help change bars

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help change bars

Easter, Timothy 0

I want to convert a word document to pdf and only show change bars in pdf. No comments just change bar. How?

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Answer 1

Stefan Blom 345.1K MVP Volunteer Moderator

You will have to change the display options for Tracked Changes in Word before you convert to PDF. You will also have to make a copy of the document in which you delete comments.

Starting with the options for tracked changes, click the dialog launcher icon on the bottom right of the Markup group on the Review tab. In the Track Changes Options dialog box, click Advanced Options. Set Insertions to "(none)" and Deletions to "Hidden." Confirm with OK. See the screen shot below.

Unfortunately, this won't take care of the comments. Recent versions of Word (that use the so-called modern comments interface) won't let you hide comments, specifically.

Therefore, the next step is to create a copy of the document in which you click Review tab > Comments group > Delete > Delete All Comments in Document.

When those steps are completed, save the document as a PDF. No comments will be shown, and insertions will be normal text and deletions will be hidden.

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Easter, Timothy 0 Reputation points

2026-07-13T13:10:02.6733333+00:00

I cannot click Review tab > Comments group > Delete > Delete All Comments in Document.
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Easter, Timothy 0 Reputation points

2026-07-13T13:15:30.86+00:00

i only want change bars to appear. not comments.
Stefan Blom 345.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-07-13T14:04:44.3066667+00:00

I cannot click Review tab > Comments group > Delete > Delete All Comments in Document.

You should definitely see that command, for a document that contains comments added via the Comments facility on the Review tab. The exact command may depend on your version of Word, though.
Easter, Timothy 0 Reputation points

2026-07-13T14:09:15.3766667+00:00

office 16?
Easter, Timothy 0 Reputation points

2026-07-13T14:09:49.0933333+00:00

16?
Stefan Blom 345.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-07-13T14:15:46.3033333+00:00

In your initial post, I thought you said that you didn't want comments. Maybe I misunderstood?

You can leave the comments in the document, but note that they will print in the Markup area and they will also show up in the resulting PDF when you convert your document to PDF. The screen shot below illustrates what you can expect to see. (I am using the print preview at File > Print as an example, but a converted PDF will look the same.)
Easter, Timothy 0 Reputation points

2026-07-13T14:23:09.64+00:00

i only want the comment change bar shown, not the comments.
Stefan Blom 345.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-07-13T14:24:41.58+00:00

"16" is the main version number for 365 subscriptions as well as for Office 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024, so it doesn't provide much info, I'm afraid.

You can see the product name and the current version & build at File > Account.

For example, the screen shot below shows that I have a one-time payment license, Office Home & Business 2024, updated to version 2606.
Easter, Timothy 0 Reputation points

2026-07-13T14:27:11.3833333+00:00

is this it?
Stefan Blom 345.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-07-13T14:33:07.44+00:00

Your screen shot shows the more detailed product info at File > Account > About Word. That works, too. Thanks. Version 2508 would be August of last year. The reason may be that you have a business product which is updated less frequently. It is sufficiently new for comments to work the same as in my version, though.
Easter, Timothy 0 Reputation points

2026-07-13T15:12:06.64+00:00

are you able to just show change bars not comments in word and pdf?
Stefan Blom 345.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-07-13T15:19:12.7833333+00:00

As I wrote, you have to use a workaround: Make a copy of the original document and then delete the comments in the copy.

To have Word only display the change bars, modify the Advanced Track Changes Options as I suggested earlier.

P.S. If your document contains tracked moves and table edits as well, you may have to change further options in the Advanced Track Changes Options dialog box. Post back with an example, if you are affected by those settings.
Easter, Timothy 0 Reputation points

2026-07-13T15:24:17.35+00:00

i cannot delete comments
Easter, Timothy 0 Reputation points

2026-07-13T15:26:52.3966667+00:00

yeah none of that works
Stefan Blom 345.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-07-13T18:43:00.8866667+00:00

Thanks for the screen shot.

The option to delete comments is not available if the insertion point is inside a header or footer or if it is inside a text box or shape. The sample below illustrates how the Delete command is grayed out when I place the insertion point inside a shape.

If you click in the main body of the document, you should be able to delete all comments in one go.
Stefan Blom 345.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-07-13T18:47:44.85+00:00

Here is a screen shot of the Delete button being enabled (it remains a bit "greyer" than the New Comment command, for example). The insertion point is immediately below the table, in the main body of the document.