Working with Tracked Changes in a Word Document

PolicyTech turns on Track Changes whenever a reviewer or approver chooses to revise a Word document. Track Changes marks all text changes, including insertions, deletions, moved text, and formatting changes. Reviewers and approvers can also insert comments to explain marked up text or to identify other changes that need to be made.

Note: Reviewers and approvers cannot turn off Track Changes while revising a document.

The screenshot below shows what marked-up text might look like. If multiple reviewers or approvers revised the document, each reviser's changes appear in a different color. You'll want to take action on each change by accepting or rejecting it so that no marked-up text remains when you resubmit the document for review or approval.

Viewing Tracked Changes

If you're looking at a revised document in a desktop version of Word and don't see tracked changes, check your Display for Review setting. In the ribbon, click Review. Then, in the Tracking group, find or , and make sure it is set to All Markup.

Display for Review setting in Word 2016

If you're looking at a revised document in Word Online, you will not see tracked changes. You will need to switch to your desktop version of Word.

Then, in the DOCUMENT PREVIEW header, click Edit Document, and then click Open in Office.

Track Changes  and Comment Options

The location and appearance of the Track Changes and Comments options vary depending on the version of Word you're using.

Word 2016

Word 2013

Word 2010

Comments, Tracking, and Changes groups on the ribbon's Review tab

Word 2007

Comments, Tracking, and Changes groups on the ribbon's Review tab

Working with Marked-up Text and Comments

Using the Track Changes and Comments options, you can do any of the following:

Note: We recommend using the Track Changes tools to find marked-up text in the document as some very small changes (such as adding a period) may be missed otherwise.

Find Markup in the Text

After finding marked-up text, hover the cursor over the change to see who made it.

On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Next or Previous.

Find Comments in the Text

On the Review tab, in the Comments group, click Next or Previous.

View Markup in the Reviewing Pane

In the Reviewing Pane, you can see each markup in a categorized list and then click a markup to go to it in the document. You can also see who made each change.

On the Review tab, in the Tracking group, click the arrow next to Reviewing Pane, and then click Reviewing Pane Vertical or Reviewing Pane Horizontal.

Accept or Reject a Change

Accepting a change removes the markup and leaves the normal text. Rejecting a change deletes the marked-up text.

Either select the changed text or place the cursor anywhere within or immediately before it. Then, on the Review tab, in the Changes group, click Accept or Reject.

Accept or Reject All Changes at Once

On the Review tab, in the Changes group, click the arrow below Accept or Reject, and then click Accept All Changes in Document or Reject All Changes in Document.

View the Original Document before Changes

On the Review tab, in the Tracking group, click the arrow next to Final: Show Markup, and then click Original.