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How to Hide Word Formatting Changes While Keeping Comments Visible
Question details
The user wants to prevent formatting revisions from appearing in margin balloons when reopening a Word document, without hiding the document's comments.
- Product
- Word
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Reviewing a document with tracked changes and comments.
- Observed behavior
- Formatting changes reappear in margin balloons every time the document is reopened, even after temporarily hiding them in the Show Markup menu.
Ensure you have the document open with Track Changes enabled and that it contains both comments and formatting revisions.
Set Revisions to Show Inline
Display formatting and text changes inline rather than in margin balloons, allowing modern comments to remain visible.
Deselecting 'Formatting' from the Show Markup menu only temporarily hides formatting changes; they will automatically reappear when you reopen the document. By forcing revisions to display inline, you eliminate the margin balloons for formatting while keeping comments visible on the side.
Navigate to the **Review** tab on the top ribbon of your Word document.
Click on **Show Markup** located within the Tracking group.
Select **Balloons** from the dropdown menu, then choose **Show All Revisions Inline**. This will hide formatting balloons in the margin.
Easily Manage Tracked Changes and Comments in WPS Writer
WPS Office offers intuitive tools to manage document revisions and comments seamlessly. You can easily toggle markup views to focus on the content that matters most without unnecessary margin clutter.
- 1. Open Track Changes: Open your document in WPS Writer and go to the **Review** tab.
- 2. Select Markup Preferences: Use the **Show Markup** dropdown to customize exactly which revisions and comments are displayed.
- 3. Adjust Balloon View: Click on **Balloons** to select your preferred view for inline revisions or margin callouts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do formatting changes keep coming back when I reopen the document?
Deselecting 'Formatting' under the Show Markup menu is only a temporary view setting designed for active reading. Word automatically resets this view and displays all tracked formatting changes the next time you open the document.
Can I permanently accept just the formatting changes?
Yes. You can temporarily hide all other changes (insertions, deletions, and comments) using the Show Markup menu, then click the arrow below 'Accept' and choose 'Accept All Changes Shown' to process only the formatting revisions.
What are modern comments in Word?
Modern comments provide a unified commenting experience, displaying comments in the right margin separate from the document's text and formatting track changes, allowing them to remain visible even when formatting balloons are turned off.
