Word: How to Use Track Changes for Document Review

Track Changes lets multiple people edit a Word document while keeping a record of every addition, deletion, and comment. Here's how to use it effectively. Turning Track Changes on: 1. Open the document in Word 2. Go to the Review tab 3. Click Track Changes — it will highlight to show it's active 4. Now every edit you make is marked in a colored overlay (additions underlined, deletions struck through) Adding comments without editing: 1. Highlight the text you want to comment on 2. Go to Review > New Comment 3. Type your comment in the margin panel 4. The original text is unchanged Reviewing changes (for the document owner): Go to Review tab. Use the Previous and Next buttons to move through each change. For each change, click: - Accept — keep the change permanently - Reject — undo the change and revert to original To accept or reject all at once: Click the dropdown arrow under Accept or Reject > Accept All Changes or Reject All Changes. Showing/hiding markup: In the Review tab, use the Display for Review dropdown to switch between: - All Markup — shows all tracked changes - Simple Markup — shows a clean version with change indicators in the margin - No Markup — shows how the final document looks - Original — shows the document before any changes Important: Before sending a final document to a client or external party, always accept all changes and delete all comments. Go to Review > Accept All Changes, then Review > Delete All Comments. This ensures no internal notes or edits are visible in the final version. Tip: If you receive a document with tracked changes and just want to see the clean final version, switch Display for Review to "No Markup" for easy reading.