Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Changing Revision Bar Thickness.

Changing Revision Bar Thickness

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 2, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365


Peter uses the revision bar capability in Track Changes when he prints a manual he is revising. (The revision bar is displayed to the left of any paragraph that contains changes.) Peter wonders if there is a way to increase the thickness of the bar that Word displays.

The short answer is that there is no way to increase the revision bar's thickness. It seems to be "hard coded" as part of the Track Changes feature and can't be changed. The only possible workaround is to get rid of any tracked changes (resolve them all by either accepting or rejecting the changes), turn off Track Changes, and use manual formatting to apply a left border to the paragraphs that you know contain changes. This could be made just slightly easier by creating a style that includes the border and applying the style to those paragraphs.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8175) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Changing Revision Bar Thickness.

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. ...

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