Track changes in Word
Note: If a document has been shared with you for review, you may not be able to turn off Track Changes. If you want to edit the document without tracking changes, you’ll need to either save a copy or ask the person who sent it to you to share it again with review mode turned off.
Turn Track Changes on and off
On the Review tab, select Track Changes.
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When Track Changes is on, the section is highlighted. Deletions are marked with a strikethrough, and additions are marked with an underline. Different authors’ changes are indicated with different colors.
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When Track Changes is off, the section is not highlighted. Word stops marking changes, but the colored underlines and strikethroughs are still in the document.
Tip: You also can add a Track Changes indicator to the status bar. Right-click the status bar and select Track Changes.
View tracked changes
Note: When a document is in Editing or Reviewing mode, you can select a tracked change to view a collaborator’s full, suggested change in a card that displays. Hover over the Accept or Reject button to see a preview of what that action would do to your final document.
Choose whose changes to track
You can choose to track only your own changes or everyone’s changes.
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To track only your own changes — On the Review tab, select Track Changes > Just Mine.
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To track everyone’s changes — On the Review tab, select Track Changes > For Everyone.
Tip: to use a password to keep others from turning off Track Changes — On the Review tab, select Track Changes > Lock Tracking.
Choose how you would like to see the changes in the document
You can choose the type of markup you want to see.
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On the Review tab, select Tracking.
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Select All Markup for the drop-down list to display.
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Select one of the following options.
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Simple Markup displays tracked changes with a red line in the margin.
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All Markup displays tracked changes with different colors of text and lines for each reviewer
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No Markup hides the markup to show the document with changes incorporated
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Original displays the original document without tracked changes and comments showing. However, any tracked changes or comments in the document that have not been accepted, rejected, or deleted remain in the document.
Choose the way track changes display
You can choose the types of revisions that display and the way they display. If you choose to show revisions as balloons, they display in the margins of the document. If you choose to display them directly within the document in line. In line revisions display all deletions with strikethroughs instead of inside balloons.
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On the Review tab, select Track > Show Markup.
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Select Balloons and then select the type of display you want.
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Show Revisions in Balloons
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Show All Revisions Inline
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Show Only Formatting in Balloons
Note: If you want to see tracked changes in balloons, you must be in Print Layout view or Web Layout view.
Display changes by type of edit
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On the Review tab, select Track Changes > Show Markup.
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Select the type of edit.
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Insertions and Deletions
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Formatting
The check mark next to the item indicates that it’s selected.
Note: Even if you hide a type of markup by clearing it on the Show Markup menu, the markup automatically displays each time the document is opened by you or a reviewer.
Display changes by reviewer(s)
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In Review > Tracking, select Show Markup.
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Select Specific People.
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Select to clear all check boxes except the ones next to the names of the reviewers whose changes you want to show.
Note: To select or clear all check boxes for all reviewers in the list, select All Reviewers.
Navigate tracked changes in Changes menu section
You can navigate from one tracked change to another.
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In Review > Changes, select Next to view the next tracked change.
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In Review > Changes, select Previous to view the previous tracked change.
Accept or Reject tracked changes
There are multiple ways to address tracked changes. The most proficient method is to identify the commentor and respond to the tracked change is through the card display when you click the marked change. The card displays the commentor name and the option to accept or reject the suggestion.
Accept or reject tracked changes in sequence using the main menu
You can resolve teach tracked change from the beginning of the document to the end of the document in sequence.
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Select Review > Changes > Next.
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Select Accept or Reject. The next sequential tracked change is highlighted for your review and action.
Note: You can also accept or reject individual tracked changes using the main menus’ drop-down menus. This method is often used as a methodical approach to reviewing tracked changes.
Accept changes using the main menu
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In Review > Changes, select Accept.
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Select one of the options.
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Accept and Move to Next
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Accept This Change
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Accept All Changes
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Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking
Reject changes using the main menu
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In Review > Changes, select > Reject.
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Select one of the options.
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Reject and Move to Next
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Reject This Change
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Reject All Changes
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Reject All Changes and Stop Tracking
Accept or reject changes within a document with a right click
Working within a document, you can right-click on a tracked change to accept or reject the change. Using the right-click method displays a banner menu option and a drop-down menu option.
Accept changes in-line with the right-click banner option
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Right-click a tracked change in the document to review a single suggestion.
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On the banner, select one of the following.
