How To Change Color Of Track Changes By Author: Visual Guide For Word Users

I spent years staring at red track changes in Word documents, assuming they were locked to their default colors. Turns out, you can assign unique colors to each author with a few clicks.

This isn’t about changing your personal highlight color—it’s about making every editor’s mark instantly recognizable. The fix lives in Word’s Track Changes options, not the ribbon itself. Works in Word 2013 through 365.

You’ll save time untangling edits, spot Reviewer #2’s comments faster, and never confuse your own changes with someone else’s again. The whole process takes under 2 minutes once you know where to look.

Between you and me, I figured this out after a particularly messy group project at Carnegie Mellon. Wish I’d known sooner.

What Youll Need

Instructions

Here’s the process I use to customize author colors in Word—quick and visual.

Launch Microsoft Word and open your document. Click the Review tab in the ribbon. In the Tracking group, find and click the small arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Track Changes button.

This opens the Track Changes Options dialog. If you don’t see it, ensure you’re in the correct tab—sometimes it hides behind the main Track Changes toggle. The dialog should appear immediately after clicking the arrow.

In the Track Changes Options window, click the Advanced Options button. This is where you’ll find all the customization settings for tracking, including colors for each author.

Here’s the thing—Word groups settings by category, so you’ll see sections for Markup, Insertions and Deletions, and Changed Lines. The author color controls are under the Markup section.

Scroll down to the Markup section in the Advanced Track Changes Options window. Look for the Colors dropdown menu. Click it and select the author whose color you want to change.

Next, click the Color dropdown beside the author’s name and pick your preferred color from the palette. I always choose high-contrast colors like bright yellow or deep blue to make edits stand out clearly. Click OK to save.

Close the options dialog and return to your document. Word automatically applies the new color to all existing and future changes by that author. Check the document to confirm the color updates appear correctly.

If the changes don’t reflect immediately, toggle Track Changes off and on again. This forces Word to refresh the display. Also, ensure no other formatting overrides are in place, like manual highlighting.

To make these color settings permanent, go to File > Options > Proofing > Writing Style and click Settings. Under Track Changes, ensure your preferences are saved as defaults.

Real talk: Word sometimes resets these settings when opening a new document. If that happens, repeat Step 1–4. It’s a small hassle, but custom colors make collaborative editing much easier to follow.

Tips and Common Mistakes

These practical pointers will save you frustration when customizing author colors in Word.

Dialog Box Navigation: In Step 1, if the Track Changes Options dialog doesn’t appear immediately, try clicking the Track Changes button first to ensure it’s active. The small arrow can be easy to miss in the Tracking group, especially on smaller screens.

Color Selection Strategy: For Step 3, always test your chosen colors against your document’s background. Bright yellow works great on white, but might disappear on light-themed documents. Deep blue or vivid green are my go-to alternatives for better visibility.

Verification Trick: After Step 4, if changes don’t appear, close and reopen the document. Sometimes Word needs this full reset to properly apply new color settings to existing tracked changes.

Permanent Settings: When saving in Step 5, remember these settings are document-specific by default. To make them global, you’ll need to save your Normal.dotm template after making these changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Changing the color of track changes by author in Word is a simple yet powerful way to enhance clarity and streamline collaboration. 🎯 With just a few clicks, you can customize your document to reflect each contributor’s edits more effectively. Now that you’ve mastered this trick, try applying it to your next team project for smoother revisions!