Fix Word for Mac Review Pane Opening Automatically with Track Changes
Question details
The user needs to prevent the Review pane from opening automatically and slowing down editing in Word for Mac when working on a long manuscript with extensive tracked changes.
- Product
- Microsoft Word for Mac 2016
- Device & OS
- macOS
- Scenario
- Editing a long manuscript containing an extremely large number of tracked changes and comments.
- Observed behavior
- The Review pane triggers and opens automatically because the application struggles to display the high volume of markup, causing significant performance drops and slow editing.
Before proceeding, save a backup copy of your long manuscript to ensure your existing tracked changes and comments are safely preserved during troubleshooting.
Turn Off Track Changes While Editing Existing Markup
Temporarily disabling the Track Changes feature reduces the display load on Word, preventing the Review pane from triggering automatically.
When a document contains an extremely large number of tracked changes or comments, Word for Mac may struggle to render the volume of markup on the standard page view. This limitation forces the Review pane to open as a fallback, which can severely slow down your editing process.
Open your manuscript in Word for Mac and click on the 'Review' tab located in the top ribbon.
Click the 'Track Changes' toggle button to turn the feature off. This stops the recording of new edits.
Continue reading and reviewing your document. You can still manually accept or reject the existing changes without the feature being actively enabled.
Update Microsoft Word and macOS
Applying the latest software updates ensures you have the most recent performance patches for handling large documents.
Submit Feedback for Feature Limitations
Report the performance limitation directly to Microsoft so their development team can address markup volume handling in future updates.
Use WPS Office to Seamlessly Handle Heavy Track Changes
If Microsoft Word for Mac continues to slow down or forcefully open the Review pane, consider switching to WPS Office. It is a highly optimized, lightweight alternative that handles extensive tracked changes and large manuscripts smoothly without performance lagging.
- 1. Download WPS Office: Download and install WPS Office for Mac from the official website.
- 2. Open Your Manuscript: Launch WPS Writer, click 'Open', and select your existing .docx document containing the tracked changes.
- 3. Edit Smoothly: Navigate to the Review tab to seamlessly manage your tracked changes and comments without experiencing unexpected pane pop-ups or slowdowns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the Review pane keep opening automatically in Word for Mac?
The Review pane typically triggers automatically when Word struggles to render an extremely high volume of tracked changes and comments on the main page. The application uses the pane as a fallback to display the complex markup without crashing.
Will I lose my tracked changes if I turn off the Track Changes feature?
No, turning off Track Changes only stops the application from recording new edits. All your existing tracked changes and comments remain visible in the document until you manually accept, reject, or delete them.
Is there a limit to how many tracked changes Word for Mac can handle?
While there is no strict numerical limit, very large numbers of tracked edits in long manuscripts can cause significant performance degradation, lagging, and auto-triggering of the Review pane, particularly in older versions like Word 2016.
How do I temporarily hide the Review pane in Word for Mac?
You can close the Review pane by clicking the 'X' in its corner or by toggling the 'Reviewing Pane' button off from the Review tab. However, if the underlying performance issues persist due to heavy markup, it may reopen automatically.