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Accept > Accept and Move to Next
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Accept > Accept This Change
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Accept > Accept All Changes
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Accept > Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking
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Accept and Move to Next
Accept changes in-line with the right-click drop-down menu option
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Right-click a tracked change in the document to review a single suggestion.
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In the drop-down menu, select one of the following.
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Accept Insertion (or Accept Deletion)
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Reject Insertion (or Reject Deletion)
Accept or reject all tracked changes at once on the main menu
Accept all tracked changes
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In Review > Changes, select Accept.
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Select one of the options.
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Accept All Changes Shown
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Accept All Changes
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Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking
Reject all tracked changes
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In Review > Changes, select Reject.
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Select one of the options.
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Reject All Changes Shown
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Reject All Changes
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Reject All Changes and Stop Tracking
Note: When Review>Tracking>Show Markup>Specific People>All Reviewers is selected, the Accept All Changes Shown and Reject All Changes Shown options do not display.
Hide tracked changes and comments when printing
Hiding changes doesn’t remove them from the document. You must use the Accept and Reject commands in the Changes group to remove markup from your document.
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Go to File > Print > Settings > Print All Pages.
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Under Document Info, select Print Markup to clear the check mark.
View all your changes in a summary list on the Reviewing Pane
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In Review > Tracking, select Reviewing Pane.
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Choose if you want to see the Reviewing Pane next to or below your document.
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Select Reviewing Pane Vertical to see a list of all changes next to your document.
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Select Reviewing Pane Horizontal to see a list of all changes below your document.
You can use the Reviewing Pane as a handy tool for to check that all tracked changes have been removed from your document so that they show up to others who might view your document. The summary section at the top of the Reviewing Pane displays the exact number of visible tracked changes and comments that remain in your document.
The Reviewing Pane also allows you to review long comments that don’t fit within a comment bubble.
Note: The Reviewing Pane, unlike the document or the comment balloons, is not the best tool for making changes to your document. Instead of deleting text or comments or making other changes in the Reviewing Pane, make all editorial changes in the document. The changes will then be visible in the Reviewing Pane.
Important: Comments are no longer part of the Track Changes function.
Turn on Track Changes
You can set Word for the Web to track changes for all users who are collaborating on the document or to track only your changes.
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On the Review tab, select Track Changes.
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In the Track Changes drop-down list, select one of the following:
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To track only the changes that you make to the document, select Just Mine.
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To track changes to the document made by all users, select For Everyone.
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Turn off Track Changes
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On the Review tab, select Track Changes.
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In the Track Changes drop-down list, select Off.
Select the Markup view
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On the Review tab, select Markup view.
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Select one of the markup options.
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Markup in margin (Simple Markup) — See suggestions in the margin
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Markup on page (All Markup) — See suggestions on the page
Review, accept, or reject changes
Accept or reject tracked changes in sequence
You can review each tracked change in sequence and decide whether to accept or reject the change.
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Click or tap at the beginning of the document.
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On the Review tab, select Track Changes.
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Select Accept or Reject. As you accept or reject changes, Word will move to the next change.
Tip: To move through changes in the document without accepting or rejecting them, select Next or Previous.
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Repeat until you’ve reviewed all of the changes in your document.
Accept or reject a single change
Rather than move through changes in sequence, you can accept or reject a single change. When you accept or reject the change, Word will not move to the next change in the document.
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Click the change.
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Select the option to accept or reject it.
When tracked changes are turned on, Word marks any changes made by any authors of the document. This is useful when you’re collaborating with other authors because you can see which authors made a particular change.
Turn Track Changes on
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On the Review tab, select Track Changes.
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Select to track only your own changes or everyone’s change.
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To track only your own changes — On the Review tab, select Track Changes > Just Mine.
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To track everyone’s changes — On the Review tab, select Track Changes > For Everyone.
Note: To turn Track Changes off, select Track Changes again.
Accept or reject all tracked changes at once on the main menu
Accept all tracked changes
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Select Reviewing > Accept.
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Select one of the options.
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Accept All Changes Shown
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Accept All Changes
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Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking
Reject all tracked changes
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Select Reviewing > Reject.
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Select one of the options.
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Reject All Changes Shown
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Reject All Changes
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Reject All Changes and Stop Tracking
Word shows changes in the document by displaying a line in the margin. If you switch to All Markup view, you’ll see changes inline and in balloons.
