Track changes displaying large sections of undeleted text

antrad51​  Thanks for raising this issue. it's definitely frustrating when Track Changes doesn't behave as expected, especially during proofreading.

What you're seeing (large blocks of undeleted text appearing in the margin) is a known behavior in Microsoft Word when dealing with extensive edits or formatting changes. It can happen when:

• The document has complex formatting or nested styles.
• The changes involve paragraph-level edits, which Word sometimes displays as full blocks.
• The markup view settings are set to show revisions in a way that’s not optimal for clarity.

Here are a few things you can try:

1. Change the Markup View:
   • Go to Review > Tracking > Show Markup > Balloons.
   • Select "Show only comments and formatting in balloons" or "Show all revisions inline" to reduce clutter.
2. Accept Formatting Changes Separately:
   • Sometimes formatting changes cause large blocks to appear. You can go to Review > Accept > Accept All Formatting Changes to clean that up without affecting text edits.
3. Split the Document:
   • If the document is very large, consider splitting it into smaller sections. This can help Word handle changes more efficiently.
4. Use Simple Styles:
   • Avoid overly complex styles or nested formatting, which can confuse Word’s change tracking.

Let me know if you'd like help applying any of these steps or if you want to test a cleaned-up version of the document. Happy to assist further!

I’ve run into this issue myself when working with tracked changes in Word, and I know how confusing it can look for clients. What usually causes this is the way Word is set to display revisions. By default, deletions sometimes show up in balloons on the right-hand side instead of being struck through in the text.

Here’s what worked for me:

Go to the Review tab.

Open the small arrow under Tracking → Track Changes Options (or "Show Markup" depending on your version).

In the Balloons section, change it from Show revisions in balloons to Show all revisions inline.

Now deletions should appear directly in the text with a strikethrough, which makes them much easier to read.

After that, your client will see the actual text that was deleted rather than long balloons taking up space on the side.

In Microsoft 365 Word, first click on the "Review" tab at the top, find "Show Markup" and uncheck "Insertions and Deletions". For redundant revision records, you can use the "Compare Documents" function to clean them up. This will make the revised content clearer, making it easier for clients to view the deleted content and make choices.

In Word, go to Review > Show Markup and uncheck “Inserts and Deletions,” or use the Compare Documents feature to clean up redundant revision records.