Navigation
Microsoft Word - Change Tracking
What is it? 
Change tracking is a feature of Microsoft Word that allows users to keep track of changes made in a document. When change tracking is turned on a balloon shows each formatting change, comment, or deletion. If more than one person makes changes in a document each person is given a different color set of balloons in the document.
Microsoft Word - Change Tracking
What are the educational uses and benefits?
Feedback:
- Allows instructors to insert suggestions and comments into a paper.
- Instructors or students can see who made a change, comment, or deletion and the time the change took place.
Group Writing:
- Allows a group of people to peer write or edit a document or paper.
- Allows users to accept or reject changes.
Microsoft Word - Change Tracking
Can I see an example?
View a flash animation of how to use Microsoft Word - Change tracking.
Microsoft Word - Change Tracking
How do I get started?
To turn on change tracking in Microsoft Word:
- Open the document you wish to utilize change tracking in.
- Click on Tools/Track Changes.
- Any changes you make to your document will now be tracked.
To accept or reject a change:
- Right click on the change and click accept or reject.
- Click on the accept change or reject change button in the track changes menu (appears when you turn on Change Tracking).
- Click on Tools/Accept or Reject Change.
- To ensure that all of the change tracking has been accepted or rejected:
- Click on View, Toolbars, and then Reviewing.
- On the Reviewing toolbar, click Show.
- Make sure that there is a check next to: Comments, Ink Annotations, Insertions and Deletions, Formatting, and All Reviewers
- On the Reviewing toolbar, click Next to advance from one revision or comment to the next.
- Accept or Reject each change.
To turn off change tracking in Microsoft Word:
- Once changes have been made with change tracking, turning off Track Changes will not remove the changes that have been made. To remove tracked changes you must accept or reject the changes.
- After you accept or reject the changes click on Tools/Track Changes
- Changes will no longer be tracked.
Microsoft Word - Change Tracking
Where can I learn more?
- Change Tracking Frequently Asked Questions: An explanation of how, when, and why to use the change tracking feature of Word.
- Change Tracking Tutorial: A tutorial explaining how to use the change tracking feature of Word.
- Microsoft Word: Track changes while you edit.
- Understanding Tracked Changes: An article from Microsoft Office Online on how to be sure tracked changes are removed from a final document.
For information on similar tools visit:
