To use Track Changes in Word, select Review > Track Changes, or press Ctrl + Shift + E. From then on, Word marks every edit: added text is underlined in color, deleted text is struck through or moved to the margin, and each change shows who made it. When you’re done, review each edit and select Accept or Reject, or use Accept All Changes to finish the document.
Applies to: Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016 on Windows and Mac, and Word for the web. Last reviewed October 7, 2026.
Turn on Track Changes
- Open the document and select the Review tab.
- Select Track Changes. The button stays highlighted while tracking is on.
- In Word for Microsoft 365, choose For Everyone to track all edits, or Just Mine to track only yours.
- Edit the document as usual.
Keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl + Shift + E on Windows, Command + Shift + E on a Mac. In Word for the web, you can also open the Editing menu in the top-right corner and choose Reviewing, which turns on tracking for you.
Make sure your name is right before you start, because it’s attached to every change. See how to change your comment name in Word.
Choose how changes are shown
The menu next to Track Changes in the Tracking group controls what you see:
- Simple Markup: the clean text, with a red line in the margin next to changed lines. Click the line to see the changes.
- All Markup: every insertion and deletion in color, with comments in the margin. Best for reviewing.
- No Markup: the document as it would look if you accepted everything.
- Original: the document as it was before any tracked changes.
To see a list of every change, select Reviewing Pane. To show only some kinds of changes, or changes from certain people, use Show Markup.
Accept or reject changes
- Click at the start of the document.
- In the Changes group, select Next to jump to the first change.
- Select Accept to keep it or Reject to undo it. Word moves to the next change.
- Repeat until Word says there are no more changes.
You can also right-click any change and choose Accept or Reject, or select a passage to deal with all the changes in it at once.
Accept or reject everything
Select the arrow under Accept and choose Accept All Changes, or Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking to also turn tracking off. Reject has the same options. Comments aren’t affected; delete them with Review > Delete > Delete All Comments in Document.
Turn off Track Changes
Select Track Changes again, or press Ctrl + Shift + E. This only stops recording new edits. Existing changes stay in the document, and anyone you send it to can see them, until you accept or reject them.
Stop others from turning it off
- Select the arrow under Track Changes and choose Lock Tracking.
- Enter a password twice and select OK.
Other people can still edit, but every change is tracked and they can’t accept or reject changes without the password. It’s not a security feature, so don’t rely on it for sensitive documents.
Change the colors and how deletions look
- Select the small arrow in the corner of the Tracking group to open Track Changes Options.
- Select Advanced Options.
- Choose how insertions and deletions are marked and their colors. Leave color on By author so each reviewer gets a different color.
- Under Balloons, choose whether deletions show in the margin or inline.
Compare two versions instead
If someone edited a copy without Track Changes on, Word can still show what changed. Select Review > Compare > Compare, choose the original and revised documents, and select OK. Word creates a new document with the differences shown as tracked changes. For other ways to see who changed what, see how to check edit history in Word.
Troubleshooting
Track Changes is greyed out
The document may be protected or opened in Protected View. Select Enable Editing if you see a yellow bar, or check Review > Restrict Editing. In older .doc files, save as .docx first.
Changes aren’t being tracked
Check that the button is highlighted and that you chose For Everyone. Tracking is saved with the document, so it may have been turned off by someone else.
Changes print in the document
Turn off Print Markup in the print settings, or accept the changes first. See how to print a Word document without comments.
Tracked changes show “Author” instead of names
The document was set to remove personal information on save. Go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options and clear Remove personal information from file properties on save.
Frequently asked questions
Are tracked changes visible in a PDF?
Only if you save with markup. In Save As > PDF > Options, choose Document instead of Document showing markup to leave them out.
What’s the difference between Track Changes and comments?
Track Changes records edits to the text. Comments are notes in the margin that don’t change the text.
Related: How to dictate in Word.
Related: how to copy comments from one Word document to another.
Related: how to share a Word document.
Related: how to use Copilot in Word.
Related: how to compare documents in Word.
Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.
His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.