Tip of the week # 449
23 May 2015


Make reviewer names anonymous (Microsoft Word) *

Do you use tracked changes in Word? Or perhaps you work with documents containing comments, suggesting a change, a question to the project leader or to another reviewer? If so, you might want to make the names of all reviewers anonymous, so that you can save it or send it out one final time for review, without finger pointing.

Here's how:

  1. Open the document containing the comments and tracked changes that you want to anonymise.
  2. On the File tab, in the Info category, click Check for Issues.
  3. Click Inspect Document. (In Word 2007 Inspect Document can be accessed from the Microsoft Office Button, under Prepare.)
  4. Click Inspect.
  5. Click Remove All next to Document Properties and Personal Information. Make sure you do not click on Remove All next to Comments, Revisions, Versions, and Annotations, as you will lose the comments and tracked changes made in the document.
  6. Click Reinspect, followed by Close.
  7. Save the document as normal. (As you're still in the "Backstage view" you might as well click on its Save button.)

As soon as you've saved the document, all comments and tracked changes will appear without names or initials of the reviewers.


* Unless stated otherwise, these tips were written for Microsoft Office 2010.