Member Avatar for dee101g

Machine runs Microsoft Windows 10 (Home) and Microsoft Word 2016 (Home and Student). Recently it began turning on Tracking on new documents. I go in and disable it, it stays off for a day, then comes back on. Since I don't want to use that, it can be annoying.

All documents are saved on the PC -- OneDrive is enabled but we don't use it.

As a workaround, I selected the Review options, unchecked all boxes and saved yesterday to see what happens.

The only non-standard configuration piece I can think of is that we are using Carbonite (the online-only backup). I have seen this "restore" folders and file previously deleted even though that was not requested. In this case, however, edits are saved (displayed in their tracking accept/reject format) so it is not reverting the document ... just turning Tracking on and marking everything changed since the backed-up copy.

Any ideas?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rproffitt

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Short diagnosis and quick plan: Track Changes is a per‑document (and per‑template) setting, so new files can inherit it from your Normal template or from document protection; add‑ins or external restore tools can also reintroduce tracked status by putting an older template or file back in place. ’s Carbonite note is important — Carbonite keeps previous versions and can restore files to their original locations — so it can accidentally reapply an older template or saved version. (support.microsoft.com)

Practical checks to run (in order)

  1. Accept all tracked changes and then choose Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking, save and close the file (this finalizes the document so opening it later won’t show those prior edits).
  2. Verify the document isn’t protected to force tracked changes: Review → Restrict Editing (or File → Info → Protect) and Stop Protection if it’s enforcing “Tracked changes.” (support.microsoft.com)

If that doesn’t fix it
Open (or rename) your Normal.dotm and turn off tracking there — Word bases new blank docs on Normal.dotm, and replacing or resetting it will stop new documents inheriting the setting. If Normal.dotm keeps changing, a loaded add‑in or macro might be modifying it; start Word in Safe Mode and disable COM/templates in File → Options → Add‑Ins to isolate the culprit. Microsoft documents these template/add‑in and Normal.dotm behaviors. (support.microsoft.com)

What to do about Carbonite / backups
Temporarily pause Carbonite and reproduce the problem. Check Carbonite’s restore/version history — if Carbonite is restoring an older Normal.dotm or document, you’ll see that in its reports; prevent automatic restores while testing. If the issue still happens after templates/add‑ins/backups are ruled out, then it’s reasonable to escalate to Microsoft support. (support.carbonite.com)

Summary: try Accept All + Stop Tracking, check Restrict Editing, reset Normal.dotm, run Word in Safe Mode and disable add‑ins, then pause Carbonite while testing. This sequence will identify whether it’s a template/add‑in/backup action or an actual product bug.

Member Avatar for rproffitt

Folks are reporting that. I'd call it a bug. Since Word is closed source, only Microsoft can fix it.

Read and other posts there.

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