Using Track Changes in Word

One of the most used and useful Microsoft Word skills you can master is how to use Track Changes in Word. The ability to see and comment on any change to a document, no matter how small, makes a Word document a versatile collaboration tool, especially in the age of remote work. Read on to find out how you can set up Track Changes the way you want.

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Turn tracking changes on or off

In a new Word document, go to the Review tab.

In the Review tab, move your mouse over the Track changes button, and you’ll notice that like other buttons in Word, it’s split into two buttons. The bottom half controls the parameters of the function, in this case the changes are tracked. The top half of the button is the switch that turns the feature on or off.

Once we enable it, any changes to the document will be indicated on the page or in the margin in a balloon. We’ll turn it on here and correct some errors in the text.

Of Track changes note (note the highlighted button), we’ve corrected a few spelling mistakes in the text. You will see the corrections in red on the page.

Those changes may be hard to see. Use the to make them more visible Show format button (right next to the Track changes button) to select Show revisions in balloons†

You will now see the corrections in the right margin, along with a line indicating exactly where in the text the correction took place.

Show or hide changes

To the right of the Track changes button, three smaller buttons help you operate the function. The top of these buttons should be set to All markings by default, all revisions are displayed on the page. If you don’t want to see the changes made, this button offers you several options:

• Simple formatting: This will hide the changes, but indicate the changed line with a red highlight in the left margin.
• All markings: This shows the changes made, inline or in the margin.
• No formatting: This will display the changed text without indicating what has changed or where.
• Original: This will display the text before any tracked changes are made.

Accept or reject changes

There are two ways to accept or reject changes to a document. One is to right-click on an individual correction, either inline or in the margin, which will bring up a menu with options to accept or reject the change made.

The other way is to use the buttons at the top of the page. Place your cursor at the beginning of the document to make sure you don’t miss any changes. Then click on the Next one to view the tracked changes.

While Word highlights each revision, click the To accept or the Reject knob. This will perform the indicated action and display the next tracked change.

The ability to discuss the revision process by commenting on individual corrections or entire sections of a document really helps make Word Track Changes a collaborative tool. Again, there are two main ways to achieve this.

The first way is the proven right-click method. Right-click on a revision and a menu with two places to add a comment will appear.

The other way is to New comment button at the top of the page. Use your cursor to highlight the change you want to discuss and click the New comment knob. You can also use the New comment to comment on a sentence or paragraph instead of a revision. Just highlight what you want to comment on and click the New comment knob.

When using either method, a comment box appears in the appropriate place. Type what you want to say about the revision and press CTRL-Enter to insert it into Track Changes.

You can edit or delete your comment if you say something you wish you hadn’t said. The controls to do this are in the comment box itself. The pencil icon lets you edit your Track Changes comment, and the three-dot drop-down lets you delete it altogether.