How to Disable Auto Track Changes Pop-up in Word

When you open a document that contains tracked changes, Word displays a pop-up asking whether you want to accept or reject all changes before editing. This pop-up interrupts your workflow, especially if you frequently work with reviewed documents. The cause is a built-in Word setting that shows a prompt whenever a document with tracked changes is opened. This article explains how to disable that Auto Track Changes pop-up permanently using two different methods: the Trust Center and the Windows Registry.

Why Word Shows the Auto Track Changes Pop-up

Word’s Track Changes feature records every edit made to a document. When you open a document that already has tracked changes, Word checks whether the document contains markup. If markup exists, Word displays a pop-up that asks: “Do you want to accept all changes and stop tracking?” or “Do you want to reject all changes?” This pop-up is controlled by two settings: the Reviewing Pane visibility option and a privacy setting that controls whether hidden markup is shown on open. Both settings are located in the Trust Center. By default, Word enables these prompts to prevent accidental editing of a reviewed document. However, for users who regularly handle documents with tracked changes, this pop-up becomes an unnecessary interruption.

Method 1: Disable the Pop-up Through Word’s Trust Center

This method changes the behavior for the current user profile. It works in Word 2016, 2019, 2021, and Microsoft 365. No administrator rights are required.

1. Open Word Options
   Click File in the top-left corner. Click Options at the bottom of the left menu. The Word Options dialog opens.
2. Open Trust Center Settings
   In the Word Options dialog, click Trust Center on the left. Then click the Trust Center Settings button on the right.
3. Go to Privacy Options
   In the Trust Center dialog, click Privacy Options on the left. Scroll down to the section labeled “Document-specific settings.”
4. Turn off the Reviewing Pane pop-up
   Uncheck the box labeled Show the Reviewing Pane when a document has tracked changes. This setting controls the pop-up that appears on document open.
5. Turn off hidden markup visibility
   Uncheck the box labeled Make hidden markup visible when opening or saving. This prevents Word from revealing markup details on open, which also suppresses additional prompts.
6. Apply the changes
   Click OK in the Trust Center dialog. Click OK in the Word Options dialog. Close and reopen Word for the changes to take effect.

Method 2: Disable the Pop-up Using the Windows Registry

Use this method if the Trust Center setting does not work or if you want to apply the change to multiple computers via Group Policy. This method requires administrator rights.

1. Open Registry Editor
   Press Windows + R on your keyboard. Type regedit and press Enter. Click Yes if User Account Control prompts you.
2. Navigate to the Word key
   In Registry Editor, go to the following path:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Word\Options
   If you use a different Office version, replace 16.0 with 15.0 for Office 2013 or 14.0 for Office 2010.
3. Create a new DWORD value
   Right-click the Options folder in the left pane. Select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new value NoPromptOnOpen.
4. Set the value data
   Double-click the NoPromptOnOpen value. Set Value data to 1. Ensure Base is set to Hexadecimal. Click OK.
5. Close Registry Editor
   Close the Registry Editor window. Restart Word. The pop-up should no longer appear when opening documents with tracked changes.

Common Issues After Disabling the Pop-up

Word Still Shows the Track Changes Pop-up

If the pop-up continues after applying Method 1, check whether the document was opened from a network location or SharePoint. Word applies the Trust Center setting per user, but some server-side add-ins can override it. Try Method 2 (registry) as it bypasses most add-ins. Also verify that you unchecked both checkboxes listed in Method 1. Leaving “Make hidden markup visible when opening or saving” checked can still trigger a prompt.

The Pop-up Appears Only for Specific Documents

Some documents contain custom XML markup or legacy comments that Word treats as tracked changes. Open such a document and go to Review > Show Markup. Uncheck all markup types except Track Changes. Save the document. This removes the hidden markup that triggers the pop-up.

Registry Change Does Not Take Effect

If you used the registry method and the pop-up still appears, confirm that the registry key path is correct. For Microsoft 365, the path uses 16.0. For Office 2013, use 15.0. For Office 2010, use 14.0. Also ensure that the DWORD value is named exactly NoPromptOnOpen (case-insensitive) and its value is 1. Restart Word after making the change.

Trust Center vs Registry: Which Method Works Best

Item	Trust Center Method	Registry Method
Ease of use	Easy, no technical skills needed	Requires Registry Editor knowledge
Administrator rights	Not required	Required
Works for all documents	Yes, for the current user	Yes, for the current user
Override by add-ins	Possible	Rare
Deployable via Group Policy	No	Yes

If you manage multiple computers, the registry method is more reliable because Group Policy can push the NoPromptOnOpen key to all users. For a single personal computer, the Trust Center method is faster and safer.

You can now open documents with tracked changes without the interruption of the Auto Track Changes pop-up. After disabling the prompt, you can still manually review changes using the Review tab and the Reviewing Pane. For an advanced tip, create a macro that automatically accepts all changes on document open if you need to remove markup entirely without clicking any button.