Specifying How Changes are Marked

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 13, 2026)

Linda prefers to mark changes in her documents (when she turns on Track Changes) with only a vertical bar at the side of the text. This is not the default method for marking changes, so Linda is wondering how she can make the necessary configuration changes so the markup appears as she wants.

This can easily be done by using the Change Tracking Options dialog box. Here are the steps to follow:

Display the Review tab of the ribbon.
If you are using Word 2007 or Word 2010, click the down-arrow under the Track Changes tool in the Tracking group. Word displays a list of options. Choose Change Tracking Options. Word displays the Track Changes Options dialog box. Skip to step 5.
If you are using Word 2013 click the icon in the bottom-right corner of the Tracking group. Choose Advanced Options. Word displays the Advanced Track Changes Options dialog box. Skip to step 5.
If you are using Word 2016 or a later version click the Tracking tool and then click the icon in the bottom-right corner of the Tracking group. Choose Advanced Options. Word displays the Advanced Track Changes Options dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Track Changes Options dialog box.

Near the top of the dialog box, use the Insertions drop-down list to choose (none).
Use the Deletions drop-down list to choose either (none) or Hidden.
Use the Changed Lines drop-down list to choose any of the options except (none). (Outside Border is a good choice.)
Click OK.

That's it. Your change marking should be just like you preferred it in older versions of Word.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6091) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Telling which Worksheets are Selected

If your macro processes information on a number of worksheets, chances are good that you need your macro to figure out ...

Discover More

Non-PivotTable Slicers and Timelines

When working with a PivotTable, slicers and timelines can make short work of large data sets. This tip looks at all the ...

Discover More

Highlighting Values that are 10x a Baseline Value

Sometimes the hardest part of getting your conditional formatting rules to work properly is figuring out the proper way ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Consolidating Changes under a Single User

When using Track Changes, you may want to have your edits appear to be those of a different user. Here's how to fool Word ...

Discover More

Protecting Tracked Changes

Track Changes is a great tool for editors and collaborators to use when creating documents. An author, seeking changes ...

Discover More

Turning Off Track Changes Change Bars

Word includes a feature that allows you to track changes made to a document. One of the ways in which Word marks your ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 3 + 7?

2026-06-15 10:32:51

Beepee

I am using Office 2021 and make the following observations:

With these settings in place there does not seem to be a way to easily see:
1. where the additions were made (although what was added will show in the Revisions pane).
2. What/where deletions were made. Again, they show in the Revisions pane but no indication as to where they were.

An alternative way to display just a vertical bar to the side of changes is to select anything other than (none) in the Advanced Track Changes Options dialog box, and then select Simple Markup from the Display for Review drop-down menu.
It seems (to me )this is a 'sticky' option so will stay in place, but still allows the option to see what and where the changes apply using the 'All Markup' option.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.