# How to redline a Word document

Track Changes on Windows, Mac, and the web, redlines made by comparing two versions, and how to share one as a PDF or through Google Docs

By Artur Sapek. Published 2026-10-16. Updated 2026-10-16.

Summary

- A redline is a document that shows proposed insertions and deletions. In Word you make one by turning on Track Changes before editing, or by comparing two versions.
- Track Changes is in desktop Word, and Word for the web has a limited version that is free with a Microsoft account. Tracking changes in the Word mobile apps needs a Microsoft 365 subscription.
- Hiding the markup doesn’t remove tracked changes. Check the document with All Markup before sending it, and accept or reject every change when you want a clean copy.

“Redline” is legal and business shorthand for a marked-up draft that shows what someone proposes to add and remove. In Word, a redline is a document with tracked changes. Word’s feature for this is called Track Changes, and its version comparison is labeled “legal blackline.”

I build Revise, a browser word processor that imports and exports Word tracked changes, so I work with redlines a lot. The steps below come from Microsoft’s and Google’s own help pages, checked on October 4, 2026.

## Ways to redline a Word document

| Where | How you redline | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Word for Windows or Mac | Track Changes, or Compare for two versions | Microsoft 365 or a one-time-purchase version of Word |
| Word for the web | Reviewing mode, a limited set of Track Changes features | Free with a Microsoft account |
| Word mobile apps | Track Changes | Needs a Microsoft 365 subscription |
| Google Docs | Suggesting mode, which becomes Word tracked changes on download | Free with a Google account |
| Revise | Suggesting mode, which exports as Word tracked changes | Free plan with a daily AI limit |

Table 1: Ways to redline a Word document. Checked October 4, 2026.

## How to redline in Word with Track Changes

Turn on [Track Changes](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/track-changes-in-word-197ba630-0f5f-4a8e-9a77-3712475e806a) before you edit, and Word records every insertion and deletion as a revision.

1. Open the document. On Windows, select Review, then Tracking, then Track Changes. On a Mac or in Word for the web, select Track Changes on the Review tab.
2. Edit as usual. New text is marked as an insertion and removed text as a deletion.
3. Choose how the markup looks. Simple Markup shows a red line in the margin next to changed lines. All Markup shows every change in color. No Markup shows the document as if all changes were accepted, and Original shows it as if none were.
4. Save the file and reopen it. Switch to All Markup, and under Show Markup make sure all reviewers and all types of changes (insertions and deletions, and formatting) are shown, then check that your changes are there.
5. Send it. The recipient sees your changes and can accept or reject each one.

No Markup only hides the changes. Turning Track Changes off stops recording new edits, but the changes already tracked stay in the document until someone accepts or rejects them.

To stop others from turning tracking off on Windows, select Review, Tracking, Track Changes, Lock Tracking, then enter and confirm a password. While tracking is locked, changes can’t be accepted or rejected until it is unlocked. On a Mac, Microsoft documents Review, Protect, Protect Document for the same purpose. Enter and confirm a password, then select OK. Comments are a separate feature from Track Changes, so add them from the Review tab when you want to explain a change.

## Set your reviewer name before you redline

Word labels each change with a user name, which matters when several people redline the same draft. On Windows, set it under [File, Options, General](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/word-options-general), in the section for personalizing your copy of Office. If you are signed in to Office with an account whose name you don’t want on the changes, turn on the option there to always use these values regardless of sign-in. The name applies to changes you make afterwards, not ones already in the document.

## Accepting or rejecting a redline

When you get a redline back, go to Review, Tracking on Windows, and choose Accept or Reject for one change at a time, or Accept All Changes to take everything. You can also right-click a change and accept or reject it. Accepting a change makes it part of the text, and rejecting it restores the original wording. Once every change is resolved, no tracked changes remain. Comments are separate and need to be deleted on their own.

