How to Enable Track Changes in Microsoft Word Documents

To enable Track Changes in Word, open the document, select the Review tab, and switch on Track Changes. Word will then record edits such as inserted text, deletions, and formatting changes so you and your reviewers can inspect them instead of silently replacing the original wording. Before you begin, make sure you can edit the document and save a copy if you may need to preserve an untouched original.

What You’ll Need

A document opened in Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, Word for Mac, or Word for the web. The names or locations of a few controls can vary slightly by platform.
Editing permission for the file. A read-only document or one opened in Viewing mode may prevent you from changing its review settings or content.
A save location for the document. If it is shared, confirm that you are working in the intended shared copy; otherwise, save a separate copy before making review changes.

Step-by-Step

Open the document you want to review. In Word, open the file from its usual location, such as your computer or OneDrive. If you received a link, check that it opens the correct document and that you have permission to edit it. If preserving the original is important, use File > Save As to create a review copy before editing. Track Changes records future edits; it does not reconstruct changes made before you turned it on.
Switch to editing mode if needed. A file may open in a protected or viewing state. Look for an Enable Editing button or a mode selector near the top of Word, and choose an editing option if you are authorized to make changes. For a shared file, ask its owner for editing access if the controls are unavailable. Avoid trying to bypass an organization’s security restrictions.
Open the Review tab. On Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, select Review in the ribbon. On Word for Mac, select Review in the ribbon as well. In Word for the web, open the document in your browser and select Review in the top ribbon. If the ribbon is collapsed, expand it first so you can see the review commands.
Turn on Track Changes. Select Track Changes on the Review tab. In the desktop versions, the control may include a small arrow or dropdown; select the main command to switch tracking on. The button’s appearance changes when the feature is active, though the exact highlight or label can differ by version. In Word for the web, select Track Changes on the Review tab and confirm the tracking option shown in its menu if prompted.
Check who Word will identify as the editor. Revisions are associated with an author name or initials. If that information is wrong, review your account or Office identity settings before making edits. On Windows, author details may be managed through File > Options > General; on Mac, check Word’s application preferences or your Microsoft account settings. The exact options can vary by version and account type. In a shared document, each person’s revisions are generally identified using their own signed-in account.
Choose a useful markup view. On the Review tab, use the display control, commonly labeled Display for Review or Markup, to choose how much detail you see. All Markup makes revisions visible, while Simple Markup shows a cleaner page with indicators for changes. No Markup displays the document as if revisions were hidden. These options change the display, not whether tracking is enabled, so do not assume that hidden markup has been accepted or removed.
Make a small test edit. Add a word, then delete it or change a phrase in a safe place. With tracking on, Word should mark the insertion and deletion rather than simply replacing the text. Depending on your view, inserted text may be colored or underlined, and deleted text may appear crossed out, in a balloon, or as a margin marker. Undo the test edit if you do not want it included in the review.
Save the document and verify tracking remains on. Use Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac. Then make a second temporary edit, or check the Track Changes control, to confirm that tracking is still active. In a shared file, wait for Word to finish saving or syncing before closing it. Tell collaborators that revisions are being recorded so they can check their own edits too.
Keep tracking on while reviewers work. Continue editing as needed, and ask collaborators to make their changes in the same shared document if that is your agreed workflow. Word can show revisions from more than one editor in a collaborative file, but people may see slightly different controls depending on whether they are using the desktop app or browser. Save regularly and avoid creating competing copies without telling the group.

Keyboard shortcut: In Word for Windows, press Ctrl+Shift+E to toggle Track Changes. On Mac, press Command+Shift+E. Because these shortcuts turn tracking on or off, check the button afterward rather than pressing the shortcut repeatedly and guessing its state.

Common Mistakes

Assuming a clean page means tracking is off. The No Markup view hides revision marks but does not accept or delete them. Switch to All Markup when you need to inspect the revisions.
Turning tracking on after editing. Word records changes made while tracking is active, not earlier edits. If earlier changes need to be reviewed, you may need to compare the current document with an earlier saved copy using Word’s comparison tools.
Confusing comments with tracked edits. Comments are notes attached to parts of a document. Track Changes records modifications to the document itself. You can use both, but adding a comment does not turn on edit tracking.
Accepting changes too soon. Accepting a revision incorporates it into the document and removes its status as a pending change. Review the text and consult the document owner before accepting or rejecting another person’s work.
Assuming the button’s look is identical everywhere. Word’s ribbon may differ across Windows, Mac, and the web, and a simplified ribbon can hide commands. Look for the Review tab and its Track Changes control rather than relying on a particular color or icon.
Editing a downloaded or duplicate copy by mistake. A tracked change in one copy will not necessarily appear in another. Check the file name and location, especially when a document was opened from email or downloaded from a shared drive.

