How to redline in Word

Lawyers redline contracts in Microsoft Word daily. But how do they do it, and is it efficient? Find out in this guide.

Microsoft Word has been the default currency for contracts for decades. Any lawyer that’s ever pushed a contract through revisions will have redlined in Word - or at least tried to. 

But familiarity doesn’t get contracts negotiated faster, efficiency does. And there are certainly more efficient ways to redline contracts in 2025. 

This Juro guide explains how to redline a Word document, and how you can make your current redlining process better. 

What is redlining in Word?

Redlining in Microsoft Word is a feature that enables users to remove, add or edit text within a Word document, with the changes marked up in red. 

When users choose to delete text within the document, the feature adds a red strike through all of the deleted words. If users decide to add words to the document, this red line will appear under the new text to indicate that it’s been suggested.

Each redline will then also connect the suggestions made to a specific individual, making it easy to see who has proposed which changes and when. 

The purpose of redlining in Word is to make any adjustments and edits visible to all parties, and to enable users to propose changes directly within a file without making irreversible changes to the initial document. 

How to redline in Microsoft Word

There are a few different ways to redline in Word, with some more advanced and intuitive than others. Let's run through the main ways to redline in Word now, starting with the manual approach.

How to redline in Word manually

You can redline a document manually in Word by using strikethrough for deletions and red text for additions. This method is more tedious than using track changes but still gets the job done.

1. Open the document and highlight the text you want to remove.
2. Go to the Home tab in the toolbar.
3. In the Font section, click the Strikethrough button (ABC with a line through it). This will put a line through the selected text, keeping it visible but marked for removal.
4. To add text in red, click the Font Color button (an "A" with a line under it).
5. Select a red shade from the dropdown menu and type your changes. The red text will stand out from the original black text.

How to redline in Word using track changes

A more efficient way to redline in Word is by using the Track Changes feature:

1. Open the document.
2. Go to the Review tab in the toolbar.
3. Click Track Changes (represented by an icon of a document with a pencil).
4. Set the markup view to All Markup to see all additions and deletions in red. This will also generate comment bubbles in the right-hand margin, where you can explain the changes.
5. Now, any text you add will appear in red, and any deletions will be marked with strikethrough automatically.

How to accept or reject redlines in Word

If you receive a document with Track Changes, you’ll need to review and approve or reject the edits. Here’s how:

1. Open the document and go to the Review tab in the toolbar.
2. In the Changes section, you'll see four buttons: Accept, Reject, Previous, and Next.
3. Use Previous or Next to navigate through each tracked change.
4. To accept a change, click Accept—this will apply the edit to the document.
5. To reject a change, click Reject—this will remove the proposed edit and revert the text to its original form.

What are the challenges of redlining in Word?

While redlining in Word follows a clear process, the software wasn’t designed for contract management.

We hear from customers daily about their experiences before using Juro. For many, Word is just one of the many tools they have to switch between to finalize even the simplest contracts. Put simply, managing contracts in Word creates inefficiencies and delays throughout the contract process.

The core issue is a lack of centralization. You can add redlines in Word, but it doesn't offer a comprehensive solution for signing, storing, tracking, or organizing contracts beyond that point. 

Pre-Juro, we followed a very manual process. Everything was spread between email and Word, with back and forth meetings to agree contracts; and we had nowhere to store or access these centrally” - Samara Doobay, Legal Counsel, Entourage

On top of that, accepting or rejecting redlines is not the same as actually approving a contract. Those who rely on Word often find themselves in one of two situations: contracts are either shared with counterparties too early, or they’re buried in stakeholders' inboxes, waiting for approval. Both are bad. 

Sales had to wait much longer for legal to draft a contract, and often chased us to speed up the process. Approvals were also really manual - everything took place over email” - Alicja Kwiatkowski, Head of Legal, Iptor

Finally, Word offers limited controls to ensure only pre-approved terms are used. Commercial teams often self-serve with static templates that may be outdated or unsuitable for their needs, and legal lack visibility when this happens. 

Fortunately, there's a better way...

Automate redlining in Word

But did you know you can actually automate the contract redlining process in Word by using contract review software like Juro?

Juro’s AI Review Agent for Word makes contract redlining faster, smarter, and safer by embedding AI intelligence into the Microsoft Word environment your counterparties already use.

Here's how it works:

• Contract review inside Word: The AI agent sits within Word, analyzing each clause in real time against your contract playbook and approved fallback positions.
• Instant redline suggestions: Risky terms are flagged, with suggested edits and redlines provided directly in the document—so you don’t need to cross-check manually.
• Contextual reasoning: Every suggestion comes with an explanation, helping legal and business teams understand why a change is recommended and what risk it mitigates.

Instead of manually checking every clause, legal can review and apply AI-suggested redlines in seconds. Better yet, once redlines or comments are made in Word, they’re automatically synced back to Juro—creating a single source of truth with full version control. You'll also benefit from end-to-end contract management functionality, enabling you to standardize contracting and reduce risk at every stage.

With Juro’s AI Review Agent for Word, you get the best of both worlds: the familiarity of Word for counterparties and the control, compliance, and speed of Juro’s AI-powered contracting platform.

To see it in action, book a personalized demo below.