Note: Deletion of rows or columns and sorted data aren't tracked.
Enable document or section Track Changes
To enable Track Changes:
- 1
- Open to the Review toolbar.
- 2
- Toggle Track Changes on.
- 3
- Check the specific sections where you want to enable Track Changes. To enable Track Changes for the full document, select Entire File.
Note: If the document Owner enables Track Changes for the whole file, section Owners can't modify the Track Changes settings for their sections. Changes to headers and footers are only tracked when Track Changes is enabled for the entire file.
- 4
- Click Apply to enable Track Changes for the entire file or the sections that were selected.
View tracked changes
- A
- Additions are in blue with an underline and a blue pin.
- B
- Removals are marked with a red pin.
- C
- Changes (locations where text has been both added and removed) are noted with a purple pin.
To see removed text within your document, you can change your View Mode. From the Review toolbar, select an icon to change your view.
- Hide changes: Hides all changes markup. This lets you see the file as the latest revision in a clean view.
- Simplified changes: Hides deleted content but shows a pin in the general location. This lets you see the final view of the document while also indicating areas of changes. You can click on the pins to see the detailed change cards in the Track Changes panel.
- All changes: This is the default view for track changes. You'll see deleted and added content.
Note: The All changes view can affect the final layout of content since it makes room for deleted content which isn't present in the final revision.
You can also jump between changes by clicking the Previous or Next buttons in the Review toolbar, or by opening the Track Changes panel from the right toolbar. Clicking a change in the panel highlights the change in the document.
Note: This panel shows changes for the selected section, not the section currently in view.
A blue vertical line to the left of a section in the document outline indicates that section contains tracked changes.
Manage approval permissions
Document Owners can choose which collaborators are able to approve tracked changes. By default, only Owners can approve changes. Editors can only approve changes if the Owner adjusts the permissions setting.
To give Editors approval permissions:
- 1
- From the Review toolbar, click Approval and select Additional permissions.
- 2
- In the Permissions section, select Editors and Owners from the Can Approve Track Changes drop-down.
- 3
-
Click Save Changes.
Both Owners and Editors can now approve tracked changes.
Approve or reject individual changes
A collaborator's ability to reject or approve tracked changes depends on their role and document permission settings:
- Owners can approve and reject any tracked changes.
- Editors can reject any tracked changes.
- Editors can only approve tracked changes if they have approval permissions.
To approve or reject an individual change:
- 1
- Open the Track Changes panel.
- 2
- Select a change.
- 3
- Click the Approve or Reject buttons.
You can also approve or reject changes by right-clicking the change in the document and choosing Approve or Reject from the dropdown menu. Once approved or rejected, the change indicators disappear.
Note: If you have tracked changes that haven't been approved or rejected in a file and copy it, the copied file will have those tracked changes as approved with no prior history.
Approve or reject all changes
You can approve or reject changes at the section or document level via the Approval icon in the toolbar. Once you approve or reject all tracked changes, you can’t undo this action.
Documents exported with Track Changes to PDF or EDGAR display as if all track changes are approved, but this does not approve all changes in your document.