Word track changes not showing: how to fix it on Windows 11

Applies to: Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, Word 2021, Word 2019 and Word 2016 on Windows 11, the versions Microsoft lists on its Track changes in Word page. Menu names are from Word for Windows; Word for the web and the mobile apps have fewer display options.

Match your symptom

Start by working out whether the changes are hidden or were never recorded. The table is a map of this guide, not a list from Microsoft.

What you see	Likely cause	Go to
Only a red line in the left margin	Simple Markup view	Fix 1
Clean text with no marks, but Accept is available	No Markup or Original view	Fix 1
Some kinds of edits or comments are missing	Show Markup filters	Fix 2
One colleague’s edits are missing	Reviewer hidden	Fix 3
Deletions or comments have no balloons	Balloon setting or Draft view	Fix 4
New edits aren’t marked at all	Track Changes off or set to Just Mine	Fix 5
Review buttons are grayed out	Restricted editing	Fix 6
Markup appears but is hard to see	Advanced Options formatting	Fix 7

A quick test: open the Reviewing Pane on the Review tab. Microsoft describes it as a list of all changes in the document. If changes appear there but not on the page, the fixes for display settings (1 to 4 and 7) apply. If the pane is empty, go to Fix 5 and Fix 8.

Fix 1: Switch the markup view to All Markup

Word has four ways to display a reviewed document. Microsoft’s Track changes in Word page describes them like this:

• Simple Markup: a red line in the margin marks where a change was made, but the text itself looks clean.
• All Markup: insertions and deletions are shown in the text, colored by reviewer.
• No Markup: the document is shown as if every change had been accepted.
• Original: the document is shown without the tracked changes or comments.

Only All Markup shows the actual edits. To switch:

1. Select the Review tab.
2. In the Tracking group, open the markup view box (labeled Display for Review in recent versions; the exact label can vary).
3. Select All Markup.

As general guidance, selecting the red line in the margin in Simple Markup also flips the view to All Markup and back. No Markup and Original are only views: Microsoft notes that changes and comments that haven’t been resolved stay in the file. That matters before you send a document, because the next person to open it can still see them.

Fix 2: Check the Show Markup filters

Even in All Markup, Word only shows the types of markup you’ve selected. If insertions are visible but formatting changes or comments aren’t, a filter is off.

1. On the Review tab, select Show Markup.
2. Make sure Comments, Insertions and Deletions and Formatting are checked. Microsoft’s Track Changes Options page also lists Ink for handwritten markup.
3. Look at the document again; the markup should appear right away.

Microsoft’s Track changes page notes that markup you hide this way reappears each time you or a reviewer opens the document. So if markup is missing every time you open a file, the cause is a different setting, such as the markup view in Fix 1 or the formatting in Fix 7.

Fix 3: Show every reviewer

Word can hide the edits of individual reviewers. When one person’s changes are missing while others show, this is the first place to look.

1. Select Review > Show Markup > Specific People.
2. Select All Reviewers so every name is checked, or check the name of the missing reviewer.
3. If the list shows names you don’t recognize, those are the user names saved with each edit.

Each change is labeled with the user name of the person who made it. Microsoft’s Track Changes Options page links to its personalization settings for changing your user name and initials, and points out that the change applies to all Office documents. As general guidance, it only affects edits you make from then on; it doesn’t relabel changes already in a file.

Fix 4: Fix balloons and the document view

Balloons are the boxes in the right margin that hold comments and, depending on your setting, deletions and formatting notes. Microsoft lists three options under Review > Show Markup > Balloons:

• Show Revisions in Balloons puts deletions and formatting changes in the margin.
• Show All Revisions Inline keeps every change in the text, with strikethrough for deletions.
• Show Only Formatting in Balloons keeps insertions and deletions inline and puts only formatting notes in the margin.

According to Microsoft, balloons need Print Layout or Web Layout view. If you’re in Draft or Read Mode, select View > Print Layout and the margin should come back. If balloons appear but are cut off at the edge of the screen, as general guidance, zoom out or switch to Show All Revisions Inline so nothing depends on the margin width.

The Reviewing Pane is a useful backup when balloons are crowded. Microsoft says you can show it vertically or horizontally from the Review tab, and it lists every change with its author.

