making a decision. Select the Review tab. In the Tracking area, set Display for Review to All Markup. Open Show Markup and make sure the types of changes you want to inspect are enabled, including insertions and deletions, formatting, and comments if they are listed. This setting helps you see the proposed edits; it does not remove them. Look through the document, including tables and text near the end, to understand what will change.
Decide whether to keep or discard the edits. Accepting a tracked insertion keeps the inserted text; accepting a deletion removes the deleted text. Rejecting an insertion removes it, while rejecting a deletion restores the text that was marked for deletion. If only some suggestions are suitable, use the individual Accept or Reject controls while reviewing the changes, then apply a bulk command to whatever remains. Do not choose a bulk action simply to make the colored marks disappear: it commits one outcome for every remaining revision.
Turn off tracking so new edits are not marked. On the Review tab, select Track Changes to turn it off if it is currently on. Depending on the ribbon layout, the control may be a button or a dropdown. In Word for Windows, Ctrl+Shift+E toggles Track Changes; on Mac, use Command+Shift+E. Turning tracking off does not clear existing revisions—it only prevents subsequent edits from being recorded as tracked changes. If the control is unavailable or cannot be changed, see Troubleshooting below.
Keep every remaining edit, or discard every remaining edit. To keep the current proposed text, go to Review > Accept and choose Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking. To undo all remaining revisions, open Review > Reject and choose Reject All Changes and Stop Tracking. If you do not see the full command, open the small dropdown arrow beside the Accept or Reject button. Word applies the chosen action throughout the open document, not just the visible page. Review the resulting text because accepting or rejecting can alter wording, formatting, and layout.
Delete comments separately if you want a completely clean review copy. Tracked changes and comments are different features. On the Review tab, open the Delete dropdown in the Comments area and select Delete All Comments in Document. In some Word builds, the command may appear as Delete All Comments. This removes comments, not revisions. If you need to preserve feedback, save it elsewhere or keep the backup rather than deleting it.
Check that no revisions remain. Keep Display for Review set to All Markup and scan the document again. Check the Review tab for pending changes and use the navigation controls to move through any revisions if Word still lists them. Do not use No Markup as your test: it only hides revision marks from view. If there are changes left, decide whether to accept or reject them individually, then repeat the appropriate bulk command.
Save and reopen the cleaned document. Press Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac. If Word asks whether to save changes, confirm. Close and reopen the file, set the review display to All Markup, and check it once more. This confirms that the cleanup was saved in the document, rather than just hidden by a display setting.

Common Mistakes

Choosing No Markup and assuming revisions are gone. No Markup changes what Word displays, not what is stored. Another person can switch back to All Markup and see the pending edits. Use Accept or Reject to resolve them.
Accepting everything when you meant to undo it. Accept All Changes keeps proposed insertions and removes text proposed for deletion. If you want the original wording restored, use Reject All Changes instead. If you are uncertain, stop and inspect the copy before making a bulk choice.
Thinking that turning off Track Changes removes earlier marks. The toggle affects future editing only. Existing revisions remain until you accept or reject them.
Forgetting comments. Removing revisions does not automatically erase discussion comments. Use the separate Delete All Comments command only if you also intend to remove those notes.
Deleting feedback that someone still needs. Comments may contain decisions, questions, or context that is not present in the document text. Save a copy or transfer important feedback before deleting comments.
Assuming the action applies to every open file. The accept or reject command applies to the document in the active window. If you have several documents, clean each one separately.

Tips

Use a copy when the decision is important. A separate backup gives you a straightforward way to compare the pre-cleanup and final versions. This is especially useful for contracts, reports, or documents with many contributors; it is not a substitute for getting appropriate review or approval.
Review changes by author when there are many reviewers. In Review > Show Markup, use the reviewer options if available to show changes from one person at a time. This can make it easier to understand who proposed a change, but be sure to show all reviewers again before the final bulk action.
Check formatting as well as text. A tracked change can alter font, spacing, or other formatting without changing the words. Keep formatting revisions visible while reviewing if the final appearance matters.
Know what the cleanup does not erase. Accepting or rejecting revisions clears their tracked status from the current document. It does not necessarily remove OneDrive or SharePoint version history, copies sent to other people, or information retained by an organization’s systems.
For a shared file, coordinate before applying a bulk action. If another person is editing the document at the same time, agree on the final choice and allow changes to sync. Otherwise, edits or comments made by a collaborator may appear after your cleanup.

Troubleshooting

The changes seem to be gone, but someone else can still see them. The document may be set to No Markup or Simple Markup. Choose Review > Display for Review > All Markup and inspect it again. If revisions appear, accept or reject them; changing the display alone is not a cleanup.

Accept All Changes or Reject All Changes is missing. Open the dropdown arrow beside the Accept or Reject button on the Review tab. If the command is still unavailable, confirm that the file is open in Word and that you have editing permission. A protected document can prevent changes: if you are authorized, open Review > Restrict Editing and select Stop Protection, entering the password if prompted. If you do not have permission or the password, ask the document owner rather than trying to bypass the protection.

Track Changes will not turn off. The document may have tracking locked, or a protection setting may prevent the change. Check Review > Restrict Editing for protection options. You may need the owner’s password or administrator’s help. A shared document can also receive new tracked edits from another editor, so check whether collaborators are still working and wait for their changes to sync.

Some markup remains after the bulk action. Confirm that Word completed the command and that the correct document window was active. Set the view to All Markup, then inspect the Review navigation controls for remaining revisions. Apply the appropriate action to those items. Also check whether what you are seeing is a comment, rather than a tracked revision; comments require the separate delete command.

The document looks clean in Word but not in another app. Save the file as a Word document, preferably .docx, and reopen that saved copy in Word. If you are using Word for the web, switch to the desktop application for a more complete review and confirmation of the document. Interface options can vary in the web version, and a different editor may display review markup differently.

Old versions still show the changes. The cleanup affects the current saved document, not copies already downloaded or sent, nor necessarily the file’s cloud version history. If you need to share a clean copy, share or export the cleaned file itself. For cloud history or retention questions, follow your organization’s procedures or ask its Microsoft 365 administrator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Accept All Changes remove every tracked change?

It resolves all tracked revisions in the current document by keeping the proposed edits, and Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking also turns off tracking. It does not remove comments, separate file copies, or necessarily cloud version history.

How do I remove track changes without accepting them?

Choose Review > Reject > Reject All Changes and Stop Tracking. This discards the remaining proposed edits and restores text marked for deletion. If you need a mixture of accepted and rejected edits, handle the choices individually before resolving the rest.

Can I remove tracked changes but keep comments?

Yes. Accept or reject the tracked revisions, and do not select Delete All Comments. Comments are separate review items and can remain in the document after revisions are resolved.

Will turning off Track Changes delete the changes already in my document?

No. It stops Word from recording new revisions; it does not resolve existing ones. Use Accept or Reject to remove the tracked status of existing edits.

Can I get tracked changes back after accepting or rejecting them?

Undo may restore the prior state if you have not closed the document or made other changes, but it is not a reliable backup plan. Save a separate copy first. In a cloud file, version history may offer an earlier version, depending on your account and organization’s settings.

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

More in How-to basics

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

Spotted an error in this guide? Let us know.