Turn on Track Changes in three steps

Track Changes is a Word feature that records every edit you make — deletions, insertions, formatting changes — and shows them as colored marks in your document. To turn it on, go to the Review tab at the top of your Word window, then click the Track Changes button. A dropdown menu appears; select Track Changes again to toggle it on. Once active, you'll see a colored line or highlight appear next to any text you change.

The button itself shows whether Track Changes is currently running. When it's on, the button appears pressed or highlighted. When it's off, it looks flat. This visual cue helps you know at a glance whether your edits are being recorded.

Track Changes works the same way whether you're working on your own document or sharing it with others. Every keystroke, deletion, and format change gets marked until you turn the feature off by clicking the button again.

Key Takeaways

  • Track Changes is located on the Review tab in the ribbon at the top of Word.
  • Turning it on records every edit you make, including text deletions, new text, and formatting changes.
  • Each person who edits a tracked document sees their changes in a different color, making it easy to see who changed what.
  • You can turn Track Changes on or off at any time; it does not affect edits you made before you turned it on.
  • Tracked changes can be reviewed one at a time and accepted or rejected before you finalize the document.

Where to find the Track Changes button

Open any Word document and look at the ribbon — the toolbar across the top of the screen. Click the Review tab. You'll see several buttons grouped together. The Track Changes button is usually in the left portion of the Review tab, often near buttons labeled New Comment and Show Markup.

If you use Word on a Mac, the Review tab is in the same place, and Track Changes appears in the same location. The button looks identical and works the same way.

If you're using Word Online (the browser version), Track Changes is also on the Review tab, though the layout may look slightly different. The function is the same: click it once to turn tracking on, click it again to turn it off.

What happens when you turn Track Changes on

The moment you click Track Changes to turn it on, Word begins recording. Any text you delete appears with a strikethrough line and usually in red or another color. Any text you add appears underlined and in a color. If you change formatting — bold, italics, font size — Word marks those changes too.

Each person who edits the document gets assigned a color. If you're the only editor, your changes appear in one color. If someone else opens the document and edits it, their changes appear in a different color. This makes it simple to see who made which change, which is especially useful when multiple people are reviewing a document.

The document itself does not change appearance in any permanent way. All the marks are overlays that show what would happen if you accepted the changes. You can still read the original text underneath the strikethrough, and you can see exactly what was added.

How to review and accept tracked changes

After you or someone else has made edits with Track Changes on, you can review each change one at a time. On the Review tab, look for buttons labeled Accept and Reject. Click Accept to keep a change and remove the markup, or click Reject to undo it and remove the markup.

You can also accept or reject all changes at once. Click the dropdown arrow next to Accept or Reject and select Accept All Changes or Reject All Changes. This is faster if you trust all the edits, but you lose the chance to review each one individually.

Once you accept or reject all changes, the markup disappears and the document shows only the final text. At that point, Track Changes can stay on or off — it doesn't matter, because there are no more changes to record.

Turning Track Changes off

To stop recording edits, click the Track Changes button on the Review tab again. The button will no longer appear pressed or highlighted. Any edits you make after this point will not be marked or recorded.

Turning Track Changes off does not affect changes you already made while it was on. Those changes remain visible with their markup until you accept or reject them. Turning it off simply stops the recording process going forward.

If you accidentally turn Track Changes off and want to resume recording, just click the button again. Word will continue marking new changes in the same color you were using before.

Common reasons to use Track Changes

Track Changes is most useful when you're sharing a document with others for review. Instead of sending multiple versions back and forth, you can send one document with Track Changes on. Reviewers make their edits, and you see exactly what they changed and who changed it.

It's also helpful when you're editing your own work and want to see what you changed. You can turn it on, make revisions, then review them before finalizing. This creates a record of your editing process and lets you undo changes you're unsure about.

Some workplaces and schools require Track Changes for collaborative documents. Legal documents, contracts, and formal reports often use it so that every modification is visible and accountable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I turn off Track Changes if someone else turned it on?

Yes. Track Changes is a document setting, not a lock. Anyone who can edit the document can turn it on or off. However, turning it off does not erase the changes that were already recorded — those remain visible until someone accepts or rejects them.

Will Track Changes slow down my computer?

No. Track Changes is a lightweight feature and does not noticeably affect Word's performance, even in long documents with many edits. It simply records what you type and delete.

What if I want to hide the tracked changes but keep them in the document?

On the Review tab, click Show Markup and select which types of changes you want to see or hide. You can hide deletions, insertions, formatting, or comments individually. The changes remain in the document; you're just hiding the visual marks temporarily.

Do tracked changes transfer if I save the document as a PDF?

No. When you save a Word document as a PDF, all tracked changes are either accepted or rejected first, and the markup does not appear in the PDF. You must finalize all changes before converting to PDF.

Can I see who made each change if multiple people edited the document?

Yes. Hover your mouse over any tracked change, and a small box appears showing the editor's name, the date, and the time of the change. Each editor's changes also appear in a different color, making it easy to distinguish who did what.