How to Accept All Changes in Word (2026)
Once a document has been reviewed, accepting changes turns the tracked edits into final text. You can accept everything in one move, step through edits one by one, or accept only a single reviewer’s changes. Here’s each option.
1. Accept All Changes at Once (Windows & Mac)
- Go to the Review tab.
- Click the arrow under the Accept button.
- Choose Accept All Changes.
Every insertion, deletion, and formatting change is finalized. To also stop recording new edits, choose Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking instead.
2. Accept Changes One at a Time
- On the Review tab, click Next to move to the first change.
- Click Accept to keep it (or Reject to discard it). Word jumps to the next change automatically.
- Continue until you reach the end.
3. Accept All Changes (Word for the Web)
- Open the Review tab.
- Click the Accept dropdown.
- Choose Accept All Changes.
The web app supports accepting individual changes and all changes; locking and some reviewer filters are desktop-only.
4. Accept Only One Reviewer’s Changes
- Review > Show Markup > Specific People and check only the reviewer you want.
- Click the Accept arrow > Accept All Changes Shown.
Only the displayed reviewer’s edits are accepted; the rest stay tracked.
5. Reject Changes Instead
The Reject button mirrors Accept: use the arrow for Reject All Changes, or Reject and Move to Next to discard edits one at a time.
6. Troubleshooting
”Accept All Changes” is greyed out
Track Changes is locked. Review > Track Changes > Lock Tracking and enter the password to unlock, then accept.
Changes come back after I accept them
Tracking is still on and new edits are being recorded. Use Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking, or turn off Track Changes.
I still see colored text after accepting
That text is manual font color, not markup. Select it and set the font color to Automatic on the Home tab.
Comments remain after accepting changes
Comments are separate from tracked changes. Delete them from the Review tab with Delete > Delete All Comments in Document.
Related Word guides: How to track changes · How to add comments · How to compare two documents · How to insert a signature · How to add a watermark
Ready to automate your busywork?
Carly schedules, researches, and briefs you—so you can focus on what matters.
See what people say
"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