## Make a redline by comparing two versions

If someone edited a document without tracking, you can still produce a redline. In Word for Windows, select Review, Compare, Compare two versions of a document (legal blackline), and choose the original and revised files. If either file already has tracked changes, Word asks to accept them first. Keep the output set to a new document, the default, and Word leaves both source files unchanged and puts the differences in a third document as tracked changes. Word’s separate Combine command is for merging edits from several reviewers’ copies.

Without desktop Word, our free [compare tool](https://revise.io/compare-documents) compares the body text of two documents in a browser and opens the differences as tracked changes you can export to .docx. It doesn’t track differences in headers, footers, footnotes, images, or page layout.

## How to share a redline as a PDF

A PDF gives the reader a fixed-layout copy of the redline to read or print. In Word for Windows, choose File, Save As, pick PDF, then select More Options and Options, and set [Publish what](https://support.microsoft.com/office/d85416c5-7d77-4fd6-a216-6f4bf7c7c110) to Document showing markup. Open the PDF afterwards to check that the changes appear. To print a redline, choose [Print Markup](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/Word/print-a-document-in-word) under Settings on the Print screen.

## Redlining in Word for the web and on mobile

Microsoft says [Word for the web](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/can-i-use-track-changes-in-word-for-the-web) includes a limited set of Track Changes features. Switch the mode menu at the top from Editing to Reviewing, and your edits appear as tracked changes. In the Word mobile apps, Microsoft lists track changes as a feature that needs a Microsoft 365 subscription.

## Redlining in Google Docs

Google Docs calls tracked changes [suggestions](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6033474). Select Editing at the top right and switch to Suggesting, and your edits become suggestions the owner can accept or reject. To suggest on someone else’s document, you need commenter or editor access. Google says suggestions become tracked changes when the document is downloaded as a Word file, and Word tracked changes become suggestions when a Word file is converted to Google Docs format, so a redline can move between the two. To get the Word file, choose File, Download, [Microsoft Word (.docx)](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/49114), then open it and check the tracked changes and layout.

## Redlining in a browser with Revise

Revise is a browser word processor that imports Word tracked changes and comments with their authors and dates. In [Suggesting mode](https://revise.io/articles/suggesting-mode), your text and formatting edits are recorded as tracked changes. Header, footer, and page-layout changes apply immediately and aren’t tracked. The AI agent can propose its own redline, such as tightening a clause, as text and formatting suggestions you accept or reject. Pending suggestions export to Word as tracked changes. Revise’s PDF export leaves out pending suggestions and comments, so send a redline as .docx. It [preserves the Word features it documents](https://revise.io/articles/docx-compatibility), including tracked changes, comments, and footnotes. It is a separate editor rather than a Word add-in, and its higher-end AI models need a paid plan.

## The bottom line

To redline in Word, set your reviewer name, turn on Track Changes before editing, and check the result with All Markup before you send it. If the edits were made without tracking, compare the two versions to produce the redline instead. For a fixed-layout copy to read or print, save a PDF with Document showing markup from Word for Windows.

Sources

Prices and plan details were checked against each vendor’s own pages on October 4, 2026. Prices are in US dollars as each vendor lists them, and some include local tax. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on the linked page before you buy.

