Removing track changes balloons in the margin

Anonymous
2025-05-27T11:04:59+00:00

Hi,

I have tried everything to get rid of these annoying reviewing balloons that come up in the margins on my Mac computer.

I want to keep the track changes as strikethrough, coloured insertions etc.. Simply want to get rid of these formatting/ deletion/ insertion balloons. I have tried the "Mark Up Options>Balloons>Show all revisions In-line," but all that does it hide the formatting. When I go to upload it onto our internal system it resets and all those irritating balloons show up again.

What steps do I take on a Mac computer to get rid of these balloons all together and simply show track changes as strikethrough, like it was doing on my Windows computer previously.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | MacOS

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Stefan Blom 357.7K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2025-05-27T12:34:34+00:00

Make sure to specify the "All Markup" view. After you have selected to display all revisions inline, change the preferences for track changes so that insertions display with underlines and so that deletions display with strikethrough. The options are found at Review > Show markup > Preferences. Note that the settings do not travel with the document; they are specific to your user account and your Word install.

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  1. Stefan Blom 357.7K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2025-05-27T12:48:03+00:00

    When you change the Preferences for tracked changes, you are only changing them for yourself, in your computer and your Word installation.

    You can't control what other people see in the Word document. It will depend on their settings.

    If you want to share an exact replica of what you see in the document, you will have to convert the document to PDF and send the PDF to other people.

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-05-27T12:43:32+00:00

    Hi Stefan,

    That's great- thank you. So, just to check, if I do both those settings (Balloons and Preferences), and then I save the document and email it to someone, will those settings stay as I have set them, or will it amend itself to how their user account is set up on Word?

    Thanks

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-05-27T12:32:33+00:00

    Hi Daniel,

    Thank you for your help on this. I have tried those steps before, however, when I go to send the document to someone, or upload it to an internal system, the document resets to "Show revisions as balloons."

    Is there a way of ensuring the document remains as simple track changes at all times, e.g. have "Show All Revisions Inline" as the default on all word documents.

    Thanks!

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-05-27T12:12:32+00:00

    Hello.

    Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

    From what you've said, I understand you're having an issue whit those revision balloons, especially when you just want a clean view of your tracked changes.

    To display the track changes without the balloons in the margin, but inline, here's how to do it:

    On Word for Mac:

    1. Open your document in Microsoft Word.
    2. Go to the Review tab.
    3. Click Tracking and select Show Markup.
    4. Under Balloons, choose Show All Revisions Inline.

    This will display deletions as strikethrough and insertions in color within the body of the text, rather than in the margin.

    If you've already tried this, please tell me more about the steps you've tried so far.

    Best Regards,

    Daniel C.

    Microsoft Community Support

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