What redlining does and when to use it

Redlining in Word means turning on Track Changes so every edit you make — deletions, additions, formatting shifts — shows up as a visible mark instead of silently changing the document. The original text stays visible with strikethrough or color coding, and new text appears in a different color. Anyone reading the document can see exactly what changed and who made the change.

Use redlining when you're sharing a draft with others for feedback, editing a document that multiple people will work on, or creating a record of what changed between versions. It's standard in publishing, legal work, and any situation where you need to show your work rather than just hand over a finished product.

Word's Track Changes feature is built in and free — you don't need any add-ons or special software. The person receiving your redlined document needs only Word or a free viewer like Word Online to see the changes.

Key Takeaways

  • Turn on Track Changes in the Review tab before you start editing, or turn it on after and Word will mark everything you've done since opening the file.
  • Word shows deletions as strikethrough text in one color and additions in another color, with the reviewer's name attached to each change.
  • You can accept or reject individual changes one at a time, or accept all changes at once to finalize the document.
  • Comments let you flag text without deleting it, useful for asking questions or suggesting rewrites without committing to a specific change.
  • Sharing a redlined document with Track Changes on lets the recipient see your edits before deciding whether to keep them.

Turning Track Changes on and off

Open your document in Word and go to the Review tab at the top. Click Track Changes — it's usually in the top-left area of the ribbon. A checkmark appears next to it when it's active. From that moment forward, every keystroke, deletion, and formatting change you make will be marked.

If you've already been editing without Track Changes on, you can turn it on now and Word will mark everything you've done since you opened the file. This is useful if you forgot to enable it at the start.

To turn Track Changes off, click the same button again. The checkmark disappears. Any changes you make after this point won't be marked — they'll just change the document silently. You can turn it back on and off as many times as you need within a single editing session.

Understanding how Word displays your changes

When Track Changes is on, Word uses color and formatting to show what happened. Deleted text appears with a line through it in one color (often red by default), and the reviewer's name appears in a tooltip or margin note. Added text shows in a different color (often blue) with the reviewer's name attached.

Formatting changes — bold, italics, font size, alignment — appear as balloons in the right margin with a description of what changed. If you delete a paragraph and add a new one, Word shows both: the old paragraph struck through and the new one in color below it.

The exact colors depend on your Word settings and how many people are editing the document. If three people edit the same file, Word assigns each person a different color so you can tell whose changes are whose. You can customize these colors in Review > Track Changes > Change Tracking Options.

Accepting and rejecting changes

Once you've finished editing or received a redlined document from someone else, you decide which changes to keep. Go to the Review tab and look for the Accept and Reject buttons. You can accept or reject changes one at a time by clicking the change and then clicking Accept or Reject.

To move through changes in order, use the forward and back arrows next to Accept and Reject. Word highlights each change as you navigate, so you can see exactly what you're deciding on. This is the safest approach when you want to think about each edit.

If you trust all the changes and want to finalize the document quickly, click the dropdown arrow next to Accept and select Accept All Changes. Word removes all the strikethrough and color coding and locks in every edit. After this, the document looks like a normal, finished file with no visible history of what changed.

Using comments instead of direct edits

Sometimes you don't want to delete or change text directly — you want to flag something for discussion or suggest a rewrite without committing to it. That's what Comments are for. Highlight the text you want to comment on, go to Review > New Comment, and type your note. A balloon appears in the margin with your comment attached to that specific text.

Comments don't change the document itself. They're like sticky notes that float in the margin. The person reading the document can see your comment, respond to it, and then delete it once it's been addressed. This is useful for asking "Should we rephrase this?" or "Is this fact correct?" without making the change yourself.

You can also combine comments and Track Changes in the same document. Some edits might be direct changes (deletions and additions marked with Track Changes), while others are questions or suggestions left as comments. The recipient sees both and can act on them separately.

Sharing a redlined document with others

When you're done editing, save the file with Track Changes still on. Send it to the other person via email, cloud storage, or however you normally share files. They open it in Word and see all your changes marked in color with your name attached.

They can then accept or reject your changes one by one, or accept all of them at once. If they make their own edits while Track Changes is on, their changes appear in a different color with their name attached, so you can see who did what.

If the recipient doesn't have Word, they can open the file in Word Online (free, in a web browser) and see all the tracked changes. They can't edit it there, but they can view everything and read a copy to edit in Word on their computer later.

Hiding and showing tracked changes

Sometimes you want to see what the document will look like after all changes are accepted, without actually accepting them yet. Go to Review > Track Changes > Show Markup and uncheck Insertions and Deletions. The strikethrough and colored text disappear, and you see a clean version of the document with all changes applied.

Click the same option again to turn the markup back on. This is useful for proofreading the final result before you commit to the changes, or for showing someone what the document will look like without the visual clutter of all the color coding.

You can also hide specific types of markup — for example, hide comments but show text changes, or hide one person's changes while showing another's. Use the Show Markup menu to toggle different categories on and off.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I turn off Track Changes and then turn it back on to mark new edits?

Yes. When you turn Track Changes back on, only the edits you make after that point are marked. Edits you made while it was off won't show up as tracked changes — they're just part of the document. If you need to mark those earlier edits, you'll have to redo them with Track Changes on.

What happens if I accept all changes but then change my mind?

Once you accept all changes, the strikethrough and color coding disappear and the document is finalized. You can undo this action when ready with Ctrl+Z, but if you've closed and reopened the file, the undo history is gone. Save a backup copy before accepting all changes if you think you might want to review them again later.

Can someone edit my redlined document without seeing my changes?

No. If Track Changes is on when they open the file, they see all your marked edits. They can hide the markup visually, but they can't delete the tracked changes themselves — only you or someone with editing permission can accept or reject them. If you want them to edit a clean version, accept all your changes first, then send them the finalized document.

Do I need special software to redline a Word document?

No. Track Changes is built into Word and is free. Anyone with Word, Word Online, or even some free document viewers can see redlined documents. You don't need to buy add-ons or use a different program.

How do I know whose changes are whose in a document edited by multiple people?

Word assigns each person a different color and displays their name next to every change they make. Hover over a marked change or comment and you'll see the reviewer's name and the date and time they made the edit. This makes it straightforward to track who did what, especially in documents that pass through several hands.