Accept All Changes in Google Docs: Quick Guide

This guide shows you how to accept all suggested edits in a Google Docs document at once, saving you from clicking through each comment individually. You’ll need edit access to the document and the document should have suggestions (not just comments) active. The process takes about ten seconds once you know where to look.

What You’ll Need

A Google Docs document with suggestions enabled (changes appear in green with a comment bubble on the right).
Edit or comment access to the document (if you only have view access, you can’t accept changes).
A web browser or the Google Docs mobile app (steps differ slightly).

Step-by-Step

Open the document in Google Docs. Make sure you’re not in “Suggesting” mode yourself—if you see a pencil icon with a line through it, click it and select “Editing” so you can accept changes.
Look for the comment icon at the top right of the toolbar (a speech bubble with a plus sign). Click it to open the suggestions panel on the right side of the screen.
In the suggestions panel, you’ll see a list of all suggested edits. At the top of the panel, there’s a checkmark icon with a dropdown arrow next to it. Click that arrow.
From the dropdown menu, select “Accept all” (or “Accept all changes” depending on your version). This immediately applies every suggestion in the document.
Verify the changes by scrolling through the document. All green text and strikethroughs should now be normal black text. The comments associated with accepted suggestions will disappear from the panel.
If you want to reject all instead, use the same dropdown and choose “Reject all.” This removes all suggestions without applying them.

On the mobile app (Android/iOS), tap the checkmark icon at the top right, then tap “Accept all” from the menu that appears. The process is otherwise identical.

Common Mistakes

Clicking the checkmark itself instead of the dropdown arrow—this only accepts the currently selected suggestion, not all of them.
Forgetting to switch out of Suggesting mode. If you’re in Suggesting mode, the accept/reject options are hidden. Always switch to Editing first.
Assuming comments are suggestions. Regular comments (yellow highlights) are not affected by “Accept all.” Only green text or strikethroughs are suggestions.
Accepting all without reviewing. If multiple people made suggestions, accepting all might include edits you disagree with. Consider reviewing each suggestion first if the document is important.

Tips

Use “Accept all” when you’re the final reviewer and you’ve already discussed the changes with collaborators.
If you want to accept most but not all, use the dropdown to “Accept all” first, then manually revert the few you don’t want by editing the text back.
You can also accept all changes from a specific person by filtering the suggestions panel (click the filter icon and choose a collaborator).
Keyboard shortcut: press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+A (Windows/ChromeOS) or Cmd+Option+Shift+A (Mac) to open the suggestions panel, then use the dropdown.
After accepting all, the document’s version history still shows the original suggestions, so you can undo if needed (File > Version history).

Troubleshooting

“Accept all” is grayed out or missing. This usually means you’re in Suggesting mode or you don’t have edit permissions. Switch to Editing mode (top right toolbar) or ask the owner for edit access.

Clicking the dropdown shows no “Accept all” option. If the document has no suggestions (all already accepted or rejected), the option disappears. Check if there are any green marks left; if not, there’s nothing to accept.

Changes aren’t applied after clicking “Accept all.” Refresh the page (F5) and reopen the suggestions panel. If the issue persists, try accepting one suggestion manually—if that works, the problem is likely a temporary glitch. Log out and back in to your Google account.

Mobile app doesn’t show the dropdown. On the app, tap the checkmark icon once to see a menu appear—if it just accepts one, long-press the checkmark instead. If that fails, use the web browser version on your phone (chrome.google.com/docs).

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I accept all changes in a Google Doc I don’t own?
A: Yes, as long as you have edit or comment access. If you only have view access, you can’t accept changes.

Q: Does “Accept all” also accept comments?
A: No, it only applies text suggestions (insertions and deletions). Regular comments remain unchanged and need to be resolved separately by clicking the checkmark on each comment.

Q: Can I undo accepting all changes?
A: Yes, immediately press Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac) to undo, or go to File > Version history and restore an earlier version.

Q: What’s the difference between “Accept all” and “Accept all changes”?
A: They’re the same action—the wording varies slightly by Google Docs version. Both apply every suggestion in the document.

Q: Will accepting all changes remove the comment bubbles?
A: Yes, for suggestions that are accepted, the associated comment bubbles disappear. But if there were separate comments not tied to suggestions, they stay.

Q: Can I accept all changes in a shared document without notifying others?
A: Yes, accepting changes doesn’t send a notification. However, collaborators will see the changes when they open the document.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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