- Microsoft Word: [AI capabilities and access](https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/word/welcome-to-copilot-in-word), [Previous versions](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/collab-files/view-previous-versions-of-office-files), [Track Changes](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/track-changes-in-word-197ba630-0f5f-4a8e-9a77-3712475e806a), [Navigation pane](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/use-the-navigation-pane-in-word-394787be-bca7-459b-894e-3f8511515e55), [Real-time co-authoring](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/collaborate-on-word-documents-with-real-time-co-authoring-7dd3040c-3f30-4fdd-bab0-8586492a1f1d), [Save as PDF](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/save-or-convert-to-pdf-or-xps-in-office-desktop-apps-d85416c5-7d77-4fd6-a216-6f4bf7c7c110), [Compare documents (legal blackline)](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/compare-document-differences-using-the-legal-blackline-option-dbfc7351-4022-43a2-a0c4-54d1898702a0), [Microsoft 365 plans](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/buy/compare-all-microsoft-365-products), [Word for the web](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/free-office-online-for-the-web), [Revise's AI review test](https://revise.io/blog/ai-document-review-tools-compared#copilot), [Copilot in Word](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/welcome-to-copilot-in-word-2135e85f-a467-463b-b2f0-c51a46d625d1), [Track Changes in Word for the web](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/can-i-use-track-changes-in-word-for-the-web), [Word options: General](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/word-options-general), [Print a document](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/Word/print-a-document-in-word), [Office for the web in OneDrive](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/using-office-for-the-web-in-onedrive), [Microsoft 365 mobile apps](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/microsoft-365-mobile-apps-0ffcba82-380f-43dd-ab96-dbac0894b542), [Removed Windows features (WordPad)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/removed-features), [Word for the web service description](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/office-online-service-description/word-online), [Similarity checking](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/check-your-document-for-similarity-to-online-sources), [Editing with Copilot and Track Changes (Microsoft 365 Copilot)](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/copilot/transcript-for-copilot-with-word-with-screen-reader), [Copilot and document length](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/how-reference-and-document-lengths-affect-copilot-responses), [When you need a Microsoft 365 subscription](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-activation-licensing/when-do-i-need-a-microsoft-365-subscription)
- Google Docs: [Edit Office files](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/9406611), [Version history](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/190843), [Suggest edits](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6033474), [Workspace pricing](https://workspace.google.com/pricing), [Google AI plans](https://one.google.com/about/google-ai-plans/), [Gemini in Docs](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/14206696), [Gemini features by plan](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/13952129), [Gemini usage limits in Google apps](https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/14796585), [Edit Office files in Google Drive](https://support.google.com/drive/answer/9276408)
- Revise: [Pricing](https://revise.io/pricing), [Supported models](https://revise.io/articles/supported-ai-models), [Agent capabilities](https://revise.io/articles/agent-capabilities), [Word compatibility](https://revise.io/articles/docx-compatibility), [Import and export](https://revise.io/articles/import-export), [MCP server](https://revise.io/articles/mcp-server), [Suggesting mode](https://revise.io/articles/suggesting-mode), [AI usage limits](https://revise.io/articles/ai-usage-limits)

## Frequently asked questions

### What does it mean to redline a document?

To redline a document is to mark proposed changes on it so the reader can see what would be added and removed. In Word, a redline is a document with tracked changes, made by turning on Track Changes before editing or by comparing two versions.

### How do I turn on Track Changes in Word?

On Windows, select Review, then Tracking, then Track Changes. On a Mac or in Word for the web, select Track Changes on the Review tab. Word for the web also has a Reviewing mode, in which edits appear as tracked changes.

### How do I redline two versions of a document?

In Word for Windows, select Review, Compare, Compare two versions of a document (legal blackline), and choose the original and revised files. With the result going to a new document, the default, Word creates a third document with the differences as tracked changes and leaves both originals unchanged.

### How do I save a redline as a PDF?

In Word for Windows, choose File, Save As, PDF, then More Options and Options, and set Publish what to Document showing markup. Open the PDF to check that the tracked changes appear.

### Does turning off Track Changes remove the redline?

No. Turning off Track Changes only stops recording new edits, and No Markup only hides changes from view. Existing tracked changes stay in the document until each one is accepted or rejected.

### How do I set my reviewer name before redlining?

On Windows, go to File, Options, General and enter your name and initials. If your Office sign-in shows a different name, turn on the option to always use these values regardless of sign-in. The name applies to changes made afterwards.

### Can I redline in Google Docs?

Yes. Switch from Editing to Suggesting mode and your edits become suggestions. You need commenter or editor access to suggest on someone else's document. Google says suggestions become tracked changes when you download the document as a Word file.