Fix 5: Make sure Track Changes is on for everyone

If the Reviewing Pane is empty, Word may never have recorded the edits. Microsoft’s Track changes page says that turning Track Changes off stops new edits from being marked, while markup already in the document stays.

1. Select the Review tab and look at Track Changes in the Tracking group. When it’s on, the button appears highlighted.
2. Open the arrow under the button and choose For Everyone rather than Just Mine.
3. To see the state at a glance, right-click the status bar at the bottom of the window and select Track Changes. Microsoft describes this indicator, which shows whether tracking is on or off.

As general guidance, with Just Mine selected, only your own edits are tracked, so changes coauthors make in the same file may go in unmarked. Edits made while tracking was off can’t be turned into tracked changes later. To see what changed in that case, compare the current file with an earlier copy using Review > Compare.

If you can’t turn Track Changes off, the document may use Lock Tracking. Microsoft says this option, under the Track Changes menu, uses a password to stop others from turning tracking off. Ask the document owner for the password rather than trying to work around it.

Fix 6: Check for restricted editing

A protected document can block review tools or lock parts of the text. Microsoft’s page on protected Word documents says you can check and remove protection from Review > Protect > Restrict Editing:

1. Open Review > Restrict Editing to show the Restrict Editing pane.
2. If the pane shows that protection is on, select Stop Protection.
3. Enter the password if asked. Microsoft notes that you need the password or must be an authenticated owner, and that it can’t recover a lost password.

If you try to edit a locked area, Microsoft says Word shows the message This modification is not allowed because the selection is locked. The pane’s Find Next Region I Can Edit and Show All Regions I Can Edit buttons take you to the parts you’re allowed to change.

As general guidance, the editing restrictions list also includes a tracked changes setting that forces tracking on for everyone who edits the file. That’s a deliberate choice by the author, so on a shared work document, ask before removing protection.

Fix 7: Check the markup formatting in Advanced Options

Microsoft’s Track Changes Options page says Advanced Options let you set the colors and formatting used for insertions, deletions, moves and other change types. If someone changed those settings, the markup can be hard or impossible to spot even in All Markup.

1. On the Review tab, select the small launcher arrow in the corner of the Tracking group to open Track Changes Options.
2. Select Advanced Options.
3. As general guidance, check the markup chosen for insertions and deletions. Pick a visible style, such as underline for insertions and strikethrough for deletions, and set the color to By author so each reviewer gets a distinct color.
4. Select OK twice.

Option names in this dialog vary slightly between versions. If your colors and fonts look unusual elsewhere too, a high contrast theme in Windows can also change how markup colors appear.

Fix 8: Changes already accepted, add-ins or a damaged install

If the Reviewing Pane is empty and Track Changes was on, the changes may already have been accepted or rejected. Microsoft’s page explains that hiding changes doesn’t remove them; only Accept or Reject does. Once accepted, they’re part of the text and can’t be shown as markup again. As general guidance, check File > Info > Version History for an older version if the file is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, or compare with an earlier copy.

If markup is missing only in printouts, go to File > Print > Settings and make sure Print Markup is selected under Document Info. Our guide to print preview looking different from the document covers other print differences.

When every setting above looks right and the Review tab still misbehaves, as general guidance, start Word in Safe Mode by holding Ctrl while you open it. If markup shows in Safe Mode, turn off add-ins one at a time under File > Options > Add-ins. If nothing changes, repair Microsoft Office. If Word freezes when you open the Reviewing Pane on a long document, see Word not responding.

Known issues

Microsoft lists current Word problems and workarounds on its Office support site under fixes or workarounds for recent issues. If tracked changes stopped showing right after an Office update and none of the fixes help, check there.

For other proofing settings that hide marks in a document, see our guide to spell check not working in Word. For review shortcuts and other time-savers, see MS Word tips and tricks.

Related guides

• Print preview different from the document in Word: why and how to fix it
• Spell check not working in Microsoft Word: how to fix it
• MS Word tips and tricks: 17 ways to work faster in Word
• Word not responding: how to fix it on Windows
• How to repair Microsoft Office (Quick Repair and Online Repair)

Official sources

• Microsoft Support: Track changes in Word
• Microsoft Support: Track Changes Options
• Microsoft Support: Allow changes to parts of a protected Word document