Track Changes lets you see who changed what, and when

Track Changes is a Word feature that records every edit made to a document — deletions, additions, formatting changes — and shows who made them and when. When Track Changes is on, edits appear as colored marks in the margin instead of replacing the original text. This matters for shared documents: you can see exactly what changed, reject changes you don't want, or accept them all at once.

The feature works the same way in Word on Windows, Mac, and the web version. You turn it on or off with a single click, and you control whether changes are visible or hidden while you work.

Key Takeaways

  • Track Changes is found on the Review tab in Word and toggled on with a single button click.
  • When Track Changes is on, your edits appear as colored marks in the margin, not as direct changes to the text.
  • You can accept or reject individual changes, or accept all changes at once to finalize the document.
  • Hiding tracked changes lets you see the final document without the markup, but the changes remain in the file until you accept or reject them.

How to turn Track Changes on in Word

Open your document in Word. At the top of the window, click the Review tab. In the Tracking group (toward the left side of the ribbon), you will see a button labeled Track Changes with a small icon that looks like a pen with a checkmark. Click it once.

The button will highlight or change color to show that Track Changes is now active. Any edits you or anyone else makes to the document from this point forward will be recorded. If you type new text, it appears in a colored box with your name and a timestamp. If you delete text, the deleted words stay visible but are crossed out and marked with a different color.

Word assigns each person a different color, so if multiple people edit the same document, you can tell at a glance who made which change. The colors cycle through a set list, so if four people are editing, the fifth person's edits will use the same color as the first person's — but the names and timestamps keep them separate.

How to turn Track Changes off

Click the Review tab again, then click the Track Changes button a second time. The button will no longer be highlighted. From that moment on, edits will be made directly to the document without being marked.

Turning Track Changes off does not erase the changes that were already tracked. All the marked-up edits remain in the document until you accept or reject them. You can turn Track Changes back on at any time, and the old marks will still be there.

How to accept or reject individual changes

Once edits have been tracked, you need to decide what stays and what goes. Click the Review tab. In the Changes group, you will see buttons labeled Accept and Reject, along with navigation arrows to move between changes.

Click the up or down arrow next to Accept and Reject to jump to the next change in the document. When a change is highlighted, click Accept to keep it (the markup disappears and the change becomes permanent) or Reject to remove it (the text reverts to what it was before the edit). You can go through the document one change at a time this way.

How to accept or reject all changes at once

If you trust all the edits and want to finalize the document quickly, you do not have to click Accept for each change individually. Click the Review tab, then click the small arrow below the Accept button. A menu will appear with the option Accept All Changes. Click it, and every tracked change in the document will be accepted at once. The markup will disappear, and the document will show only the final version.

The same menu has a Reject All Changes option if you want to undo every edit and return the document to its original state. Use this with caution — it removes all changes at once with no way to undo it except by pressing Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac) when ready after.

How to hide tracked changes while keeping them in the file

Sometimes you want to see what the document will look like after all changes are accepted, but you are not ready to finalize it yet. Click the Review tab. Near the top left, you will see a button or dropdown labeled Display for Review. Click it and select Final from the menu.

The document will now show the final version with all tracked changes applied, but the markup will be hidden. The changes are still in the file — they have not been accepted or rejected. If you switch back to All Markup or straightforward Markup, the colored marks will reappear. This is useful for checking how the document reads without the visual clutter of tracked changes.

straightforward Markup is a middle ground: it hides most of the colored marks but shows a thin line in the margin where changes occur, so you know something was edited without seeing the full detail. All Markup shows every change with full color coding and comments.

What happens when you share a document with Track Changes on

If you send a Word document to someone else while Track Changes is on, they will see all the marks you have made. They can accept or reject your changes, make their own edits (which will be tracked under their name), and send it back to you. This is how collaborative editing works in Word.

If you want to send a document but do not want the recipient to see your tracked changes, accept or reject all of them first, then turn Track Changes off before sharing. Once you accept or reject a change, it becomes part of the permanent document text and no longer appears as a mark.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see who made each change?

Yes. Each tracked change shows the person's name, the date, and the time. Hover your mouse over a tracked change to see a tooltip with this information, or look at the markup in the margin where the name appears next to the colored mark.

What if I want to turn off Track Changes but keep seeing the marks?

Turn off Track Changes by clicking the button again. The marks will stay visible in the document. You can then accept or reject them at your own pace. The marks do not disappear until you accept or reject each one.

Can I change the color assigned to my edits?

Word assigns colors automatically based on user order, and you cannot manually change the color for your own edits. However, you can change how colors are displayed overall. Click Review, then look for options under Display for Review or Tracking to adjust markup appearance.

What if Track Changes was on and I did not realize it?

All your edits are still marked in the document. You can accept all of them at once to finalize the document, or go through individually to reject any you want to undo. Accepting changes does not delete them — it makes them permanent and removes the markup.

Does Track Changes work the same way in Word Online?

Yes. Word Online has the same Review tab and Track Changes button. The process is identical, though the interface may look slightly different depending on your screen size. All changes sync across devices if you are using OneDrive or SharePoint.