How to Track Changes in Word for Mac

Edited 1 week ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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Microsoft Word is one of the most widely used word processing applications in the world. Whether you are a student, a professional writer, or someone who just needs to create documents, Word is an essential tool. Among its many features, the "Track Changes" function is a powerful tool for editors, authors, and anyone who collaborates on documents. This feature allows you to see what changes have been made to a document, who made them, and when. This guide will walk you through the process of tracking changes in Word for Mac.

Understanding Track Changes: When you track changes in Word, you are essentially asking the program to keep a log of all modifications made to a document. This can include adding text, deleting, changing formatting, and more. Tracking changes is invaluable in collaborative environments where multiple people may be editing a document. It helps track each person's contributions, and it makes it easier to review and approve changes.

Step 1: Open your document

First, you'll need to open the document you want to track changes for. Simply double-click the document from File Explorer on your Mac, or open Word, click "File" in the top menu, and select "Open" to find your document. You'll need to make sure your file is saved as a Word document, usually with a .doc or .docx extension.

Step 2: Access the Track Changes feature

Once your document is open, you'll need to enable the Track Changes feature. To do this on Word for Mac, follow these steps:

• Look at the top of your Word window. You will see various tabs like Home, Insert, Draw, Design, Layout, etc.
• Click on the “Review” tab. Here you will find tools related to reviewing and editing documents.
• In the Review tab, you'll see a section called "Tracking."
• Click on the button labeled “Track Changes.” This will activate the feature, and now changes to the document will be tracked.

Step 3: Make changes when Track Changes is active

Now that Track Changes is activated, you can begin editing your document. As you make changes, you'll see Word mark up the document to show what has been added or deleted. Typically, inserted text will be underlined or appear in a different color, while deleted text may be shown with a strikethrough or some other visual indicator.

It's important to remember that changes from each person using the document can appear in different colors. This helps identify who made which change, especially when multiple collaborators are involved.

Step 4: Review and accept the changes

After you make changes to a document, you must review them. This is usually done by someone who has the authority to approve changes, such as an editor or project manager. To review changes:

• Stay on the Review tab where you activated Track Changes.
• Look for buttons labeled “Accept” and “Reject.” These buttons allow you to keep or discard tracked changes.
• Navigate through the changes using the "Previous" or "Next" buttons to move up or down the changes made.
• Click “Accept” if you agree with a change, or “Reject” if you want to remove the change.

Step 5: Additional Options and Customization

Word for Mac also allows you to customize how it tracks and displays changes. This can be especially useful if the default settings don't meet your needs. Here are some options you might consider:

• Display for Review: This drop-down menu allows you to choose how changes are displayed. Options typically include "Simple Markup," "All Markup," and "No Markup." This is helpful for reducing clutter or focusing on just the content or just the changes.
• Show markup: You can decide what types of changes are shown for review. For example, you can choose to show insertions and deletions, but hide formatting changes.
• Change user name: If you want to change the name that displays with tracked changes, go to the "Word" menu, choose "Preferences," then choose "User Information" and update the details.

Step 6: Turn off Track Changes

After you've tracked and reviewed all necessary changes, you may want to finalize your document by turning off the Track Changes feature. To do this:

• Return to the "Review" tab.
• Click “Track Changes” again to turn off the feature.

Make sure all desired changes are accepted or rejected before finalizing your document. Otherwise, readers will see them as tracked changes when they open the document.

Real-Life Scenario of Track Change: Collaborative Projects

Imagine you're working on a team project for a school assignment or business proposal. Each team member is responsible for different sections, and everyone's writing style is unique. Using Track Changes, each contributor can note their individual edits, making it easy to review who did what and maintain a consistent tone.

For example, if one person writes the introduction and another writes the conclusion, the edits to both sections will be tracked separately. The team can then meet to discuss the changes, make necessary corrections, and finalize the document, all thanks to the tracking feature.

Increase productivity by tracking changes

Adopting tracking changes not only provides transparency but also increases productivity. Editors can see what has been done, without having to second guess or look at multiple draft versions of the same document. Tracking ensures that critical changes can be reverted if necessary and also helps prevent accidental overwriting of essential content.

Fixes common issues with Track Changes

As you become familiar with Track Changes, you may encounter some common problems or questions:

• Why are my changes not being tracked? Make sure the “Track Changes” button is active. If it is not highlighted, your changes will not be tracked.
• How do I save my tracked changes permanently? Save the document as normal after reviewing all changes. This ensures that the document reflects the final, approved version.

Conclusion

Tracking changes in Word for Mac is an essential skill for anyone involved in document creation and editing. With the ability to monitor every edit and comment, it provides a comprehensive view of any document's history. By following these steps, you'll be able to use Track Changes efficiently, ensure clear communication, maintain document integrity, and boost collaborative productivity.

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