Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: Showing Only Added Text with Track Changes.
When working with Track Changes while editing a document, you may want to configure Word so that you see only the text you are adding and that any text you delete is simply hidden. You can accomplish this by following these steps if you are using Word 2007 or Word 2010:
Figure 1. The Track Changes Options dialog box.
If you are using Word 2013 then the steps are a bit different:
Figure 2. The Advanced Track Changes Options dialog box.
That's it; Word will now show your additions to the document but hide anything you delete. For some types of editing this can result in a much easier-to-understand document.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8340) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Showing Only Added Text with Track Changes.
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2017-09-14 22:38:31
Laura Billington
Hi,
Is there any way to stop track changes in Word (O365 version, not sure what year any more) from displaying the whole paragraph in the right border when I've only deleted a couple of words? It's extremely messy. I don't want to hide the deletions, but just show the deleted words like it used to show in previous versions.
Thanks,
Laura.
2015-06-12 16:06:31
Steve
In Word 2013, how do I get it to show the insertions inline, and deletions in the balloons (like previous versions)? I don't want to see insertions in the balloons (which makes them useless).
2013-11-13 18:30:09
Ram
Useful tip. Thank you!
2013-10-14 13:58:54
Miguel Angel Rivera
Very good and useful tip, thank you.
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.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: 
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