Anytime someone adds a comment, it’ll show up in a balloon.
Review changes inline
To see changes inline instead of in balloons, do the following:
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On the Review Tab, select Markup Options
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Point to Balloons and select Show All Revisions Inline.
Keep Track Changes on
To prevent others from turning off Track Changes, lock Track Changes on with a password.
Important: Be sure to remember the password so you can turn Track Changes off when you’re ready to accept or reject the changes.
Lock Track Changes with a password
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On the Review tab, select Protect > Protect Document.
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In the Password box, enter a password.
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Re-enter your password and select OK.
While tracked changes are locked, you can’t turn off change tracking, and you can’t accept or reject changes.
Unlock Track Changes
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On the Review tab, select Protect > Protect Document.
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Under Protection, uncheck Protect document for.
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Enter your password and select OK.
For more info, see
remove the tracked changes and comments.
Turn Track Changes on or off (Word for iPad)
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Tap the Review tab.
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Tap the control next to Track Changes to turn Track Changes on or off.
Show or hide markup (Word for iPad)
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On the Review tab, tap the Display for Review icon.
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In the Display for Review list, tap the option you want:
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All Markup (inline) shows the final document with tracked changes visible inline
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No markup shows the final document without tracked changed
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Original shows the original document with no tracked changes
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Show tracked changes by type (Word for iPad)
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On the Review tab, tap the Display for Review icon.
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In the Display for Review list, tap Show Markup.
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In the Show Markup list, tap the option you want:
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Ink shows or hides any marks made by digital inking in the document.
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Insertions & Deletions shows or hides inserted or deleted text.
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Formatting shows or hides formatting changes.
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Show Revisions in Balloons shows changes in balloons in the right margin.
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Show Only Formatting in Balloons shows only formatting changes in balloons and keeps the other changes as inline tracking.
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Show tracked changes by reviewer (Word for iPad)
If there are multiple reviewers for the document, Word will show all changes by default. However, you can choose to show only changes made by specific viewers.
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On the Review tab, tap the Display for Review icon.
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In the Display for Review list, tap Show Markup.
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In the Show Markup list, tap Reviewers.
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In the Other Authors list, tap the names of the reviewers whose changes you want to see or tap All Reviewers.
Accept changes (Word for iPad)
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Tap twice on a change in the document to select it.
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On the Review tab, tap the Accept icon.
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Do one of the following:
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Tap Accept & Move to Next to accept the change and move to the next change in the document.
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Tap Accept Deletion, Accept Insertion, or Accept Change to accept the selected change, identified contextually by type, and not move to the next change in the document.
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Tap Accept All Shown to accept all changes that are visible, but not changes that are hidden. For example, if you’re viewing only changes made by a specific reviewer, tapping Accept All Shown accepts only the changes made by that reviewer.
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Tap Accept All to accept all changes in the document.
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Tap Accept All & Stop Tracking to accept all changes in the document and turn off Track Changes.
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To move to another change without accepting or rejecting it, tap the Previous or Next icon.
Reject changes (Word for iPad)
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Tap twice on a change in the document to select it.
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On the Review tab, tap the Reject icon.
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Do one of the following:
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Tap Reject & Move to Next to reject the change and move to the next change in the document.
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Tap Reject Deletion, Reject Insertion, or Reject Change to reject the selected change, identified contextually by type, and not move to the next change in the document.
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Tap Reject All Shown to reject all changes that are visible, but not changes that are hidden. For example, if you’re viewing only changes made by a specific reviewer, tapping Reject All Shown rejects only the changes made by that reviewer.
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Tap Reject All to reject all changes in the document.
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Tap Rejects All & Stop Tracking to reject all changes in the document and turn off Track Changes.
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To move to another change without accepting or rejecting it, tap the Previous or Next icon.
Delete comments (Word for iPad)
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Tap twice on a comment in the document to select it.
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Tap the Review tab.
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Tap the Delete icon to delete the comment or press and hold the Delete icon until the Delete list appears, and then do one of the following:
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Tap Delete to delete only the selected comment.
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Tap Delete All to delete all comments in the document.
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To move to another comment without deleting it, tap the Previous or Next icon.
Turn Track Changes on or off (Word for iPhone)
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Tap the pen icon at the top to open the ribbon.
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Tap the Review tab.
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Tap the control next to Track Changes to turn Track Changes on or off.
