Turn on Track Changes to see who edited what and when

Track Changes is a built-in Excel feature that records every edit made to a spreadsheet — who made it, what changed, and when. When you turn it on, Excel marks insertions, deletions, and cell modifications with colored borders and comments. You can then review each change one at a time and decide whether to keep it or reject it.

To start tracking, open your spreadsheet and go to the Review tab at the top. Click Track Changes, then select Highlight Changes. A dialog box will appear. Check the box next to Track changes while editing. Once you do this, Excel will begin recording all edits made to the file from that moment forward.

The file must be saved before you can use Track Changes. If you are working in a cloud-based version like Excel Online, the feature works automatically — you do not need to turn it on manually. Desktop Excel requires you to save the file first, and some file formats (like .xlsx) work better than others with this feature.

Key Takeaways

  • Track Changes records who edited each cell, what the old value was, and what it changed to, with a timestamp for each edit.
  • Colored cell borders and comment balloons show where changes occurred, and you can filter to see only changes made by a specific person or within a date range.
  • You review changes one at a time using the Accept or Reject buttons, which either keeps the edit or reverts the cell to its previous value.
  • Track Changes works best when the file is shared among a small team and saved in a shared location like OneDrive or SharePoint, not when passed back and forth as email attachments.

How to review and accept or reject individual changes

After edits have been made to a tracked spreadsheet, you need to go through them and decide which ones to keep. Go to the Review tab and click Track Changes, then select Accept/Reject Changes. Excel will open a dialog showing the first change in the file.

For each change, you will see the cell address, the person who made the edit, the date and time, and what the old value was versus the new value. You have four options: Accept (keeps the change and moves to the next one), Reject (reverts the cell and moves to the next one), Accept All (approves every remaining change at once), or Reject All (reverts every remaining change at once). Use Accept All and Reject All only when you are certain about all pending edits.

Once you have accepted or rejected all changes, the colored borders and comment balloons disappear, and the file returns to normal view. At that point, Track Changes is still on — it will continue to record any new edits made after that point.

Filter changes by person, date, or cell location

If multiple people have edited a spreadsheet, you may want to review only the changes made by one person, or only changes made within a certain date range. The Highlight Changes dialog lets you filter what you see without accepting or rejecting anything yet.

Go to Review > Track Changes > Highlight Changes. You will see three filter options. Check Who and select a name from the dropdown to see only that person's edits. Check When and choose a date range — options include "Since I last saved", "All", "Today", or a custom date you type in. Check Where and type a cell range (like A1:C10) to see changes only in that area.

These filters only change what is displayed on screen — they do not delete or hide changes permanently. Once you close the dialog, the filters reset and you see all changes again. This is useful for spotting patterns (like one person's edits that need review) without committing to accept or reject them yet.

Understand what Track Changes records and what it does not

Track Changes captures cell value changes, insertions of rows or columns, and deletions of rows or columns. It shows the old value, the new value, who made the change, and when. It does not, however, track formatting changes like bold, color, or font size — only the actual data in the cell.

Track Changes also does not record changes to formulas in a way that shows you the formula itself. If someone changes a formula, you will see the old result and the new result, but not the formula code. If you need to see the actual formula that was edited, you have to click the cell and look at the formula bar yourself.

Macros and VBA code changes are not tracked. If someone runs a macro that modifies cells, those edits will show up as tracked changes, but the macro itself is not recorded. Similarly, changes made by a macro appear to come from the person who ran it, not from the macro itself.

Share a tracked file without losing the change history

The safest way to share a tracked spreadsheet is to save it to a shared location like OneDrive, Google Drive, or SharePoint and have everyone open it from there. This keeps all changes in one file and prevents the version confusion that happens when people email files back and forth.

If you must email the file, send it with Track Changes already turned on and a note to the recipient that changes are being tracked. When they open it, they will see the changes made so far and can add their own. When they send it back, you can accept or reject their edits in the same dialog.

Do not turn off Track Changes before sending the file unless you have already accepted or rejected all pending changes. If you turn it off while changes are still pending, those changes will be lost. If you want to preserve the history but stop recording new changes, accept or reject everything first, then turn Track Changes off.

Turn off Track Changes when you are done reviewing

Once you have accepted or rejected all changes and the review is complete, you can turn off Track Changes. Go to Review > Track Changes > Highlight Changes and uncheck the box next to Track changes while editing. The file will no longer record edits.

Turning off Track Changes does not delete the history of changes already made — it only stops recording new ones. If you turn it back on later, it will begin recording again from that point forward. The old changes remain in the file unless you explicitly accept or reject them.

If you want to clear all tracked changes from the file permanently, you must accept or reject every single one first. There is no "clear all history" button — you have to go through the Accept/Reject dialog and choose an action for each change.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see who made a change just by looking at the cell?

Yes. When Track Changes is on, edited cells have a colored border. If you hover over or click the cell, a comment balloon appears showing the person's name, the date and time, and what changed. Different colors are used for different people, making it straightforward to spot who edited what at a glance.

What happens if two people edit the same cell?

Excel records both changes separately. When you review, you will see the first change, accept or reject it, then see the second change. If you accept the first change, the cell will show that value. If you then accept the second change, it will overwrite the first. You control the order by choosing which change to accept first.

Does Track Changes work in Excel Online?

Yes, but it works differently. Excel Online tracks changes automatically when multiple people edit the file at the same time — you do not turn it on manually. You can see who edited what in the file's version history, but the colored borders and comment balloons work slightly differently than in desktop Excel.

Can I undo a change I already accepted?

Once you accept a change, it becomes part of the file and is no longer marked as a tracked change. You can undo it using Ctrl+Z when ready after accepting it, but after you close and reopen the file, the undo history is gone. If you need to revert an accepted change later, you have to edit the cell manually.

What file format should I use for Track Changes?

Excel (.xlsx) and Excel 97-2003 (.xls) both support Track Changes. CSV files do not. If you are sharing with people who use older versions of Excel, save as .xls to may support compatibility. Cloud-based formats like Excel Online work with Track Changes but may have slightly different behavior than desktop versions.