Printing Just the Changes and Comments

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 21, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


Lorraine produces numerous large documents (several hundreds of pages long) in her company. These are circulated internally for review, with everyone using Track Changes and inserting comments. Lorraine wonders if there is a way to print just the pages with corrections and/or comments, as she likes to have a printed version of any comments received.

There is no direct way to only print pages that have changes or comments on them. There is a workaround that you may find helpful, however. Follow these steps:

  1. Press Ctrl+P. Word displays your printing settings.
  2. Under the Settings heading is a drop-down list that is set, by default, to Print All Pages. (This is the very first drop-down list under the Settings heading.)
  3. Using this drop-down list, choose List of Markup.
  4. Click the Print button.

What you end up with is a printout of the various pages in your document that have markup (comments or changes) on them. Note that this is simply a list of pages; it is not the actual pages. Now you can choose to print out those pages:

  1. Press Ctrl+P. Word displays your printing settings.
  2. Under the Settings heading is a drop-down list that is set, by default, to Print All Pages. (This is the very first drop-down list under the Settings heading.)
  3. Using this drop-down list, choose Custom Print. Word makes the Pages control available.
  4. In the Pages control, enter the page numbers that include the markup you want printed. (These are the page numbers that were generated just a moment ago.) Separate each page number by a comma, as in 3, 5, 12. If you have a contiguous range of pages you want printed, you can also specify the range, as in 3, 6, 12, 15-19, 27.
  5. Click the Print button.

This may seem a bit clunky, but it is unfortunately the best that can be done natively within Word. If you have a common need to print pages that just include changes, you might consider an add-in to handle this for you. One suggested by some readers is this DocTools add-in:

https://wordaddins.com/products/extract-tracked-changes-and-comments/

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13586) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Cannot View Graphics in a Document

Got a problem where you can't view any of the graphics you insert in your document? The solution could be simple, or you ...

Discover More

Cannot Convert a Document File to a Readable Document

Open a Word document file, and you can start to make edits and changes to your heart's content. But what happens if the ...

Discover More

Offering Options in a Macro

When creating macros, you often need to offer a series of choices to a user. This tip demonstrates how easy it is to ...

Discover More

Discover the Power of Microsoft Office This beginner-friendly guide reveals the expert tips and strategies you need to skyrocket your productivity and use Office 365 like a pro. Mastering software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is essential to be more efficient and advance your career. Simple lessons guide you through every step, providing the knowledge you need to get started. Check out Microsoft Office 365 For Beginners today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Forcing a Final Blank Page

When printing or combining documents, you may need to worry about how many pages are in the documents. This tip provides ...

Discover More

Making Banners in Word

Word can be used for printing a variety of document types. You may want to use the program to print a festive banner for ...

Discover More

Changing Print Dialog Box Defaults

Some of the built-in defaults in Word can't be changed. Often times, however, you can work around these defaults by using ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 9 + 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.