Turn off Track Changes before you edit

To stop Word from recording your edits, go to the Review tab at the top of the window and click the Track Changes button. It will toggle off — the button stops appearing highlighted or pressed. Any edits you make after this point will not be marked as changes.

If you are working on a document that already has tracked changes in it, turning off Track Changes does not remove the existing marks. It only prevents new edits from being recorded. You will need to accept or reject the changes that are already there, or delete them separately.

The fastest way to check whether Track Changes is on or off: look at the Review tab. If the Track Changes button appears pressed or highlighted, it is on. If it looks like a regular button, it is off.

Key Takeaways

  • Click the Track Changes button on the Review tab to turn it off and stop recording new edits.
  • Turning off Track Changes does not erase marks that are already in the document — you must accept or reject them separately.
  • You can accept all changes at once using the Review tab, or reject them all, or go through them one by one.
  • If you delete tracked changes by mistake, use Ctrl+Z to undo the deletion when ready.

Accept or reject existing changes one at a time

Open the Review tab and look for the Accept and Reject buttons. These appear near the top of the ribbon, usually with a checkmark and an X. Click the down arrow next to Accept or Reject to see your options.

To go through changes in order, click Accept or Reject without clicking the arrow. Word will process the change under your cursor and move to the next one. Keep clicking until you reach the end of the document. This method lets you decide on each change individually — useful if some edits are good and others are not.

If you want to see what a change looks like before you decide, click inside the changed text. The Review pane on the right side of the screen will show you exactly what was added, deleted, or modified, and who made the change and when.

Accept or reject all changes at once

If you trust all the edits or want to remove all the marks quickly, click the down arrow next to the Accept button and select Accept All Changes. Word will process every tracked change in the document and turn them into permanent edits. The change marks will disappear.

To reject all changes instead, click the down arrow next to the Reject button and select Reject All Changes. This removes all the marks and reverts the document to the state it was in before any changes were tracked.

Be careful with "Accept All" or "Reject All" — you cannot undo these actions by clicking them again. If you change your mind when ready, use Ctrl+Z to undo. If you wait too long, you may need to close the document without saving and reopen it.

Use the Review pane to see all changes at once

Click Review and then Reviewing Pane (or Review Pane depending on your Word version). A panel will open on the left or right side of your screen showing every change in the document — insertions, deletions, formatting changes, and who made them.

The pane lists changes in order from top to bottom. Click any change in the list to jump to that location in the document. This is useful if you have a long document and want to find a specific edit without scrolling through the whole thing.

You can accept or reject changes directly from the Review pane by right-clicking on a change and selecting your choice, or by using the Accept and Reject buttons while a change is selected in the pane.

Delete all tracked changes without accepting them

If you want to remove all the change marks but keep the document exactly as it currently appears (with all edits already in place), you can delete the tracking information without going through accept or reject. This is useful when you want to send a clean version to someone else but do not want to formally accept changes.

Open the Review tab, click the down arrow next to Accept, and select Accept All Changes. This turns all the edits into permanent text and removes the marks. The document will look the same, but the change history will be gone.

If you want to keep the document as it was before any changes, use Reject All Changes instead. This removes all edits and all marks, returning the document to its original state.

Turn off Track Changes for specific people or change types

Word lets you filter which changes you see. Click Review and look for Show Markup or Display for Review. You can hide changes by a specific person, hide only comments, hide only formatting changes, or hide only insertions and deletions.

This does not delete the changes — it just hides them from view. The marks are still in the document. Use this when you want to focus on one type of edit or one person's feedback without the clutter of everything else.

To see all changes again, go back to Show Markup and make sure all the options are checked.

Prevent Track Changes from turning on by accident

If Track Changes keeps turning on when you do not want it, you can lock it with a password. Click Review, then click the down arrow next to Track Changes, and select Lock Tracking. Word will ask you to set a password. Anyone who wants to turn off Track Changes will need to enter that password.

This is useful in shared documents where you want to make sure all edits are recorded and nobody can silently turn off tracking. It does not prevent people from editing — it just forces their edits to be marked.

To unlock tracking, go back to the same menu and select Lock Tracking again. Word will ask for the password you set.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does turning off Track Changes erase the marks that are already in the document?

No. Turning off Track Changes only stops Word from recording new edits. Marks that are already in the document stay there until you accept or reject them. You must use the Accept or Reject buttons to remove them.

What happens if I accept all changes by mistake?

Press Ctrl+Z when ready to undo the action. If you have made other edits since then, undo will go back through those too. If you wait too long or close the document, you may need to reopen it without saving to get back to the previous state.

Can I see who made each change?

Yes. Open the Review pane and click on any change. Word will show you the person's name, the date and time, and exactly what was changed. If the document was edited on a shared computer or network, the name comes from whoever was logged in at the time.

How do I send a document without any change marks showing?

Accept all changes using the Review tab, then save the document. The marks will be gone and the edits will be permanent. If you want to keep a copy with the marks for your records, save the document twice — once with changes accepted and once with the original marks.

Can I turn off Track Changes for just one part of the document?

No. Track Changes is on or off for the whole document. However, you can accept or reject changes one at a time, so you can process some changes and leave others marked if you want a mix.