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Quick Answer

Open the Word document, click the Review tab on the ribbon, and click the Track Changes button. All deleted text will now appear crossed out in red, and new text will be underlined.

How to Track Changes in Word ​

Applies to: Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365, Word 2021, Word 2019)
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-03-09

Summary ​

Track Changes records every edit made to a Word document — insertions, deletions, and formatting changes — so you and your collaborators can review, accept, or reject modifications. This article explains how to turn on Track Changes, review edits, and finalise the document.

Prerequisites ​

  • Microsoft Word (desktop or web app).
  • No admin rights required.

Instructions ​

1. Turn On Track Changes ​

Start recording all edits made to the document.

  1. Open the document in Word.
  2. Click the Review tab on the ribbon.
  3. Click Track Changes to toggle it on.
  4. The button highlights to indicate tracking is active.
  5. All edits from this point forward are recorded:
    • Added text appears in coloured underlined font.
    • Deleted text appears with a strikethrough.
    • Formatting changes are noted in the margins.

Keyboard shortcut: Press Ctrl+Shift+E to toggle Track Changes on or off.

Note: Track Changes only records edits made after you switch it on. If someone already returned a document with untracked edits, you cannot recover the markup here — instead, run How to Compare Two Versions of a Word Document, which reads both files and generates the tracked changes for you.

2. Choose a Display Mode ​

Control how tracked changes appear on screen.

  1. On the Review tab, click the Display for Review dropdown (usually set to All Markup).
  2. Choose one of the following views:
    • All Markup — Shows all changes inline with coloured text and margin balloons.
    • Simple Markup — Shows a clean view with a red line in the margin indicating changes. Click the margin line to toggle to All Markup.
    • No Markup — Shows the document as if all changes were accepted (changes are still tracked).
    • Original — Shows the document as it was before any changes.

3. Add a Comment ​

Leave feedback without changing the text.

  1. Select the text you want to comment on.
  2. Click the Review tab > New Comment.
  3. Type your comment in the margin balloon that appears.
  4. Click outside the comment to save it.
  5. Other reviewers can reply to your comment directly in the margin.

4. Accept or Reject Changes ​

Finalise the document by processing each edit.

  1. Click the Review tab.
  2. Click Next in the Changes group to jump to the first tracked change.
  3. For each change, click:
    • Accept — Applies the change and removes the markup.
    • Reject — Reverts the change to the original text.
  4. Continue clicking Next to process each change sequentially.
  5. To process all changes at once, click the dropdown arrow under Accept or Reject and select Accept All Changes or Reject All Changes.

5. Turn Off Track Changes and Finalise ​

Stop tracking and clean up the document.

  1. Click Track Changes again to turn tracking off.
  2. Process any remaining tracked changes using Accept All or Reject All.
  3. Delete any remaining comments by clicking Delete > Delete All Comments in Document on the Review tab.
  4. The document is now clean and ready for distribution.

Note: Setting Display for Review to No Markup hides the edits on your screen without removing them from the file, and the recipient's copy of Word opens with their own view setting. For the full send-it-out-clean checklist, including Document Inspector, see How to Accept or Remove All Track Changes in Word.

Troubleshooting ​

DANGER

Always process all tracked changes and delete all comments before distributing a document externally. Recipients can see tracked changes and comments, which may contain sensitive internal feedback.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
Edits are not being trackedTrack Changes is turned offClick Review > Track Changes to re-enable it. Check that the button is highlighted.
Document looks messy with too many markupsMultiple reviewers with many editsSwitch the view to Simple Markup for a cleaner view while reviewing changes one by one.
Cannot turn off Track ChangesDocument may be protectedClick Review > Restrict Editing and disable protection (if you have the password).