How to Track Changes in Google Docs

Google Docs is part of the Google Suite, a cloud-based productivity tool. It allows you to share documents with others and collaborate on them. We will show you how Docs tracks changes so you can see the most recent version.

Word’s Track Changes: The Difference

Microsoft Word allows document collaboration to occur serially. One person can enable “Track Changes,” edit a document, and then sends it to the next person. This person can then review and edit the tracked changes, creating multiple versions of the document.

Google Docs doesn’t have multiple versions of a document. There is only one copy in the cloud that can be edited simultaneously by multiple users.

You can also read Google Docs Vs. Microsoft Word – What Are the Differences?

Don’t forget to share your document

You must share a Google Doc document with the person you wish to track changes so they can be reviewed by another person.

To share a document:

1. Click the Share button in the top right corner of the Google Doc.
2. Enter the email address of the person in Add people or groups.
3. After you have completed adding people to the list, select their role from the right-hand dropdown menu.
4. You can check or uncheck this box to notify them that you have shared the document.
5. If necessary, write an explanatory note.
6. Send Select

Review the Document Revision History

Google Docs stores a document’s history starting at the time it was created. Even if you don’t remember how to track changes in a Google Doc, you can still look them up by using the document’s Revision History.

1. Open your Google Doc.
2. Choose File > Version History > View Version History.
3. The right-hand pane shows the date, time, and author for each revision session. Click on any of these to see the edits made by each editor.
4. Click the three vertical dots at any version that has been automatically created to change its name or create a copy in a separate Google Doc.
5. If someone makes a mistake, you can restore the document to a previous version.

Use the Suggesting Mode

The closest feature to track changes in Google Docs is the suggestion mode. This mode is best used when you have been invited to modify a document that has been written by another person.

Use the Suggesting mode

• Edits will be displayed in a different colors.
• These changes will also be summarized in comments on the right-hand corner of the Doc.
• Chat messages can be exchanged between editors and you regarding individual changes to comment bubbles.
• Once you have agreed to a change, select the checkmark to accept or the X to reject.

Here’s an example:

It is simple to switch on the suggestion mode:

1. Select the dropdown menu to see the pencil icon.
2. Select Suggesting, or click this green shortcut button when hovering over a page.

You can now make any changes you wish to the document without having to permanently alter it.

Comment for other users

To give context to your suggestions, you can leave comments for other editors or writers.

Leave a comment

1. Open the Google Doc.
2. You can highlight the text that you wish to comment on, or you can place your cursor at the spot you wish to comment.
3. Select Insert > Comments, or click the blue “+” shortcut to the right side of the page if you hover over it.
4. Enter your comment, then click the Comments

You can tag other editors with the @ symbol. If other writers are online at the same moment as you, you can use the live chat function.

Save Your Doc as Word File

By downloading your Google Doc in Word, you can convert suggestions into tracked changes. All comments will be preserved and suggestions will appear as tracked changes when opened in Word. Here’s how it works:

Select File > Download Microsoft Word.

Note The Google Doc in the Cloud is not dependent on the downloaded document. The cloud version will not reflect any changes that were made to the document. You can share edits to the Word document by uploading it to a Google Doc and sharing it from scratch.

This is why we don’t recommend editing Word and Docs together. It can take too much time, cause formatting problems, and create confusion. Microsoft 365 is a good alternative, and offers similar cloud-based features as well as collaboration.

Never Lose Track Again

You can now track and share any changes made in Google Docs. Share this article with other editors who are working on the same document as you. They all need to enable suggestion mode separately.