How to Track Who Made Specific Edits in a Word Co-authored Document

When multiple people edit a Word document at the same time, you need to know who changed what. Word’s co-authoring feature lets several users work in one file simultaneously, but the default view does not always show the author of each change. The solution is to use the Version History panel or the modern Track Changes settings. This article explains how to view the author name for every edit in a co-authored document using Word for Microsoft 365.

How Word Records Author Information in Co-authored Documents

Word for Microsoft 365 uses a cloud-based co-authoring system. When you save the document to OneDrive, SharePoint, or Microsoft 365, Word stores a version history that includes the identity of each person who made a change. The author name comes from the Microsoft 365 account used to open the document. Word does not display the author of every single keystroke in real time. Instead, it records the author at the moment a change is saved or when a comment is posted.

The two main tools for seeing who made what are Version History and Track Changes. Version History shows snapshots of the document at different points in time. Each snapshot lists the person who saved that version. Track Changes, when turned on, marks insertions and deletions with a color-coded underline or strikethrough. The color corresponds to the author who made the change. In modern co-authoring, Track Changes is always active behind the scenes, but you may need to enable the visible markup to see the author names.

Before you start, make sure the document is saved to a cloud location. Documents stored only on a local drive do not support co-authoring or version history. Also, each co-author must sign in with their own Microsoft 365 account. Shared generic accounts will show the same name for all edits.

Steps to See Who Made Specific Edits Using Version History

Version History is the most direct way to see which co-author made changes at a specific time. This method works for any document saved to OneDrive or SharePoint.

1. Open the document in Word
   Make sure the document is saved to OneDrive or SharePoint. The file name in the title bar should show “Saved” or “AutoSave On.”
2. Go to File > Info
   Click the File tab on the ribbon, then click Info in the left navigation pane.
3. Click Version History
   In the Info page, locate the Version History button. It is in the middle of the screen near the document thumbnail. Click it to open the Version History panel on the right side of the window.
4. Select a version from the list
   The panel lists all saved versions with the date, time, and the name of the person who saved that version. Click any version to open it in a separate read-only window.
5. Compare the version to the current document
   In the read-only window, a yellow bar appears at the top. Click the Compare button to see a side-by-side diff view. Word highlights the changes made in that version and shows the author name in the markup.

You cannot edit the document while viewing a historical version. To restore a version, click the Restore button in the yellow bar. The author information in Version History is based on the save event. If a co-author made multiple edits before saving, all those changes appear under that single save event.

Steps to See Author Names for Individual Edits Using Track Changes

Track Changes shows the author of each insertion, deletion, and formatting change. This method is useful when you want to see who made a specific edit without leaving the document.

1. Turn on Track Changes
   Go to the Review tab. In the Tracking group, click the Track Changes button to enable it. The button turns blue when active.
2. Set the markup view to All Markup
   In the Tracking group, click the Display for Review dropdown and select All Markup. This shows all insertions, deletions, and formatting changes with color-coded lines.
3. Hover over a change to see the author
   Move your mouse pointer over any colored insertion or strikethrough text. A tooltip appears showing the author name, the date and time of the change, and the type of change.
4. Filter changes by a specific person
   Click Show Markup in the Tracking group, then point to Specific People. A list of all co-authors appears. Uncheck the boxes next to names you want to hide. Only changes from the checked names remain visible.
5. View changes in the Reviewing Pane
   Click the Reviewing Pane button in the Tracking group. The pane lists every tracked change in order. Each entry includes the author name, the type of change, and the affected text.

Track Changes must be on from the start of co-authoring to capture all edits. If Track Changes was off during a session, those edits are recorded only in Version History, not as individual markup.

Steps to See Who Posted a Comment

Comments in Word always show the author name. This works in both co-authored and single-author documents.

1. Open the document
   Any document stored in the cloud supports modern comments.
2. Click a comment bubble
   In the document, comment bubbles appear in the margin. Click one to open the comment card.
3. Read the author name
   At the top of the comment card, the name of the person who wrote the comment is displayed along with their profile picture. The date and time appear below the name.
4. Check replies
   Each reply to a comment also shows the name of the person who replied. You cannot hide or change the author name on a comment.

Common Issues When Identifying Edit Authors in Co-authored Documents

Version History Shows “Me” Instead of a Specific Name

If you open a version and the author column shows “Me,” you are viewing a version that you saved. Other users see their own name for their saves. To see another person’s name, ask them to open the document and check Version History from their account.

Track Changes Does Not Show Author Names

This happens when Track Changes was turned off when the edits were made. Open Version History and compare a version from the time the edits occurred. The diff view will show the author as the person who saved that version. To prevent this, keep Track Changes on by going to Review > Track Changes and turning it on before co-authoring begins.

The Same Author Name Appears for All Edits

This occurs when all co-authors sign in with the same Microsoft 365 account. Each person must use their own account. Go to File > Account to verify the signed-in user. If the account is shared, ask the document owner to remove that account and have each user sign in individually.

Comments Show “Author” Instead of a Real Name

This happens when the document was created in an older version of Word and then opened in Word for Microsoft 365. The comment author field may display “Author” for legacy comments. New comments made in the modern client will show the correct name. To fix legacy comments, you can delete and re-add them.

Version History vs Track Changes for Identifying Edit Authors

Item	Version History	Track Changes
What it shows	Snapshots of the whole document at save points	Individual insertions, deletions, and formatting changes
Author visibility	Shows the person who saved each version	Shows the person who made each change
Works without prior setup	Yes, if saved to the cloud	Yes, but only if Track Changes was on
Best for	Seeing what changed between two points in time	Seeing who changed a specific word or paragraph
Can filter by author	No, you must open each version manually	Yes, via Show Markup > Specific People

You can now identify who made each edit in a co-authored Word document using Version History or Track Changes. Start by checking Version History when you need a broad overview of saves. Use Track Changes with the All Markup view to see individual edits and filter by a specific co-author. For a deeper look, enable the Reviewing Pane to read a log of every change. As an advanced tip, combine both tools: open a version from Version History and then turn on Track Changes in the comparison view to see the author of every modification within that version.