Tips

Agree on a review process first. Decide who may edit, whether reviewers should add comments as well as revisions, and who will resolve conflicting suggestions. A brief plan is especially helpful when several people are reviewing at once.
Use All Markup for a final review. This view makes it easier to spot insertions, deletions, and formatting changes before you respond to them. If the page becomes crowded, switch temporarily to Simple Markup for reading, then return to All Markup before deciding what to keep.
Keep an untouched original for important documents. Save a clearly named copy before editing, such as a version marked “review copy.” This gives you a fallback if changes are accepted, rejected, or otherwise difficult to unwind later.
Review formatting changes as well as words. Tracking may capture changes to styles, font appearance, or other formatting. If the page looks unexpectedly different, inspect the markup and formatting revisions rather than assuming only text was changed.
Use Save As deliberately when making a new version. A separate copy can be useful for different review rounds, but make sure everyone knows which file is current. Otherwise, reviewers may leave changes in a version that the document owner is no longer using.

Troubleshooting

The Track Changes command is missing or unavailable. Expand the ribbon, open the Review tab, and check whether the document is in Viewing or Read-only mode. If the file is protected or you lack editing permission, ask the owner to grant access. In some managed work environments, an administrator may restrict editing features.
You turned it on, but edits look unchanged. Switch the review display to All Markup, then make a small test edit. Also confirm that the Track Changes control is active. If the test change is still not recorded, check that you are editing the intended document and that it has not opened in a mode that blocks edits.
Changes seem to disappear. They may be hidden by the current display setting, rather than removed. Select All Markup and inspect the Review tab. If the document was saved or synced to a different copy, reopen the correct file and check its revision history or version history if available.
Another reviewer’s edits are not showing. Ask them to save and confirm that they edited the shared document rather than a downloaded copy. Refresh the browser version or close and reopen the desktop file after syncing. If they send a separate copy, its changes will not automatically merge into yours; use Word’s review or comparison features to bring versions together carefully.
The author name is wrong or appears generic. Check the Office account signed in to Word and the user information in the app’s settings. In a shared or organization-managed file, privacy policies may affect displayed identity details. Correct the identity settings before creating more revisions when possible; changing them later may not relabel existing edits.
The shortcut does something unexpected. Confirm that Word is the active app and use the correct platform shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+E on Windows or Command+Shift+E on Mac. Then inspect the Track Changes button to see whether the state changed. You can always use the Review tab instead of the shortcut.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does turning on Track Changes affect edits I already made?

No. Word tracks edits made after you enable the feature. To review earlier edits, compare the current document with an earlier version if you have one, or ask the editor to make the changes again with tracking turned on.

How can I tell whether Track Changes is on?

Check the Track Changes control on the Review tab; its selected or highlighted appearance indicates the active state in many Word versions. Make a brief test edit and confirm that Word marks it. The precise visual cue varies, so do not rely on color alone.

Does hiding markup turn off Track Changes?

No. Display choices such as Simple Markup and No Markup control what you see, not whether revisions are being recorded. To confirm the status, check the Track Changes control and switch to All Markup when you want to inspect edits.

Can I enable Track Changes in Word for the web?

Yes. Open the document in Word for the web, select Review, and choose Track Changes. The available controls can differ from the desktop app, and the file must allow editing for you to make tracked changes.

How do I stop tracking without accepting the edits?

Select Review > Track Changes again, or use the appropriate keyboard shortcut, to stop recording new edits. Existing revisions remain pending until you accept or reject them. Turning tracking off does not itself remove those revisions.

How do I make the revisions part of the final document?

Review each change and use the Accept or Reject controls on the Review tab. You can handle changes individually or use menu options to process multiple revisions, but inspect the document carefully before accepting all. Save a copy first if you may need to preserve the review history.

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