What Track Changes does and how to find it
Track Changes is a Word feature that records every edit made to a document — insertions, deletions, formatting changes, and comments. When you turn it on, Word marks each change with a different color for each person editing, shows who made the change and when, and lets you accept or reject each one individually. This is useful when multiple people work on the same document or when you want a record of what was altered.
The Track Changes button lives in the Review tab at the top of Word. Open any document, click the Review tab, and you'll see Track Changes in the Tracking group on the left side of the ribbon. The button shows whether tracking is currently on or off.
Key Takeaways
- Track Changes is found in the Review tab and toggles on with a single click; when it's on, every edit appears marked with the editor's name and timestamp.
- You can choose what types of changes to display (insertions, deletions, formatting, moves) and hide tracked changes while still recording them.
- Once tracking is on, you review changes one at a time using Accept and Reject buttons, or accept or reject all changes at once.
- Turning off Track Changes stops recording new edits but does not erase changes already made; those remain until you accept or reject them.
Turning Track Changes on
Click the Review tab at the top of the Word window. In the Tracking group on the left, click the Track Changes button. It will highlight or change color to show that tracking is now active. From this moment forward, every change you or anyone else makes to the document will be recorded and marked.
The first time you turn on Track Changes, Word may ask you to enter your name and initials so it knows who is making each edit. If you want to change whose name appears on your tracked changes, go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options and update the User Name field.
Turning Track Changes off
Click the Review tab and then click the Track Changes button again. It will no longer be highlighted. Tracking is now off, and new edits will not be recorded. However, any changes that were already tracked remain in the document marked and visible until you accept or reject them.
Turning off tracking does not delete the history of changes already made. If you want to remove all tracked changes from view without deciding on each one, you can hide them (see below), but they stay in the document file until you explicitly accept or reject them.
Choosing which types of changes to display
When Track Changes is on, you can control what appears on screen. In the Review tab, look for the Display for Review dropdown (it usually shows "All Markup" or "Simple Markup"). Click it to see your options: All Markup shows every change with colors and marks; Simple Markup shows a thin line in the margin where changes occur and hides the details; No Markup hides all tracked changes from view but keeps them in the file; and Original shows the document as it was before any tracked changes.
You can also click the Show Markup button in the Tracking group to choose which categories of changes to display: insertions, deletions, formatting, and moves. Uncheck any category you want to hide temporarily. This does not delete the changes — it only hides them on screen.
Accepting and rejecting individual changes
Once you have finished editing or reviewing, go to the Review tab and use the Accept and Reject buttons in the Changes group. Click the down arrow next to Accept to see options: Accept This Change accepts only the change your cursor is on, while Accept All Changes accepts every tracked change in the document at once. The same options exist for Reject.
You can also move through changes one at a time using the Previous and Next buttons in the Changes group. This lets you review each change, read any comments attached to it, and decide whether to accept or reject it before moving to the next one. Once you accept a change, it becomes permanent and no longer appears as tracked. Once you reject a change, it is removed from the document.
Reviewing changes made by others
When someone else edits a document with Track Changes on, their changes appear in a different color and show their name and the date and time of the edit. Hover over any tracked change to see a tooltip with the editor's name, the type of change, and the timestamp. If a comment is attached to the change, it will appear in the Comments pane on the right side of the screen.
You review and decide on these changes the same way you would your own: use Accept or Reject for each one, or accept or reject all at once. You do not need permission from the person who made the change to accept or reject it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Track Changes slow down Word?
Track Changes may cause a slight slowdown in very large documents with many edits, but for most documents the effect is minimal. If you notice performance issues, try hiding tracked changes using the Display for Review dropdown rather than turning off tracking entirely, since hiding them keeps the history intact.
Can I turn off Track Changes and then turn it back on without losing the old changes?
Yes. Turning Track Changes off stops recording new edits but does not erase changes already tracked. When you turn it back on, new edits will be recorded and marked separately from the old ones. All previous changes remain in the document until you accept or reject them.
What happens if I save a document with tracked changes still in it?
The document saves with all tracked changes intact. When someone else opens it, they will see the same marked changes you saw. The changes do not become permanent until someone explicitly accepts them. This is useful for passing a document between reviewers without losing the edit history.
Can I see who made each change?
Yes. Each tracked change shows the editor's name, the date, and the time. Hover over any change to see this information in a tooltip, or look at the Comments pane on the right side of the screen for more detail. The name comes from the User Name setting in Word's options.