How to Accept All Changes in Word (and What It Leaves Behind)

When a document comes back from a client, an editor or a business partner covered in red and blue markup, the temptation is to accept everything and move on. Word makes that a two-click job. The question is whether you should, and what you need to check before and after.

I've accepted all changes on a contract draft only to find a deleted clause I hadn't noticed. Since then I always do a quick read first. Here's how to accept every tracked change in one go, how to accept only some, and the leftovers people often miss.

Accepting all tracked changes in Word on Windows

1. Open the Review tab.
2. In the Tracking group, select the small arrow under Accept, not the main button.
3. Choose Accept All Changes.

Every insertion, deletion and formatting change becomes part of the document, and the coloured markup disappears. Microsoft notes that accepting makes a change permanent, so treat this as the point of no return for the draft you're working on.

The three accept-all options in Word explained

The Accept menu offers more than one way to clear everything, and they're easy to mix up.

Option	What it does	When I'd use it
Accept All Changes	Accepts every tracked change in the document	You've read the edits and you're happy with them all
Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking	Accepts everything and turns Track Changes off	The editing round is finished and you're preparing the final version
Accept All Changes Shown	Accepts only the changes currently displayed	You've filtered to one reviewer and want to accept just theirs

That last one is useful when several people have edited the same file. Filter the view to the reviewer you trust, accept what's shown, then deal with the rest separately. Microsoft says Accept All Changes Shown is hidden when the reviewer filter is set to All Reviewers, so pick a person first.

Accepting all changes in Word for Mac

1. Go to the Review tab, where the reviewing tools sit.
2. Select the arrow beside Accept.
3. Choose Accept All Changes, Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking, or Accept All Changes Shown.

The options match Windows, so the same choice applies: stop tracking only when the editing really is over.

Accepting changes in Word for the web

Microsoft's help for the browser version describes going through changes one by one: select Accept or Reject from the Track Changes menu, and Word moves to the next change. If you've got hundreds of edits, open the file in the desktop app and use the accept-all options there instead.

Reading the edits before you accept them all

This is the habit that saves you. Before clicking Accept All, switch the markup view so you can see what's changing. The view options sit in the Markup group on the Review tab.

• All Markup shows every change inline, in a different colour for each reviewer.
• Simple Markup shows a red line in the margin where something changed, with the text looking clean.
• No Markup shows the document as if every change were already accepted. It's the best preview of the final version.
• Original shows the document as it was before the edits.

Here's the trap Microsoft points out: No Markup only hides the changes, and anything not accepted or rejected stays in the document. I've seen people send a file in No Markup view thinking it was clean, and the recipient saw every edit.

If you'd like to step through them selectively, use Previous and Next in the Tracking group and select Accept or Reject for each one. To understand how the edits were recorded in the first place, my guide to tracking changes in Word covers the reviewer side.

Accepting changes in Word on client and contract documents

For anything with legal or commercial weight, I wouldn't accept everything blind. Read the deletions first, because a removed sentence is easy to miss in a sea of markup. Then accept the edits you agree with one at a time, and reply in a comment to anything you want to push back on. Keep a copy of the marked-up version before you accept anything, so there's a record of who changed what if a question comes up later. It takes a few minutes longer, and it's the version of you that never gets caught out by a quietly deleted clause.

What accept all changes in Word doesn't clear

Two things often survive an accept-all, and they're worth checking every time.

• Comments. Microsoft says comments are no longer part of Track Changes, so accepting changes leaves them in place. Delete them separately from the Review tab, or with More thread actions on each comment.
• Leftover markings. Microsoft notes a document can still show coloured underlines and strikethrough even with Track Changes off. Those are unresolved changes, so accept or reject them to make them go.

When Accept All won't work in Word

• Accept is greyed out. Tracking may be locked. Microsoft says that while tracked changes are locked, you can't accept or reject them or turn tracking off. Ask whoever locked it for the password, or on Windows go to Tracking, Track Changes, Lock Tracking to switch the lock off if you set it.
• Accept All Changes Shown is missing. Change the reviewer filter from All Reviewers to a specific person.
• New changes keep appearing. Track Changes is still on. Use Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking.
• You're not sure what changed overall. Save the accepted version separately, then use Word's compare tool against the original to see every difference side by side.

Frequently asked questions

How do I accept all changes in Word at once?

On the Review tab, select the arrow under Accept and choose Accept All Changes. Choose Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking if you've finished editing.

Does accepting all changes delete comments?

No. Microsoft says comments are no longer part of Track Changes, so delete them separately.

Can I accept all changes in Word for the web?

Microsoft's help describes accepting changes one at a time online, with Word moving to the next change each time. Use the desktop app to accept everything in one go.

Why is Accept greyed out in Word?

Tracking is probably locked. Microsoft says you can't accept or reject changes while tracked changes are locked.

Is No Markup the same as accepting changes?

No. No Markup only hides the markup. Microsoft says changes that haven't been accepted or rejected remain in the document.