How-to
Track changes and comments: how reviewing a document works
The short answer
Track changes records every edit as a suggestion that you can accept or reject, and comments add notes beside the text. Turn on Reviewing mode, make your edits, then go through them one by one. Accept or reject everything before you send a final copy.
Anyone who has passed a document back and forth knows the mess: three versions named final, final2 and final-final. Track changes and comments exist to end that. They let several people work on one file and keep a record of what changed.
The two tools
- Track changes records edits as suggestions. Added text is underlined in colour, deleted text is struck through, and each change has a name attached.
- Comments are notes in the margin, tied to a word or sentence. They do not change the text.
Turning on review mode in Wrdio
On a computer, the tab row ends with an Editing menu. Choose Reviewing and every edit you make becomes a suggestion. The Comments button opens the comments pane, and the Review tab has the tools to move between changes, accept them and reject them.
How to review a document you received
- Open the file and press Edit.
- Go to the Review tab and step through the changes from the top.
- For each one, Accept or Reject.
- Read each comment, reply or act on it, and then delete it.
- When nothing is left, scroll the document once to check it reads well.
How to suggest changes to someone else's document
- Open the file, press Edit and switch to Reviewing.
- Make your edits. They show as suggestions.
- Add comments where you want to explain a change.
- Export a copy as DOCX and send it back. Use a new file name so the original stays safe.
Habits that keep reviews calm
- One owner. Decide who accepts and rejects. Too many hands creates confusion.
- Short comments. Say what you want changed and why.
- Do not mix reviewing and reformatting. Big style changes drown the real edits in markup.
- Clean before you share. Accept or reject everything, and clear comments.
Privacy tip. Tracked changes contain the text you deleted. If you send a document with them still in it, the other person can read what you took out. See how to remove personal information from a document.
When you need more
For long collaborations with many people editing at once, a cloud suite is better. For one person reviewing one file, doing it in your browser is quick and keeps the document on your device.
Questions people ask
What does track changes do?
It marks insertions and deletions in colour and records who made them, so the author can accept or reject each one.
How do I turn on track changes in Wrdio?
On a computer, use the Editing menu in the tab row and choose Reviewing. Your edits then become suggestions.
Do tracked changes disappear when I save as PDF?
Not always. A PDF can show the markup. Resolve the changes first if you want a clean copy.
How do I delete all comments?
Use the Review tab to delete comments one by one or all at once, then check the document before you send it.