Show or hide markup (Word for iPhone)
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On the Review tab, tap Display for Review.
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Tap the option you want:
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All Markup (inline) shows the final document with tracked changes visible inline
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No markup shows the final document without tracked changed
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Original shows the original document with no tracked changes
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Show tracked changes by type (Word for iPhone)
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On the Review tab, tap Display for Review.
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Tap Show Markup.
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In the Show Markup list, tap the option you want:
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Ink shows or hides any marks made by digital inking in the document.
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Insertions & Deletions shows or hides inserted or deleted text.
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Formatting shows or hides formatting changes.
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Show tracked changes by reviewer (Word for iPhone)
If there are multiple reviewers for the document, Word will show all changes by default. However, you can choose to show only changes made by specific viewers.
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On the Review tab, tap Display for Review.
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Tap Show Markup.
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Tap Reviewers.
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In the Other Authors list, tap the names of the reviewers whose changes you want to see or tap All Reviewers.
Accept changes (Word for iPhone)
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Tap twice on a change in the document to select it.
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On the Review tab, tap Accept.
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Do one of the following:
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Tap Accept & Move to Next to accept the change and move to the next change in the document.
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Tap Accept Deletion, Accept Insertion, or Accept Change to accept the selected change, identified contextually by type, and not move to the next change in the document.
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Tap Accept All Shown to accept all changes that are visible, but not changes that are hidden. For example, if you’re viewing only changes made by a specific reviewer, tapping Accept All Shown accepts only the changes made by that reviewer.
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Tap Accept All to accept all changes in the document.
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Tap Accept All & Stop Tracking to accept all changes in the document and turn off Track Changes.
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Reject changes (Word for iPhone)
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Tap twice on a change in the document to select it.
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On the Review tab, tap Reject.
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Do one of the following:
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Tap Reject & Move to Next to reject the change and move to the next change in the document.
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Tap Reject Deletion, Reject Insertion, or Reject Change to reject the selected change, identified contextually by type, and not move to the next change in the document.
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Tap Reject All Shown to reject all changes that are visible, but not changes that are hidden. For example, if you’re viewing only changes made by a specific reviewer, tapping Reject All Shown rejects only the changes made by that reviewer.
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Tap Reject All to reject all changes in the document.
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Tap Reject All & Stop Tracking to reject all changes in the document and turn off Track Changes.
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Delete comments (Word for iPhone)
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Tap twice on a comment in the document to select it.
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One the Review tab, tap Delete, and then do one of the following:
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Tap Delete to delete only the selected comment.
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Tap Delete All to delete all comments in the document.
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To move to another comment without deleting it, tap the Previous or Next icon
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Revising a document with tracked changes in Word works just like revising a printed copy with a red pen. You can easily see the original text, and any additions, deletions, or changes made to the document are clearly marked.
Use Track Changes
In order for changes to be marked up, you need to first track the changes.
- Click the Review tab on the ribbon.
- Expand the Tracking group, if necessary.
- Click the Track Changes button.
Now, any changes made to the document will be tracked and marked up.
Right-click the status bar and select Track Changes to toggle it on or off.
View Markup
Once changes are tracked, you can choose which changes appear marked up.
- Expand the Tracking group, if necessary.
- Click the Show Markup button.
You can toggle whether or not tracking shows Comments, Ink, Insertions and Deletions, and Formatting changes. You can also toggle what appears in the balloons in the right margins, and hide revisions from certain people.
- Select a type of markup to hide or show.
The selected type of markup is toggled on or off.
You can also use the Display for Review menu, directly above the Show Markup button, to control how detailed the markup that appears is.
- Simple Markup: Comments will appear, and text changes will be marked with a line in the margin.
- All Markup: Every change will be described in the margin, including what the change was and who made it.
- No Markup: No changes will be marked up.
- Original: The original document will be shown, without any of the changes that have been made.
Lock Tracking
To make sure that everyone’s changes get tracked, you can lock tracking so that it can’t be disabled without a password.
- Click the Track Changes button’s list arrow.
- Select Lock Tracking.
A dialog box opens, where you can enter a password that will be required to turn Track Changes off.
- Enter and confirm a password.
- Click OK.
Track Changes is locked and can only be disabled with the password. Also, you cannot accept or reject changes while Track Changes is locked.
To unlock Track Changes, click the Track Changes button list arrow again, select Lock Tracking, enter the password, then click OK.
