The fastest way to accept all tracked changes

To accept all changes in a Word document at once, open the document with tracked changes, then go to the Review tab at the top of the screen. In the Changes group, click the small arrow next to Accept, then select Accept All Changes. Word will process every change in the document and remove all the revision marks.

This method works whether you have two changes or two hundred. Once you click Accept All Changes, the action cannot be undone with a single undo command — Word treats it as a completed operation. If you need to reverse it, you will have to use Undo immediately after, before you make any other edits.

Key Takeaways

  • The Review tab contains all the tools you need to manage tracked changes in Word.
  • Clicking the arrow next to Accept reveals a dropdown menu with the Accept All Changes option.
  • Accepting all changes at once removes every revision mark and finalizes the document in a single step.
  • You can undo Accept All Changes immediately after, but only before you make other edits to the document.

Where to find the Accept button in Word

The Review tab is located in the ribbon at the top of your Word window, between the References and View tabs. Click it to reveal the tracking tools. On the left side of the ribbon, you will see a Changes section that contains buttons for Track Changes, Accept, and Reject.

The Accept button has a small downward-pointing arrow next to it. This arrow is the key — clicking the button itself will accept only the current change (the one your cursor is near), but clicking the arrow opens a menu with more options, including Accept All Changes.

What happens when you accept all changes

When you select Accept All Changes, Word goes through the entire document and incorporates every insertion, deletion, and formatting change that was marked. All the red underlines, strikethroughs, and margin comments that show revisions disappear. The document becomes a clean, final version without any visible record of what was changed.

The original text that was deleted is removed permanently from the document. Text that was inserted stays in place. Any formatting changes (font, size, color, spacing) are applied and locked in. If comments were attached to changes, those comments remain in the document unless you delete them separately.

Accepting changes one at a time instead

If you want to review changes before accepting them, you can go through them one by one. Click the Review tab, then use the Next button (the right arrow) in the Changes group to move to each change in order. Word will highlight the change and show you what it is.

Once you see a change, you can click Accept (the button without the arrow) to accept just that one, or click the arrow next to Reject to reject it instead. This approach takes longer but gives you control over which changes stay and which ones are removed.

Rejecting all changes instead

If you want to remove all the tracked changes and return the document to its original state, click the arrow next to Reject in the Changes group, then select Reject All Changes. This will undo every insertion, deletion, and formatting change that was tracked, leaving you with the document as it was before anyone started editing.

Like Accept All Changes, rejecting all changes is a single operation that cannot be reversed except by using Undo immediately afterward. If you are unsure whether you want to accept or reject, review the changes one at a time first.

Turning off Track Changes after accepting

Once you have accepted all changes, you should turn off Track Changes so that any new edits you make do not get marked as revisions. Go to the Review tab and click the Track Changes button. It will toggle off, and the button will no longer be highlighted.

If you leave Track Changes on after accepting all changes, every keystroke you type, every word you delete, and every format you apply will be marked as a new change. This can make the document confusing if you are just doing final cleanup or adding a signature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I undo accepting all changes?

Yes, but only immediately after. Press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac) right after you click Accept All Changes, and Word will restore all the tracked changes. If you make any other edits first, the undo will only reverse those new edits, not the acceptance.

What if I only want to accept changes from one person?

Word does not have a built-in filter to accept changes by author in one step. You will need to go through changes one at a time using the Next button, or use the Display for Review dropdown in the Review tab to show only changes from a specific person, then accept them individually.

Do comments disappear when I accept all changes?

No. Comments are separate from tracked changes. Accepting all changes removes the revision marks but leaves any comments in place. To remove comments, click the Review tab, then click the arrow next to Delete in the Comments group and select Delete All Comments.

Will accepting changes affect the document's formatting?

Yes, any formatting changes that were tracked will be applied when you accept all changes. This includes font, size, color, spacing, alignment, and style changes. If you want to keep the original formatting, reject the changes instead of accepting them.