Word App on iPad

Question

MS Word app on ipad does not show the author of track changes neither on the right side nor after clicking the text just like it does on mac and windows MS Word apps. It even shows the reviewer name on iPhone MS word app when u click a track change, a small box would show below showing who made the change. This feature is missing in the Ipad app which is affecting the functionality of this app. For reference, try Pages app on ipad, and when u hover or tap on the tracked changes it shows a pop-up dialogue / box giving all the information on who made the change, what the change is etc.

Answer 1

Hello Mateen Farooq,

Thank you for the detailed explanation — it really helps clarify what you’re experiencing. I understand that you’re trying to get a review experience on the iPad similar to desktop Word, where:

• tracked changes clearly show who made each edit
• and reviewer details are visible either in a pane or a popup

On your iPad, when you tap a tracked change, it only highlights the edit but does not show the reviewer’s name or details. Based on your testing (different storage locations, correct markup settings, and confirmation that it works on Windows and iPhone), this behavior is not caused by your file or settings.

 At the moment, this is due to a feature design the Word app on iPad. The iPad version does not yet provide:

•  a Reviewing Pane like desktop Word
•  or a reviewer info popup like the iPhone app
• For more information: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/track-changes-in-word-197ba630-0f5f-4a8e-9a77-3712475e806a#trackchanges=web

So, reviewer attribution for Track Changes is currently not displayed in a structured or visible way on iPad. While this feature isn’t available yet on iPad, here are some ways to still access reviewer information:

Option 1: Use Word on iPhone (quick check) 

1. Open the document in the Word app on iPhone 
2. Tap on a tracked change 
3. A small popup will appear showing:
4. the reviewer’s name
5. details of the change

Option 2: Use Word on Windows or Mac (full review view)

1.  Open the document in Word on a desktop device
2. Go to the Review tab
3. Select Reviewing Pane

This will show:

• all tracked changes
• reviewer names
• detailed edit history in one place

Option 3: Use comments alongside Track Changes If you’re collaborating with others:

1. Ask reviewers to add comments when making edits
2. Open the file on iPad

 Comments are fully visible on iPad and can help identify who made which changes.

Option 4: Send feedback to Microsoft

Sending feedback can be helpful. It allows the product team to better understand user needs and may help improve this experience in future updates.

1. Open Word on your iPad
2. Go to Settings
3. Tap Send Feedback
4. Describe your need for reviewer visibility similar to desktop Word

I hope this will help with your situation. Please feel free to reach back if you have further update or more questions.

Best Regards,

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Answer 2

Hello Mateen Farooq,

I realize that you've encountered a problem with Word App on iPad. I truly understand your confusion. Let me assist you further.

For me to provide the most accurate solution, would you please let me know few information about the situation you're experiencing:

1. What exact Word version is installed on your iPad (Word > Settings > About)?
2. What iPad model and iPadOS version are you using?
3. Is the file .docx, and where is it stored (OneDrive, SharePoint, local)?
4. Do reviewer names show correctly for the same document on Word for iPhone / Mac / Windows / Web?
5. In Word iPad, are you viewing All Markup, and what exactly happens when you tap a tracked change?

Once I have this information, I will be able to assist you better. Look forward for your respond!

Answer 3

On iPad, Word supports tracking changes and identifying different authors by color, but the iPad UI does not surface the reviewer’s name in a pop-up card the way Word for iPhone, Mac, or Windows does.

On iPhone, tapping a tracked change shows a card with the reviewer name and details, and on desktop you can see full change info in balloons or the Reviewing pane. The iPad documentation only describes turning Track Changes on/off, showing or hiding markup, filtering by reviewer, and accepting changes; it does not describe any per-change pop-up with the author name when tapping a change. This indicates that the specific “tap to see who made this change” card-style UI is not available on Word for iPad at this time.

Available options on iPad today:

1. Turn on Track Changes and color-coded authors
   • Review > Track changes and Markup options > Track Changes.
   • Different authors’ changes are shown in different colors, but without the name card on tap.
2. Filter changes by reviewer
   • Review > Track changes and Markup options > Show Markup > Reviewers.
   • Select specific reviewers or All Reviewers to control whose changes are visible.
3. Review and accept changes
   • Double-tap a change, then on Review > Changes choose Accept options.

Because the per-change author pop-up is not documented for iPad, this behavior is a limitation of the current Word for iPad app rather than a configuration issue. To get the detailed per-change author display, use Word on iPhone, Mac, Windows, or Word for the web.

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References:

• Track changes in Word
• Track changes and view, add, or edit comments