Review Revisions
Revising documents using Word’s revision features can save a lot of time, because the changes are already entered in your document. If you accept the changes, Word automatically incorporates the changes into your document. If you reject the changes, Word uses your original text.
- Select a change, or use the Next Change and Previous Change buttons to move through changes.
- Click Accept or Reject to accept or reject changes.
Changes that are accepted are incorporated into the document, removing the markup and moving on to the next change. Changes that are rejected are removed and replaced with the original text.
Right-click a revision and select Accept or Reject.
Review all tracked changes at once with the Reviewing Pane. Turn it on by clicking the Reviewing Pane button in the Tracking group.
FREE Quick Reference
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This tutorial shows how to use Track Changes in Microsoft Word. Track Changes helps us edit documents by tracking insertions, deletions, replacements, and format changes. Word calls these edits markups.
This tutorial also includes an overview of Word’s new Modern comment tool.
We will cover twelve topics:
- How to Turn Track Changes On and Off
- How to Show and Hide Track Changes
- How to Delete Text with Track Changes
- How to Insert Text with Track Changes
- How to Replace Text with Track Changes
- How to Change Formatting with Track Changes
- How to Accept or Reject Track Changes
- How to Insert Comments
- How to Reply to Comments
- How to Resolve Comments
- How to Delete Comments
- How to Open and Close the Reviewing Pane
Watch all the steps shown here in real time!
Explore more than 200 writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.
Let’s dive in…
How to Turn Track Changes On and Off
- Select the Review tab in the ribbon.
- Select the Track Changes button in the Tracking group. The button will appear darker than the rest of the ribbon when Track Changes is turned on.
- Select the Track Changes button (see figure 2) again to turn off tracking.
How to Show and Hide Track Changes
You can control how comments and edits appear by using the Display for Review and Show Markup menus in the Tracking group in the ribbon.
- Select the Display for Review drop-down menu to choose how edits and comments are displayed. The options are (A) Simple Markup, (B) All Markup, (C) No Markup, and (D) Original.
(A) Simple Markup displays the edited version of the document without visible in-line edits. However, edits are indicated by a vertical line in the left margin.
For example, if you delete a sentence, that sentence won’t appear on screen. Instead, a vertical line will appear in the left margin showing that a change was made in that location.
If you want to see the edit, select the vertical line to switch to All Markup.
Comments will be visible on the right side of the screen when in Simple Markup.
(B) All Markup displays all edits and comments.
A vertical line, like the one shown in Simple Markup (see figure 4), will appear on the left side of the screen indicating that a change was made in that location.
Select that line to switch to Simple Markup.
(C) No Markup displays the edited version of the document without any visible edits or comments.
(D) Original displays the original version of the document without any edits or comments.
- Select the Show Markup drop-down menu to choose what features Track Changes displays. (Note that this menu is called Markup Options in Word for Mac.)
I recommend showing markups for Insertions and Deletions and Formatting as well as choosing Show Only Formatting in Balloons so that your insertions and deletions will appear in the text and formatting changes will appear next to the text.
Be default, comments will appear in balloons on the right side of the text.
Important note: The remaining sections show Track Changes in the All Markup view.
How to Delete Text with Track Changes
- Select the text you want to delete.
- Select the Delete key on your keyboard. The deleted text will appear with a strikethrough in the All Markup view.
How to Insert Text with Track Changes
- Place your cursor where you want to insert new text.
- Type the new text. The insertion will appear with an underline in the All Markup view.
How to Replace Text with Track Changes
- Select the text you want to replace.
- Type the replacement text. The original text will appear with a strikethrough, and the replacement text will appear with an underline in the All Markup view.
How to Change Formatting with Track Changes
Formatting includes the font style, font size, font color, italics, bold font, underlining, superscripting and subscripting, indentations, alignment, and margins.
- Select the text you want to reformat.
- Change the format. Track Changes will automatically display the change with your other markup if you have selected formatting in the Show Markup section of the Tracking group.
How to Accept or Reject Track Changes
Edits created with Track Changes must be accepted before they become part of your document. You can accept or reject edits individually or all at once.
Accept or Reject Edits Individually
- Click on or select the insertion, deletion, or replacement text.
- Select the Accept or Reject button in the Changes group.
Pro Tip: Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate through all the edits in the document.
