How to Use Track Changes in Word

Track Changes is a Microsoft Word review feature that records insertions, deletions and formatting changes. The Review-tab steps below are for Microsoft Word, not FreeWordEditor.com: our browser editor supports direct DOCX edits and export but does not provide a tracked-changes workflow. If your document needs review history, use Word or another editor that supports it.

What Track Changes does

When Track Changes is active, Word marks every edit with coloured markup instead of silently applying it. Text you add appears underlined; text you delete appears with a strikethrough. Each reviewer's changes show in a different colour, and comments appear in the margin. The original author can then go through each change and either accept it (making it permanent) or reject it (restoring the original).

This makes Track Changes the standard tool for collaborative editing in publishing, legal work, academia and business — anywhere a document needs to go back and forth between writers and editors.

How to turn Track Changes on and off

In Microsoft Word, switching Track Changes on takes one click:

  1. Open your document in Word.
  2. Go to the Review tab on the ribbon.
  3. Click Track Changes in the Tracking group. The button highlights to show it is active.
  4. Make your edits. Every change is now marked up automatically.
  5. To stop tracking, click Track Changes again to toggle it off. New edits will no longer be marked, but existing tracked changes remain until you accept or reject them.

Viewing tracked changes and markup

Word gives you several ways to view tracked changes, depending on what you need to see. Use the Display for Review dropdown in the Review tab to switch between views:

  • All Markup — shows all insertions, deletions and formatting changes inline. This is the default editing view.
  • Simple Markup — shows a clean version of the text with only a bar in the margin to indicate where changes were made. Less cluttered for reading.
  • No Markup — shows the document as it would look if all changes were accepted. Good for checking the final result before accepting.
  • Original — shows the document as it was before any tracked changes. Useful for seeing how much has changed.

Accepting and rejecting changes

Once you've reviewed the markup, you need to accept or reject each change. You can do this one at a time or all at once:

  1. Place your cursor inside a tracked change, or select it.
  2. In the Review tab, click Accept to keep the change, or Reject to undo it.
  3. Use the Accept All or Reject All dropdown options to process the entire document at once — be sure you've reviewed everything first.
  4. After accepting or rejecting, the markup disappears and the document shows clean text.

Working with comments

Comments are separate from tracked changes but often used alongside them. A comment doesn't change the document text — it adds a note in the margin for the author to read.

To add a comment: select some text, go to Review and click New Comment. Type your note. To reply to a comment, click inside it and use the Reply button. To resolve a comment (mark it as addressed without deleting it), right-click it and choose Resolve Comment. Delete it entirely with Delete Comment.

Protecting a document so changes are always tracked

If you're sending a document to an editor and want to ensure they cannot secretly turn off Track Changes, you can lock it with a password. Go to Review > Protect Document (or Restrict Editing), check 'Allow only this type of editing: Tracked changes', and set a password. Anyone who opens the document can still edit it, but every change will be tracked and Track Changes cannot be turned off without the password.

Removing all tracked changes before sharing

Before sharing a final document, always check for leftover tracked changes and comments — they may contain sensitive reviewer notes or deleted text that others can see. Go to Review > Accept All Changes, then delete any remaining comments. You can also use the Document Inspector (File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document) to find hidden tracked changes in complex documents.

Frequently asked questions

Can I see who made each change?

Yes. Hover over a tracked change and a tooltip shows the reviewer's name and the date and time of the edit. Each reviewer's changes appear in a different colour automatically.

What if I receive a document with Track Changes already on?

You'll see the markup as soon as you open it. Use the Display for Review menu to choose how much markup to show, then accept or reject changes as needed before working on your own edits.

Does Track Changes work in Google Docs?

Google Docs has an equivalent called Suggesting mode. When you switch from Editing to Suggesting (via the pencil icon in the top right), your edits are shown as suggestions that the document owner can accept or reject — the same concept, different name.

Can I track changes in a free online editor?

Not in FreeWordEditor.com. Its browser editor does not provide a Review-tab workflow to track, accept or reject changes. Use Microsoft Word or another editor that supports tracked changes for collaborative review.

Why are my accepted changes still showing?

The Display for Review setting may be set to 'All Markup' even after accepting. After accepting changes, set Display for Review to 'No Markup' to confirm the document looks clean, or save and reopen the file.