How to Accept All Track Changes in Word

To accept every tracked edit in a Word document, open the Review tab, open the Accept menu, and choose Accept All Changes. This applies the revisions to the document; it does not remove comments or automatically turn off Track Changes. Before you begin, save a copy if you may need to preserve the original markup.

What You’ll Need

A Word document containing tracked changes, opened in an editable version of Microsoft Word. The steps below are for Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows; the Mac steps are included where they differ.
Permission to edit the document. If it is read-only or protected, you may need to enable editing or ask the document owner for access.
A backup or separate copy if you might want to review or restore the original revisions later. Accepting changes alters the document and can make the original edit history harder to inspect.

Step-by-Step

Open the document and make a safety copy. Open the file in the Word desktop app. If you want to retain the unaccepted version, use File > Save As to save a second copy with a clear name, such as Project draft – before accepting changes. For a document stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, you can also check its version history, but a separate copy is an easy safeguard. Confirm that the active document is the copy you intend to finalize.
Check that the document is editable. Look for a read-only notice, a Protected View message, or an editing restriction. If Word shows Enable Editing and you trust the file and its source, select it. For a protected document, go to Review > Restrict Editing and check whether editing is restricted; you may need the owner or password to remove the restriction. Do not try to bypass protection you are not authorized to change.
Review the markup before accepting it. Select Review > Display for Review > All Markup so insertions, deletions, and other tracked revisions are visible. Then use Review > Show Markup to check that the relevant types of changes and reviewers are included. This is a useful inspection step: it helps you see what will become part of the final text and whether any reviewer’s edits need discussion. Display settings affect what you see, not whether the document contains revisions.
Open the Accept menu. On Windows, select the Review tab on the ribbon, find the Changes group, and select the arrow on the Accept button. On Mac, open Review and select the arrow beside Accept. If the ribbon is simplified or narrow, the group or menu may be collapsed; expand the ribbon or open the relevant button’s dropdown rather than clicking the main button repeatedly.
Choose Accept All Changes. Select Accept All Changes from the menu. Word applies tracked insertions, removes text marked for deletion, and applies tracked formatting or other revisions. The change marks disappear because those edits are no longer pending. Read the menu carefully: some Word builds also offer Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking. That option accepts the revisions and turns off tracking; use it only if you also want subsequent edits to be untracked.
Confirm the result in the document. Return to the pages, paragraphs, or tables where revisions appeared. Check that inserted wording is present, deleted wording is gone, and formatting looks right. If you cannot see the result, set Review > Display for Review to No Markup to view the clean document, or switch back to All Markup while investigating. No Markup hides revision indicators; it is not itself the command that accepts changes.
Decide whether to keep tracking on. Accepting all changes does not necessarily switch off Track Changes. If you want new edits to appear as revisions, leave the setting on. If you want future edits to be made without tracking, select Review > Track Changes to turn it off, and verify the button is no longer active. On Mac, use the Track Changes control on the Review tab. Turning tracking off affects new edits; it does not undo or restore earlier revisions.
Save and, if needed, share the clean copy. Select File > Save, or press Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac. If the original needs to retain its markup, save or share the separate finalized copy instead. Reopen the saved file if the result is important, and make sure it contains the accepted text and the correct tracking setting.

The command applies to the document, not just the paragraph currently on screen. If you need to accept only some revisions, do not choose Accept All Changes: use the individual Accept controls for the specific edits you have reviewed.

Common Mistakes

Choosing No Markup and assuming the revisions are accepted. No Markup changes the display so the document looks clean, but the tracked changes remain. Use Accept All Changes to finalize them.
Confusing accepting with rejecting. Accepting a deletion removes the marked text; rejecting it keeps the text. Accepting an insertion keeps the new text; rejecting it removes the insertion. Check which command you select before applying it to the whole document.
Expecting comments to disappear. Comments are separate from tracked revisions. Accepting edits does not resolve or delete comments. Review comments separately using the controls in the Review tab, and remove or resolve them only when appropriate.
Turning off tracking without accepting existing changes. Turning Track Changes off only affects new edits. Existing markup stays in the document until you accept or reject it.
Assuming the menu choice is limited to the visible page or selected text. Accept All Changes is a document-wide action. A filtered view can make some revisions hard to see, so inspect the markup and reviewers before using it.
Saving over the only copy too soon. Once the revisions are accepted, it can be difficult to reconstruct who proposed each edit. Keep a copy with the original markup if you may need an audit trail or further review.

