How to Remove Tracked Changes and Comments in Word Before Sending
Question details
The user needs to permanently remove all tracked changes and comments from a Word document before sending it to others.
- Product
- Microsoft Word
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Preparing a document for external sharing or emailing where internal revision history and comments must be kept strictly confidential.
- Observed behavior
- Setting the document view to 'No Markup' only hides the changes on the screen but does not remove them, leading to unintended disclosure of sensitive edits when the recipient opens the file.
Verify that all collaborators have completely finished their reviews, as clearing tracked changes and deleting comments cannot be undone once the document is saved.
Accept or Reject All Changes and Delete Comments
The most secure and thorough way to ensure your markup is completely removed before sharing.
To ensure no one can view your document's revision history, you must permanently resolve the changes rather than just hiding them.
Open your document and click on the 'Review' tab located in the top ribbon.
Click the drop-down arrow under the 'Accept' button and select 'Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking'. Alternatively, you can choose 'Reject All Changes' if you want to revert to the original text.
In the Comments section of the same tab, click the drop-down arrow under 'Delete' and choose 'Delete All Comments in Document'.
Press Ctrl+S (or Cmd+S on Mac) to save the clean version of the document before attaching it to your email.
Enable Security Warnings for Tracked Changes
Set up a safeguard that alerts you if a document contains hidden markup before you print, close, or share it.
Use WPS Office to Safely Remove Document Markup
WPS Office provides an intuitive and free platform for managing document revisions. You can quickly accept or reject changes and clear out all comments to ensure your confidential information stays safe before sharing.
- 1. Open your Document: Launch WPS Writer and open the document containing the tracked changes.
- 2. Navigate to the Review Tab: Click on the 'Review' tab at the top of the workspace.
- 3. Accept All Changes: Click the drop-down arrow under the 'Accept' icon and select 'Accept All Changes'.
- 4. Clear All Comments: Click the drop-down under 'Delete' in the Comments section and choose 'Delete All Comments'.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my tracked changes still show up after I selected 'No Markup'?
Selecting 'No Markup' (or 'Simple Markup') only hides the tracked changes on your current screen to make reading easier; it does not permanently remove them from the file. To completely remove them, you must formally accept or reject the changes from the Review tab.
Can I just copy and paste my text to a new document to remove tracking?
Copying text with tracked changes may carry the hidden markup over to the new document depending on your paste settings. It is safer to accept all changes in the original document before copying, or you must paste the text as unformatted text to strip away all background tracking.
Is there a way to remove all personal information and hidden metadata from the document?
Yes, you can use the Document Inspector feature. Go to File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document. This tool scans the file and allows you to strip out hidden metadata, personal author information, and any remaining comments or revisions before sharing.
