TRACKED CHANGES

Word Wrangling

A Guide to Tackling Track Changes Without Crying

Welcome, brave author. You’ve finally opened that edited manuscript from your editor and—gasp!—your beautiful prose is buried under a confetti explosion of colours, strikethroughs, insertions, balloons, and cryptic margin notes. Breathe. You’ve got this.

This guide is your survival manual for navigating Microsoft Word’s Track Changes feature like a pro. Let’s get stuck in.

What in the Name of Dickens Are Tracked Changes?

You’ve heard the term. You might’ve nodded along politely when your editor mentioned them. But what exactly are tracked changes?

In Microsoft Word (editor’s weapon of choice), Track Changes (yes, with capitals) shows you exactly what’s been altered—insertions, deletions, rewordings, and formatting tweaks—in a different colour.

You, dear author, retain full control. You get to accept or reject each change with the benevolent power of a Roman emperor.

Fun fact: editors might make a few silent changes (Track Changes off) for boring but essential things like:

Converting double spaces to single
Evicting rogue spaces before/after paragraphs
Swapping single quotation marks for doubles (or vice versa)

If you’d rather see these changes too (you micromanaging marvel), just let your editor know.

Flip the Switch: Turning Track Changes On and Off

Let’s start with the basics.

To turn Track Changes on or off:

Go to the Review tab in the ribbon menu.

Microsoft Word Ribbon with Review circled red

2. Click Track Changes. Older versions of Word will show a pen and page image. If it’s shaded in darker grey, it’s on.

Turning it off doesn’t erase existing edits; it simply stops Word from tracking new ones. If you want a “clean” view without all the colourful chaos, hang tight—we’ll get to that.

Pick Your Poison: Choosing a Markup View That Doesn’t Give You a Migraine

Word offers several ways to display tracked changes. Here’s how to find them:

Head to the Review tab → Click Mark-up Options.

You’ll see:

Show revisions in balloons: Edits appear in a side panel. Useful, but feels like you’re being yelled at from the wings.
Show all revisions in-line: Edits appear directly in the text. Maximum drama, minimal confusion.
Show only formatting in balloons: A hybrid, showing actual edits in-line and formatting tweaks (like italics) in balloons.

Experiment and find the view that makes you feel the least stabby.

Lost the Edits? Here’s How to Show or Hide Tracked Changes

If your editor’s brilliant input has vanished, don’t panic. It’s probably just your view settings.

Go to Review → Click the drop-down next to Track Changes. Here’s what you’ll see:

Microsoft Word Track Changes on the ribbon, simple mark up circled red

Microsoft Word Mark up options, simple mark up with a tick next to it

Simple Markup: A “clean” view with subtle red lines in the margin to show where changes lurk.
All Markup: Every deletion, insertion, and formatting change in glorious, overwhelming detail.
No Markup: A totally clean copy with no hints that edits ever happened. Bold move.
Original: As it was before your editor got their red pen out.

Use Simple Markup for a chill overview, and All Markup when you’re ready to dig in and do the work.

Double Vision: View Clean and Marked-Up Versions Side by Side

Ready for a game-changer? You can open the same document twice—one view for editing, one for previewing the “clean” version. Sorcery? No, just Word being surprisingly clever.

Here’s how:

Click View in the ribbon.

Microsoft Word Ribbon with View circled red

2. Select New Window.

Microsoft Word View ribbon options with New Window circled red

3. Arrange the windows side by side like a digital power-couple.

4. In one window, select All Markup. In the other, Simple Markup or No Markup.

Split screen image of two Microsoft Word pages open at the same time

Changes in one are instantly reflected in the other. No more managing multiple versions. You’re welcome.

The Judgement Seat: Accepting or Rejecting Changes

Now the real work begins.

Tempted to Accept All Changes at Once? Maybe Don’t.

Yes, there’s a button for that:

Go to Review.
Click the arrow next to Accept.

Microsoft Word Track Changes options for Accept and Reject, with Accept circled red

3. Choose Accept All Changes (or …and Stop Tracking, if you’re done).

Microsoft Word Track Changes options, Accept arrow expanded to show options

But beware! Blind acceptance is rarely wise. Even with a trusted editor, many edits are subjective. Best to give it all a good once-over first.

To Accept or Reject, That Is the Question (Per Change)

Method 1: From the Ribbon

Select Review.
Click into a suggested change.
Hit Accept or Reject.
Word will bounce you to the next change automatically.

Method 2: Right-click

Just right-click on the change and choose Accept Change or Reject Change.

Microsoft Word edited section right clicked to show options available

Easy as breathing.

Margin Chatter: Dealing with Your Editor’s Comments

Comments appear in the margin. If you don’t see them:

Go to Review.
Click Show Comments and make sure it’s turned on (dark grey = active).

Microsoft Word Review ribbon open with Show Comments circled red

If you have ‘All Markup’ selected, the ‘Show Comments’ button will be un-clickable (as all the comments are shown in All Markup mode).

Microsoft Word Track Changes margin showing a comment with related edit

And remember: comments should be constructive, not soul-destroying. If your editor makes you feel bad about your book, consider finding someone who actually likes writers.

Replying, Resolving, and Deleting Comments: Keeping the Margins Tidy

You’ve got options galore. Choose your weapon:

Option 1: Right-Hand Panel

Right click on the comment.
Choose Resolve Comment or Delete Comment. If you resolve, the comment will become greyed out. Deleting will make it disappear.
To reply (this may vary depending on your version of Word) either, click on the reply box and hit the little paper aeroplane to send or click ‘Reply To Comment’. When you’re finished, simply click somewhere else on the page and the comment will save.

Microsoft Word Track Changes margin with an edit comment right clicked showing the options

Microsoft Word Track Changes comment, red circle on the comment bubble

Microsoft Word Track Changes ribbon open showing the commenting options

Option 2: Ribbon

Select the comment.
Click Resolve or Delete in the ribbon.
Click the arrow next to Delete for more bulk options (like deleting all comments).

Option 3: Right-click Menu

Again, this will depend on your version of Word. Newer versions seem to have removed the ‘bubble’ option next to changes. But if your version shows comment bubbles:

Right-click the comment.
Select your preferred action.

Bonus tip: You can use comment replies as notes to yourself. Future You will be grateful.

In Conclusion: You're Now a Track Changes Ninja

Track Changes may look like chaos incarnate, but it’s really just a very clever tool with a questionable sense of aesthetics. With the right settings and a bit of know-how, you can glide through your editor’s suggestions like a literary swan.

Want to make things prettier? You can customise the colours and styles of tracked changes in Word’s Preferences menu (on Mac) or Options > Advanced > Track Changes (on Windows). That way, your edits can look a little less like a ransom note.

Find the markup view and colour scheme that makes your brain happiest, learn how to flick between tracked and clean views, and remember: every change is a suggestion, not a command.

If all this still feels a bit much, you’re not alone. For a simplified guide with just the essentials, check out the condensed version here courtesy of Lee Dickinson.

You’ve got this.