Tips

Read changes in context. A short wording edit can affect a heading, cross-reference, table, or meaning elsewhere. Review larger edits in the surrounding paragraph rather than relying only on the markup bubble.
Check every reviewer. In Review > Show Markup, confirm that the reviewers whose edits matter are included. In a collaborative document, one person may have made revisions that are not obvious in a quick visual scan.
Use a clean view for a final read-through. After accepting, choose No Markup to read the text as a reader will see it. Then inspect important formatting, tables, headers, footers, and page breaks; accepting text edits can change pagination.
Keep the two decisions separate. Accepting edits and stopping tracking are distinct tasks. Choose the standard Accept All Changes command when you want to control tracking separately, or the combined option only when you deliberately want both outcomes.
Use Word desktop if the browser interface is missing a command. Word for the web may show a more compact Review interface, and available review controls can vary. If you cannot find the all-changes command, open the document in the desktop app and use the Review tab there.

Troubleshooting

You cannot find Accept All Changes. Make sure you are on the Review tab and open the arrow beside Accept, not just the main button. Expand a simplified or collapsed ribbon. If you are in Word for the web and the option is absent, choose Open in Desktop App if available, then use the desktop steps.
The command is unavailable or nothing seems to happen. The document may contain no tracked changes, may be read-only, or may have editing restrictions. Switch to All Markup and check the document again. If it is protected, ask the owner for editing permission. If there are genuinely no revisions, Word has nothing to accept.
Some changes still appear afterward. First check whether they are comments, formatting marks, or other review indicators rather than pending tracked changes. Use Review > Show Markup to inspect the display options, then check the document’s revisions again. If a collaborator is editing the file at the same time, wait for their updates to sync and review the document again before saving or sharing the final version.
The text looks unchanged. That can be expected when an insertion or deletion is subtle, or when the display was already showing a clean view. Switch between All Markup and No Markup, then inspect the affected passage. Remember that accepting a deletion removes that text, while accepting an insertion retains it.
You accepted changes by mistake. If the action was recent and you have not made other changes, immediately press Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac. Check that the revisions return. If you have saved, closed, or continued editing, undo may not restore the document to the exact earlier state. Use your backup or the file’s version history to restore an earlier copy, then save it under a new name if you need to preserve both versions.
The file will not save. Check that you have permission to edit its location and that you are online if it is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint. Use File > Save As to save an editable copy somewhere you can access. Do not assume that the accepted version is safely stored until Word confirms the save.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Accept All Changes accept revisions from every reviewer?
Yes. It accepts tracked revisions in the document, including those made by different reviewers. Check the reviewer and markup display before applying the document-wide command so you understand what is pending.

Does accepting all changes delete comments?
No. Comments are separate review items, so they remain unless you resolve or delete them separately. Review comments after accepting changes if you need a document without comment threads.

Will Track Changes turn off when I accept all changes?
Not necessarily. The standard Accept All Changes command accepts revisions but does not by itself mean tracking is off. If your menu offers Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking, that combined option does both.

Can I accept changes from just one person?
Use the reviewer controls under Review > Show Markup to inspect a person’s contributions, then accept revisions individually as you review them. Avoid the document-wide Accept All Changes command when you need to leave other reviewers’ edits pending.

Can I accept all changes in Word for the web?
Review features and menu layouts can vary in the browser. If you do not see an all-changes command under Review, open the file in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows or Word for Mac and follow the desktop steps.

Can I recover the original tracked version?
If you just accepted the revisions, try Undo immediately. Otherwise, use a backup or, for a cloud-stored file, check version history. Keeping a separate copy before accepting is the most reliable way to preserve the original markup.

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.