How to use Track Changes
If you’ve ever sent your manuscript to a copyeditor or proofreader, you’ve probably heard the phrase Track Changes—and possibly felt a flicker of panic. Don’t worry! This powerful Microsoft Word feature isn’t scary at all. In fact, it’s your best friend for collaborating on your book while keeping full control of every edit.
Let’s walk through how it works and how you can use it with confidence.
What is Track Changes?
It’s a feature in Microsoft Word that records every edit made to a document: insertions, deletions, formatting changes—even comments.
It’s especially useful when working with editors because you can see every suggestion they make. You then get to accept or reject each change. You can also discuss edits through comments—think of them like sticky notes in the margin.
How to turn Track Changes on
Open your document in Microsoft Word. Go to the Review tab on the ribbon and click Track Changes (it should light up when turned on). Alternatively, there is a button at the top right side of the screen that allows you to toggle between Editing (Track Changes is off), Reviewing (Track Changes is on), and Viewing (no changes can be made).
That’s it! Once it’s turned on, any changes, whether typed or deleted, will be marked in the document.
Understanding the markup
You can adjust how these insertions, deletions, formatting changes, and comments appear in your document. In the Review tab, you can choose how you want to view the edits. Simple Markup offers a clean view with red lines showing where edits exist; All Markup shows every change inline or in balloons; No Markup hides edits (but doesn’t delete them); and Original shows what the original document looked like before any edits were made. Switching views helps you focus on the text without getting overwhelmed.
Accepting or rejecting changes
Once you’ve reviewed your editor’s suggestions, you can go through them one by one. Click on a change. In the Review tab, select Accept (to keep it) or Reject (to ignore it). You can also use Accept All Changes if you’re happy with everything. Remember that you are in control. Nothing changes permanently until you accept it.
Working with comments
Comments are perfect for questions, notes, or reminders. To add one, highlight the text you want to comment on and click New Comment. To reply to a comment, click Reply under an existing comment. To resolve a comment, simply click Resolve once the issue is sorted. It’s a great way to have a conversation in the margins without cluttering the manuscript. Once all of the comments have been resolved, you can go to the Review tab and click the arrow next to the Delete tab in the Comments section. Click either Delete All Comments in Document or Delete All Resolved Comments to get rid of them all in one go.
Happy writing and editing!