Accept or Reject All Edits
Unless you are very confident in your reviewers’ expertise, I strongly caution against accepting or rejecting all edits without first checking the accuracy of each one.
- Select the Accept or Reject menu arrow in the Changes group.
- Select your preferred option: Accept/Reject All Changes or Accept/Reject All Changes and Stop Tracking.
This section covers the basics of using comments in Word. For a more in-depth look, please see my previous tutorial “How to Use Comments in Microsoft Word (Modern Comments).”
You can use the Comment tool with Track Changes turned on or turned off.
- Place your cursor near the text you want to comment on or select the text.
- Select the Review tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select the New Comment button in the Comments group.
- Type your comment into the comment text box on the right side of the screen.
If you are part of an organization, you may be able to @ mention other users in your comments.
- Select the Post button or type the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Enter (PC) or Command + Return (Mac) to post the comment.
- If you need to edit your comment, select the Edit button (PC users see figure 15; Mac users see figure 16).
- Type your reply into the Reply text box in the other person’s comment.
- Select the Post button or type the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Enter (PC) or Command + Return (Mac) to post the reply.
You can mark a comment as “Resolved” to tell other people (or remind yourself) that an issue has been taken care of. However, you can also reopen a resolved comment, thereby turning it back to a regular comment.
- Select the three-dot menu in the comment.
- Select Resolve thread from the drop-down menu.
The comment will no longer be visible in the contextual view on the right side of the screen.
How to Reopen Resolved Comments
- Select the Review tab (see figure 1).
- Select the Show Comments menu arrow.
- Select List from the drop-down menu.
- Select the Reopen button in the comment.
Here are two ways to delete comments.
Method 1: Select the three-dot menu in the comment and then select Delete thread from the drop-down menu.
Method 2: Place your cursor in the comment or the text connected to the comment and then select the Delete menu arrow in the Review tab.
From there, choose Delete to delete the current comment, or Delete All Comments Shown, Delete All Comments in Document, or Delete All Resolved Comments (PC only).
How to Open and Close the Reviewing Pane
The Reviewing Pane (labeled Revisions) shows all the comments and edits selected in the Show Markup drop-down menu in the Tracking group in the ribbon, along with the total number of those comments and markups in the document.
The Reviewing Pane isn’t necessary for using Track Changes, but it can be helpful when you need to find a specific edit or want to see how many edits or comments are in the document.
- Select the Review tab (see figure 1).
- Select the Reviewing Pane button in the Tracking group.
The Reviewing Pane will appear, normally on the left side of your screen.
- Reselect the Reviewing Pane button to close the Reviewing Pane.
Related Resources
How to Copy and Paste Text with Comments and Track Changes in Word
How to Remove User Names from Existing Track Changes in Microsoft Word
How to Change Your User Name for Track Changes in Microsoft Word
How to Stop Microsoft Word from Calling You “Author” in Track Changes
How to Change the Color of Track Changes in Microsoft Word
Updated January 16, 2023
If you’re cowriting a document, you’ll need a way to review and merge everyone’s versions. Here’s how to combine document revisions in Word.
When you compose a document in Microsoft Word that you plan to work on with others, you’ll eventually have to take their revisions into account. One way to cowrite a document is to use the Track Changes feature in Word. But this isn’t always convenient, especially if you fail to enable it.
Another way to merge your copy with your cowriters’ revised copies is to use the Combine documents feature. This allows you to view your original with revised versions and see the combined finished document. You can then save what you want from each as a new document.
So let’s get to it! Here’s how to combine document revisions in Word.
Combine Versus Compare
Word offers two features that are similar, Combine and Compare. We’ll discuss the Combine feature here which is appropriate for document versions from multiple authors.
Compare works better for comparing two documents and seeing what’s changed using a legal blackline option. To see how the Compare feature works, check out our tutorial for how to compare two Word documents.
Combine Documents in Word
If you’re ready to get started with the Combine feature in Word, open a document to get started. This does not have to be one of the revisions you plan to use.
- Go to the Review
- On the right side, click Compare and select Combine in the drop-down.
- When the Combine Documents window pops open, add both documents starting with the Original document on the left. Use the drop-down list for recent documents or click the folder icon to browse your computer for each.
- The Label unmarked changes with boxes default to the author names, but you can change this for each document if you like.
