[Solved]: Track Changes Greyed Out in Excel (3 Quick Fixes)

When you share a workbook that gets checked by various users at that time you need to check or review the changes. You can check and also review by enabling the track changes feature of Excel. While working in Microsoft Excel sometimes you will find the track changes option is greyed out. Today I am going to share with you how to fix track changes greyed out in Excel.

Reasons Behind Track Changes Option Gets Grayed Out in Excel

Track Changes option is one of the best features of excel where you can track and review your changes and other multiple user changes. But sometimes you will find the track changes option is greyed out. The main reasons behind it are-

While Editing a Cell
If Workbook is Protected
If Worksheets are Grouped Together

How to Solve Track Changes Greyed Out in Excel: 3 Easy Fixes

In the following article, I have shared 3 Simple methods to solve track changes greyed out in Excel.

Suppose we have a dataset of some Products and their Total Sales. As you can see from the following screenshot the “Track Changes” option is greyed out. Now, we are going to solve this greyed out problem by enabling the greyed out option in excel.

1. Unprotect Workbook in Excel

The track changes option becomes greyed due to various reasons. One of the reasons is that your workbook is protected with a password. Just unprotect the workbook and enjoy the track changes feature. To do so-

Step 1:

First, from the “Review” option select “Unprotect Sheet”.

Second, type the password to unprotect the worksheet.
Hence, press OK to continue.

Finally, you will see the “Track Changes” option is no more greyed out.

Step 2:

In order to check if the feature is working or not let’s click the “Highlight Changes” from the “Track Changes” ribbon.

Therefore, a new dialog box will open named “Highlight Changes”.
Then, check mark the “Track changes while editing. This also shares your workbook.”
Hit the OK button to continue.

Now, if we change the value from one cell you will see the track changes feature will show the change in a comment box confirming the tracking of changes in the workbook.

2. Enable Share Workbook to Solve This Issue

Track changes option becomes greyed if you have not shared your workbook on your system or a drive. To solve this follow the steps below-

Steps:

Above all, click the “Share Workbook” option from the “Review” option.

Therefore, a new window will open named “Share Workbook”.
Hence, from the window check mark the “Use the old shared workbooks feature instead of the new co-authoring experience”.
Press OK to continue.

In summary, the workbook is shared and we have successfully enabled track changes feature in excel.

3. Ungroup Worksheet to Activate Track Changes Option

If you are working with various worksheets in a workbook then you might have grouped the worksheet for a working purpose. When the worksheets are grouped the track changes option becomes grey. Follow the instructions below to ungroup the worksheet and enjoy the track changes feature properly-

Steps:

As you can see from the following screenshot several worksheets are grouped.

Thus the “Track Changes” option is greyed out.

Besides to solve this click the right button of the mouse while placing the cursor over any worksheet bar.

Generally, a dialog box will appear. From there choose “Ungroup Sheets”.

Finally, the worksheets will be ungrouped solving the track changes greyed out option in excel.

Things to Remember

If you want to track your changes in a workbook don’t forget to save the workbook on your network drive or inside your system. After saving you will be able to track changes correctly.

Download Practice Workbook

Download this practice workbook to exercise while you are reading this article.

Track Changes Greyed Out.xlsx

Conclusion

In this article, I have tried to cover all the methods to solve track changes greyed out in Excel. Take a tour of the practice workbook and download the file to practice by yourself. I hope you find it helpful. Please inform us in the comment section about your experience.

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3 Comments

Brent Hamilton Mar 19, 2024 at 10:54 PM

While I appreciate your website’s offer of free advice, I believe you missed a key element on this page. I’m not sure which version of Excel you’re using, but I have Office 365 at work and the Review ribbon looks different today (March 2024). There is only a “Show Changes” button, and it was greyed out until I saved my file onto a OneDrive location. Then, it became available.
- Reply
  Lutfor Rahman Shimanto Mar 20, 2024 at 5:47 PM
  
  Dear Brent Hamilton
  
  Thanks for visiting our blog. You’re right; the article was described based on an older version of MS 365, likely pre-dating March 2024.
  
  From now on, in Excel 365, the Track Changes functionality has been integrated into the Show Changes button. It is important to note that saving the file to OneDrive is a prerequisite for using this feature.
  
  Regards
  Lutfor Rahman Shimanto
  ExcelDemy
- Reply
  Shamima Sultana Mar 20, 2024 at 3:22 PM
  
  Hello Brent Hamilton,
  
  Thank you for your feedback. We used Microsoft 365 at work. We apologize for any confusion caused. The reason the “Show Changes” feature only becomes available after saving the file on OneDrive for real-time collaboration and tracking of changes. If you save it on OneDrive, it allows Excel to track changes made by different users and enables the “Show Changes” feature to display those revisions. This integration with OneDrive enhances collaboration and ensures that users can effectively manage changes made to shared documents.
  
  Regards
  ExcelDemy