When tracking changes is enabled, the restrictions for shared workbooks in Excel apply. This means that certain editing options are not possible, e.g., conditional formatting, joining cells, including hyperlinks, using Excel macros and a handful of additional features (see list below). If you want to use an Excel function but it is grayed out, you should check to see whether the title bar of your Excel window says “[Shared]” beside the file name – this may explain why certain functions are not available.
Examples of unsupported Excel functions when track changes in Excel is active include:
- Creating and pasting tables
- Pasting or deleting cell blocks
- Adding or changing conditional formatting
- Deleting worksheets
- Adding or changing of data validation
- Connecting cells or breaking up connected cells
- Creating or changing diagrams or PivotChart reports
- Sorting or filtering by format
- Inserting or changing images or other objects
- The use of drawing tools
Also note that tracking changes doesn’t work the same way as a typical undo function. You cannot reject changes in the reverse order in which they were made. Each change is rejected individually.
Not all changes are logged. Content changes to cells are tracked, but changes such as formatting, showing, or hiding rows/columns, or simply recalculating are not tracked.