- Click the More button to see additional options for combining the documents. Under Comparison settings, check the boxes for the items you want. Under Show Changes, use the radio buttons to pick the level of changes to mark and New document for viewing the changes, which keeps your original and revision intact.
- When you finish with your adjustments, click OK.
You’ll then see a four-part view of the results in a new document (Step 5 above).
- Revisions: On the left are the revisions made and by whom. You can click the arrow next to the number of revisions for additional details.
- Combined Document: In the center is the combined document with all revisions marked.
- Original Document: On the top right is your original document with the file name and label.
- Revised Document: On the bottom right is the revised document with the file name and label.
If you use your mouse to scroll, you’ll see the Combined, Original, and Revised all scroll together. This lets you easily spot similarities and differences. You can also use the scroll bar within a single section to see only it.
This can be a lot to take in at first. So if you prefer to remove the Original and Revised document sections on the right side, it’s easy. Access the Review tab again and click Compare in the ribbon. Next to Show Source Documents, choose Hide Source Documents.
You’ll notice that you can also choose to show only the Original or only the Revised if you like. When you hide the source documents, you’ll simply see the changes with vertical lines next to them.
If you want to keep the revisions in the Combined document, open that Review tab once more and click Accept in the Changes section of the ribbon. You can use the drop-down box to move through each change individually or accept all changes.
And of course, if you don’t want to keep the changes, click the Reject button instead. Again, you can move through each change or reject them all.
Notes on Combined Documents
Since you picked New document for viewing the changes in Step 5 above, you’ll see the default document name as “Combine Result”. So, you can use Save As if you prefer a different name (File > Save As) or save it with the default name to continue working on it.
You can only combine two Word documents at once using the Combine feature. So simply follow the same steps to combine additional versions with each saved combined document or the original per your preference.
While Track Changes is a wonderful Word feature, it’s not for everyone. And if you forget to enable it, or your cowriter forgets as well, things can get complicated. But with the Combine feature, you can not only see the differences in the revisions but turn them into one final merged document.
For more on using Microsoft Word, take a look at how to track your editing time or how to rearrange pages.
Lesson 20: Reviewing Documents
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Introduction
Let’s say someone asks you to proofread a report. If you have a hard copy of the report, you might use a red pen to cross out sentences, mark misspellings, or add comments in the margins. However, you could also do all of these things in Word using the Track Changes and Comments features.
When you’ve finished reviewing the document, the other person can choose to automatically accept all of your changes, or decide whether to accept or reject each change one by one.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to track changes, add comments, and compare two versions of a document.
Using Track Changes and Comments
When you need to collaborate on the content of a document or if you need someone to proofread your document, Word’s Track Changes and Comments features make it easier for you to collaborate with others.
Optional: You can download this example for extra practice.
About Track Changes
When you turn on the Track Changes option, all changes you make to the document show up as colored markups. If you delete some text, it won’t disappear but instead will have a visible strike through it. If you add text, it will be underlined. This allows another person to see which changes have been made before making the changes permanent.
A document with tracked changes
The color of the markups will vary depending on who is reviewing the document, so if there are multiple reviewers you’ll be able to tell at a glance who made each change.
To turn on Track Changes:
- Click the Review tab.
- Click the Track Changes command. It should now be highlighted in gold to show that it is active.
The Track Changes command
- Any changes you make to the document will be shown as colored markups.
Tracked changes
- Click the Track Changes command again to turn it off.
Adding and deleting comments
Sometimes instead of changing something, you may want to make a comment about part of the document. Comments show up in balloons in the right margin and can be read by the original author or by any other reviewers.
To add a comment:
- Highlight some text, or place the insertion point where you want the comment to appear.
- From the Review tab, click the New Comment command.
The New Comment command
- Type your comment.
A comment
To delete a comment:
- Select the balloon containing the comment you want to delete.
A selected comment
- From the Review tab, click the Delete command.
Deleting a comment
To delete all comments:
- From the Review tab, click the Delete drop-down arrow.
The Delete drop-down arrow
- Click Delete All Comments in Document.
Accepting and rejecting changes
Tracked changes are really just suggested changes. To become permanent, they have to be accepted. On the other hand, the original author may disagree with some of the tracked changes and choose to reject them.
To accept or reject changes:
- Select the change you want to accept or reject.
Selecting a change
- From the Review tab, click the Accept or Reject command.
The Accept and Reject commands
- If you accepted the change, the markup will disappear, and the text will look normal.
