Forum Discussion
antrad51
Feb 22, 2025Copper Contributor
Track changes displaying large sections of undeleted text
I am proofreading a translation from French to English and track changes is displaying large sections of undeleted text on the right. This is extremely irritating and embarrassing as I send off the t...
SoaebRathod
Sep 01, 2025MCT
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Split the Document:
- If the document is very large, consider splitting it into smaller sections. This can help Word handle changes more efficiently.
- 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!