OmniDocTrack Changes in Word Online: Turn On, Hide and Remove
Learn how to track changes in Word Online, turn tracking off, hide markup without deleting it, and remove existing marks before sharing your file.
Reviewers often send a Word file back with edits they expect to see, but the document opens clean and nothing is marked. Others need to remove the red-line marks from a draft before sending it to a client, and find that the markup is still there after they thought they had cleared it. Both problems come from the same place: the track changes setting controls whether edits are recorded, and a separate display setting controls whether those records are visible.
This article covers how to track changes in Word Online, the browser version of Word. It explains how to turn tracking on and off, how to hide markup while keeping it in the file, and how to remove the marks for good. The steps are general enough to follow even if the labels in your version look a little different.
How to track changes in Word Online? The short answer
Turn on tracking before you edit, make your changes, then accept or reject each mark when the review is done. Hiding markup is a view setting, so it does not clear anything from the file.
| Your situation | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You are editing a draft someone else will review | Turn tracking on before your first edit | Insertions and deletions are recorded so the reviewer can see exactly what changed |
| You want to read the file without the marks cluttering the page | Switch to the view that shows the final document without markup | The display changes, but the recorded edits remain in the file |
| You are done reviewing and want a clean copy | Accept or reject every change, then confirm no marks remain | Turning tracking off alone leaves existing marks in place |
| The tracking control is missing or greyed out | Check your edit permission and whether the file is view-only | Tracking can only be changed in a document you are allowed to edit |
Before you start
Check these points before you change any settings, because they explain most of the confusion around track changes.
- Your edit permission. If the file was shared with you as view-only, you cannot change tracking. Ask the owner for edit access, or save a copy you own.
- Whether tracking is already on. Someone may have left it enabled. Every edit you make will then be recorded, which is useful for reviews but surprising if you did not expect it.
- Existing marks in the file. Old insertions and deletions remain until someone accepts or rejects them. Turning tracking off does not remove them.
- Comments are separate. Comments are not track changes. You may need to resolve or delete them as well before sharing the file.
- The file format. Word Online works with Word files. If you are unsure whether the file came from a different program, open it and look for the review controls before you plan a long edit session.
Turning track changes on, off and hidden in Word Online, step by step
Exact labels can differ between versions of Word, so look for the review-related controls near the top of the editor rather than a fixed name.
- Open the document in your browser and confirm you can edit. If editing is not available, the tracking switch will not work, so request access first.
- Find the review tools in the editing toolbar. The track changes control lives in this group, along with the options for comments and accepting or rejecting changes.
- Turn tracking on before you make any edits. Changes made while tracking is off are not recorded, and you cannot recover them as marks later.
- Make your edits as normal. Insertions and deletions appear marked in the text, so a reviewer can see what you changed and where.
- Turn tracking off when you no longer need to record edits. Switching it off stops new changes from being marked. Marks you already made stay in the file until someone handles them.
- Hide the markup if you only want to read the text. Use the view option that shows the document without marks. This affects only how the page looks, so you can switch back at any time.
- Accept or reject the changes to clear them. Go through each change, or use the option that handles all changes at once, when you are sure every edit is final.
Check the result
Run through these checks after you accept or reject changes, and before you send the file or close it.
| Check | How to see it | If it's wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking is in the state you intended | Look at the review controls and make a small test edit, then undo it | Switch the control to the state you need, and check whether the file is view-only |
| No marks remain | Turn the markup view off and scan headers, footers, tables and text boxes | Accept or reject the leftover items individually, since some sit outside the main text |
| Comments are handled | Open the comments list and see whether any are still open | Resolve or delete them, if the reviewers are finished with them |
| The text is what you intended | Read the accepted version from start to finish | Restore the wording you want by editing again, with tracking off for the final fix |
If you need to compare an earlier version with a revised one, and the marks are not doing the job, you can work from PDF copies instead. The compare function in the OmniDoc desktop client works on two PDF files, so export or save each version as PDF first and compare those. You can get the desktop client at download.omnidoc.top.
If you prefer to edit Word-format files in the browser with Word-compatible editing, the UniDoc web editor at app.unidoc.top offers that. Test how track changes behaves in your own file before you rely on it for an important review, because the facts available to us do not describe its tracking behavior.
❓ FAQ
1. Does Word Online track changes automatically?
It depends on the file. Tracking has to be turned on in the document, and whether it is already on can depend on how the file was saved or shared with you. Check the review controls before you edit.
2. Why are my edits not showing as marks?
Tracking was probably off when you made the changes. Edits made without tracking are not recorded, so you will need to make them again with tracking on, or compare against an earlier copy.
3. Does hiding track changes delete them?
No. Hiding markup only changes what you see on screen. The recorded insertions and deletions remain in the file until someone accepts or rejects them.
4. Can I turn off tracking and keep the existing marks?
Yes. Switching tracking off stops new edits from being marked, and the existing marks stay until they are accepted or rejected.
5. How do I make sure a file has no track changes before sharing it?
Turn the markup view off and scan the whole document, including headers, footers, tables and text boxes. Then check that no items remain in the list of changes before you send it.
📝 Summary
Track changes in Word Online is a setting you turn on before editing, not a view you switch on afterward. Use the view option to hide markup, and accept or reject changes to clear them before you share the file.