After accepting a change
For some tracked changes, you can reject the changes by deleting them as if they were normal text. For example, if a reviewer adds a word to a sentence, you can just delete the word.
To accept all changes:
- From the Review tab, click the Accept drop-down arrow. A drop-down menu will appear.
Accepting all changes
- Select Accept All Changes in Document.
To reject all changes:
- From the Review tab, click the Reject drop-down arrow. A drop-down menu will appear.
Rejecting all changes
- Select Reject All Changes in Document.
Accepting or rejecting all changes does not affect comments, so if you want to delete them you’ll have to do so separately.
Changing how markups appear
If there are a lot of tracked changes in a document, they can become distracting if you’re trying to read through the document. There are a few settings you can use to hide the markups or change how they appear.
To hide tracked changes:
- From the Review tab, click the Display for Review command. The Display for Review command is located to the right of the Track Changes command, and it may not be labeled. It will probably say Final:Show Markup.
The Display for Review Command
- In the drop-down menu, there are four options:
- Final: Show Markup: Shows the final version along with the markup
- Final: Shows the final version and hides all markups
- Original: Show Markup: Shows the original version along with the markup
- Original: Shows the original version and hides all markups
- Choose Final or Original from the drop-down menu to hide markups.
Displaying the Final version (markups hidden)
Setting Display for Review to Final is not the same as accepting all changes. You will still need to accept or reject the changes before sending the final version of your document.
To show revisions in balloons:
By default, most revisions show up inline, meaning the text itself is marked. You can choose to show the revisions in balloons, which moves many of the revisions (such as deletions) to balloons in the right margin. This can make the document easier to read because there are fewer inline markups. Balloons also give you more detailed information about some markups.
- From the Review tab, click Show MarkupBalloonsShow Revisions in Balloons.
Showing revisions in balloons
- Some of the revisions will move to the right margin.
Revisions in the right margin
To go back to inline markups, you can select either Show All Revisions Inline or Show Only Comments and Formatting in Balloons.
Comparing two documents
If you edit a document without tracking changes, it’s still possible to use reviewing features such as Accept and Reject. You can do this by comparing two versions of the document. All you need is the original document and the revised document, and they must have different file names.
To compare two documents:
- From the Review tab, click the Compare command. A drop-down menu will appear.
- From the drop-down menu, click Compare.
The Compare command
- A dialog box will appear. Choose your Original document by clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting the document from the list. If your document is not on the list, click the Browse button to browse for the file.
Choosing the Original document
- Choose the Revised document the same way you chose the Original document, then click OK.
Choosing the Revised document
At this point, Word compares the two documents to determine which changes were made, and it creates a new document that you can save if you want. The changes show up as colored markups, just like the ones that appear when using Track Changes. You can then use the Accept and Reject commands to finalize the document.
Comparing two documents
To the right of the new document, there’s a pane that displays the original and revised documents that you can use for reference (although you can’t edit them). If you don’t see the pane on the right, click Compare
Show Source DocumentsShow Both.
Using the reviewing features safely
If there are any comments or tracked changes in your document, you should remove them before sending it to anyone you’re not collaborating with. Comments and tracked changes can reveal confidential information that could lead to embarrassment or make you or your company appear unprofessional—or worse.
Once you’ve removed all of the comments and tracked changes, it’s a good idea to double-check your document using the Document Inspector. The Document Inspector can tell you if there is any hidden data in your document that you may need to remove. It looks for data in many different places—not just comments and tracked changes.
To use the Document Inspector:
- Save your document.
- Click the File tab to go to Backstage view.
- Select Info on the left side of the page.
Selecting Info
- Click the Check for Issues command. A drop-down menu will appear.
- Select Inspect Document.
Clicking Inspect Document
- Click Inspect.
Starting the inspection
- The inspection results will show an exclamation mark for any categories where it found potentially sensitive data, and it will also have a Remove All button for each of these categories. Click Remove All to remove the data.
Removing possibly sensitive data
- Close the dialog box when you’re done.
- From Backstage view, click Save to make the changes permanent.
Challenge!
- Open an existing Word document. If you want, you can use this example.
- Turn on Track Changes.
- Delete some text.
- Add some text.
- Change some of the text formatting.
- Experiment with the Display for Review command.
- Accept all of the changes.
- Use the Document Inspector to check the document.
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