Track Changes is a handy feature to use when editing a Word document. The marks let you know what edits have been made and are particularly useful if you have multiple editors working on the same document. You may, at times, want to print a document before the changes have been resolved and not have the Track Changes marks show on the printout.
You can accomplish this task by following these steps if you are using Word 2007:
Figure 1. The Print dialog box.
The printout should not show your Track Changes marks. The marks are only printed if the Print What drop-down list (step 2) is set to Document Showing Markup.
If you are using Word 2010 or Word 2013, then the steps are different:
The printout should not show your Track Changes marks. The marks are only printed if the check mark appears next to the Print Markup options in step 3.
It is important to understand that Word changes the value of this drop-down list (Word 2007) or check mark (Word 2010 and Word 2013), by default, depending on whether there are any tracked changes in your document or not. If there are not, then Document is the default setting for the drop-down (Word 2007) or the check mark is cleared (Word 2010 and Word 2013). If there are tracked changes (whether you have Track Changes currently on or not) then Document Showing Markup (Word 2007) or Print Markup (Word 2010 and Word 2013) is the default. This is why, if you have tracked changes and you want them not to show in the printout, you need to check the settings in the dialog box (Word 2007) or on the File tab of the ribbon (Word 2010 and Word 2013) instead of printing without checking.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9892) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Printing without Track Changes Marks.
Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!
When you are printing a document, it is not unusual to see messages (dialog boxes) periodically. When you want the ...
Discover MoreOne of the lesser-known features of Word is that it allows you to create a document for one page size and scale the ...
Discover MoreWhen you print a document, does it come out of the printer in the order you need? Here's how to reverse the print order ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2016-04-05 15:20:35
Sam
I'm trying to track a change, a print only the bar in the left margin that indicates a change was made, not the change itself - just the new data or language. Is this possible?
2016-01-07 15:53:58
Grace Rawlins
My problem is I am not able to print track changes sometimes. I understand there is an option, but often times, when I want to print as shown on the print preview with the track changes or comments, the actual print is like a clean copy so I can't see revisions made. Can you help?
2015-10-13 11:29:03
Colin
Yes, as Dennis mentioned above, the options on the ribbon under the 'Review' tab are more convenient for 'on-the-fly' views, and they are available at least up to Word 2013 (I haven't looked at Office 2016 yet).
Furthermore, the user can select which types of changes are displayed (or not) - insertions/deletions, formatting changes etc. can be individually displayed or hidden. This is also very useful for the 'accept all shown/reject all shown' function to accept, for example, only formatting changes while keeping insertions/deletions active.
2015-10-10 04:27:42
Dennis
Another way to achieve this in Word 2007 is from the Tracking group on the Review tab. It defaults to 'Final Showing Markup' but if you change that from the drop down menu to 'Final' and print it will print without showing the Track Changes marks.
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2022 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments