Disable Track Changes in Word with one click

Track Changes is a feature in Microsoft Word that records every edit someone makes to a document — insertions, deletions, formatting changes, everything. When Track Changes is on, Word marks these edits with colored lines and balloons in the margin so you can see what changed and who changed it. To turn it off, go to the Review tab at the top of Word and click the Track Changes button. It will stop recording new edits when ready.

The button itself looks like a circle with a checkmark inside it. When Track Changes is active, the button appears highlighted or pressed in. Click it once and the highlighting disappears — that means Track Changes is now off. Any edits you make from that point forward will not be marked or recorded.

Disabling Track Changes does not erase the changes that were already recorded. Those marked-up edits stay in the document until you accept or reject them. If you want to remove all the tracked changes from view while keeping the document itself, you will need to accept or reject each one, or use the "Accept All Changes" option.

Key Takeaways

  • Track Changes records every edit made to a document and marks them with colored lines and comments in the margin.
  • To turn off Track Changes, click the Review tab, then click the Track Changes button — it stops recording new edits right away.
  • Disabling Track Changes does not delete the edits that were already recorded; those stay in the document until you accept or reject them.
  • If you want to remove all tracked changes from the document at once, use Review > Accept All Changes instead of just turning off the feature.
  • You can also disable Track Changes by pressing Ctrl+Shift+E on Windows or Command+Shift+E on Mac as a keyboard shortcut.

Where to find the Track Changes button

Open any Word document and look at the ribbon of tabs across the top. Click the Review tab — it sits between the References and View tabs. Once you are on the Review tab, look for the button labeled Track Changes in the left section of the ribbon. The button has a small circle with a checkmark inside it.

If Track Changes is currently on, the button will appear highlighted, pressed, or have a colored background depending on your version of Word. Click it once to toggle it off. The highlighting will disappear, and Word will stop recording new changes. If the button does not appear highlighted, Track Changes is already off.

What happens to changes already recorded

When you turn off Track Changes, the edits that were already marked in the document do not disappear. They remain visible with their colored underlines, strikethroughs, and margin balloons. This is intentional — it lets you stop recording new work while still reviewing the old changes.

To remove these recorded changes from the document, you have two main options. You can go through them one by one: click each change, then click either Accept or Reject in the Review tab. Or you can accept all of them at once by clicking the small arrow next to the Accept button and selecting Accept All Changes. Rejecting all changes works the same way — click the arrow next to Reject and choose Reject All Changes.

Be careful with "Accept All" or "Reject All" because you cannot undo it after you close the document. If you are unsure about some changes, go through them individually instead.

Using the keyboard shortcut instead

If you use Word frequently, the keyboard shortcut is faster than navigating the ribbon. On Windows, press Ctrl+Shift+E to toggle Track Changes on and off. On Mac, press Command+Shift+E. The shortcut works the same way as clicking the button — it turns the feature off if it is on, and on if it is off.

The shortcut does not show you visually whether Track Changes is active the way the button does, so you may need to glance at the Review tab to confirm. But once you use it a few times, you will remember whether you just turned it on or off based on what you were doing.

Why someone might have Track Changes on

Track Changes is useful when multiple people are working on the same document, or when one person wants to review their own edits before finalizing them. A manager might turn it on before sending a draft to a team member, so the manager can see exactly what the team member changed. A writer might turn it on while revising their own work, so they can flip back and forth between the original and the new version.

In shared documents, Track Changes is often left on by default so that no one accidentally overwrites someone else's work without a record. If you are working on a document that came from someone else and Track Changes is on, they probably left it that way intentionally. Before you turn it off, check whether you are supposed to review the changes first or send the document back to them for review.

Accepting or rejecting individual changes

If you want to keep some changes and discard others, you can review them one at a time. Go to the Review tab and look for the navigation buttons labeled Previous and Next — they look like arrows pointing left and right. Click Next to jump to the first tracked change in the document. Word will highlight it and show you what was added, deleted, or modified.

Once a change is highlighted, you can click Accept to keep it or Reject to remove it. The change will disappear from the document and Word will move to the next one automatically. Keep going until you have reviewed all the changes. This method takes longer than accepting all at once, but it gives you control over which edits stay and which ones go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does turning off Track Changes delete the edits that are already marked?

No. Turning off Track Changes stops Word from recording new edits, but it does not remove the edits that were already recorded. Those marked changes stay in the document until you accept or reject them individually, or use Accept All Changes or Reject All Changes.

Can I turn Track Changes back on if I turned it off by mistake?

Yes. Click the Review tab and click the Track Changes button again to turn it back on. Any new edits you make after that will be recorded. The old changes that were already in the document will still be there too.

What is the difference between accepting and rejecting a change?

Accepting a change keeps the edit in the document and removes the mark. Rejecting a change removes the edit and returns the text to what it was before. For example, if someone deleted a sentence and you reject that change, the sentence comes back.

Can I see who made each change?

Yes. When you hover over a tracked change or click on it, Word shows a balloon or comment in the margin with the person's name, the date, and the time. If the document was shared through OneDrive or SharePoint, the name will be whoever was logged into Word when they made the edit.

What if I want to turn off Track Changes for just one section of the document?

Track Changes is an all-or-nothing feature — you cannot turn it off for part of a document and keep it on for another part. If you need to stop recording edits temporarily, turn off Track Changes, make your edits, then turn it back on. The edits you made while it was off will not be marked.