Comments and tracked changes are useful during drafting and dangerous during submission. A manuscript may look clean because markup is hidden, while the underlying Word file still contains insertions, deletions, reviewer comments, and author names.
Why “No Markup” is not the same as removing changes
Word's display settings control what you see. They do not necessarily accept or reject tracked revisions. Hiding markup can therefore create the impression of a final document without changing the stored revision history.
Risks of leaving revision material in the file
- Comments can expose author names or confidential discussion.
- Deleted text may remain recoverable.
- Tracked changes can reveal the drafting process.
- Internal instructions may be visible to editors or production staff.
- Hidden markup can disrupt PDF conversion or copyediting.
A reliable cleanup procedure
- Save a protected master copy containing the revision history.
- Create a separate submission copy.
- Review each tracked change before accepting or rejecting it.
- Delete comments after confirming they have been addressed.
- Inspect headers, footers, text boxes, endnotes, and supplementary files.
- Use Word's document inspector where appropriate.
- Close and reopen the file.
- Run an independent DOCX scan.
- Generate the submission PDF and inspect it page by page.
What the free scanner detects
The browser-based checker reads the DOCX package and counts Word comments, tracked insertions, and tracked deletions. This is useful precisely because it does not depend only on the current visual markup setting.
Do not automatically accept changes without review
A one-click cleanup tool could erase meaningful alternatives, restore a rejected phrase, or create formatting damage. The current scanner reports the presence of revision material and leaves the decision with the author.
Check the actual DOCX internals
Run the scan on the final submission copy after Word cleanup.
Check comments and tracked changes