Comments are a great way to leave notes to yourself or other editors in Microsoft Word. You can suggest editing on the text, point to a phrase you like, or simply leave a favorable message.
We are going to show you how to insert comments in Word. Then, we will show you how to delete comments in Word, as well as the comments left by tracked changes.
How to post comments in Microsoft Word
Before we cover how to remove comments in Word.
First, highlight the text you want to comment on. Alternatively, drop your text cursor where you want the comment to appear.
Next, right click and choose New Comment. You can also go to the Review tab in the ribbon and click on the new comment (or click on the ink comment, if you want to handwrite it.)
This will create a call-out on the side of your document where you can leave a note for yourself or others – perhaps indicating that a sentence is poorly published or that the information needs a fact check. The comment will automatically attach your name and time.
You can easily edit a previous comment or click reply on it to leave a response.
Tips for using comments in Microsoft Word
You can format the text in comments like you would with regular text in Word, although not everything will work. For example, you can make the text bold or italicized, or change its font or color. You can not change its size or alignment
You can also insert images via Insert> Pictures, although the size of the sidebar is fixed, so you’ll need to resize the larger images for everyone to see.
In addition, you can change the name and initials that appear on the comment. To do this, go to File> Options and make adjustments below Personalize your copy of Microsoft Word section.
How to remove comments in Microsoft Word
When a comment ends, you can hide it, resolve it, or delete it:
Hiding comments will show all comments, although they are still technically present on the document.
Resolving comments will fade them, but they are still visible immediately.
Deleting comments will remove them completely.
The first two options are best when you want to preserve a record, while the latter is best when you want to delete unimportant notes or if the document is being shared in the final form.
A quick way to move between comments can be found on the Review Ribbon tab. In the Comments section, click Previous and Next through the cycle.
1. How to hide comments in Microsoft Word
You can hide all comments, which in turn will hide the review sidebar (unless it contains something else like tracked changes, which we have discussed later.)
To do this, go to the Review tab of the ribbon, click Show Markup, and click Comments.
You can see the comments again by repeating this action.
Keep in mind that it does not delete comments, even if you save the document when they are not visible. This is a way to finish the document temporarily when you will not need to see the comments.
2. How to solve comments in Microsoft Word
Click on the comment you want to solve and click on solve. This will fade the entire comment. Reopen to reopen.
You can also solve individual answers. To do this, click on Answer and click on Solve Comment. Note that resolving the highest comment in the hierarchy will also resolve everything below it.
To reverse this action, click Answer and click Reopen Comment.
3. How to delete comments in Microsoft Word
Right click on the comment you want to delete and click delete comment.
You can also remove different answers by the same method, but be aware that deleting the highest comment in the hierarchy will also delete everything below it.
An alternative deletion method is to click Comment, go to Review on the ribbon, then click Delete within the comments section.
If you want to delete every single comment in the Word file, click the dropdown arrow on the delete button and click Delete all comments in the document.
Once a comment is removed, it is permanently removed from the document. The only way to bring it back is by pressing Ctrl + Z to undo, if you have not closed the document.
How to manage tracked changes in Microsoft Word
Track Change is a great Microsoft Word feature that allows editors to easily see what has been cut and changed between revisions.
If your document is using track changes, you may automatically see notes when the formatting of the text is adjusted.
Alternatively, you can approve the change that the note is referring to. This will simultaneously delete the note. To do this, right-click on the note – you’ll see the dotted line and highlight which text is being referenced – and click Accept Change Format (or Reject, if you want to reverse it).
You can also manage it from the Review ribbon. On the Changes section, use the Accept dropdown and click Accept All Changes.
At any time you can click Track Changes on the same ribbon tab to enable or disable tracking.
Word Features for Easy Life
Now you all know about the comment feature and how to remove comments in Word easily. It’s only a few clicks, but team productivity makes a big difference when you know how to work with comments.
With that mastery, why not learn more about Word? We have you covered with hidden word features to make your life easier.
If you have a class to edit or proofread your paper, they may have used the “Comment” tool or the “Track Changes” tool in Microsoft Word. Even after adding comments and changes, you can still see changes in the comments and margins of your paper. Or, even worse, when you upload the document to the blackboard, they show up when your instructor sees your paper (as seen in the image below).
Read on to learn how to edit both tracked changes and delete comments in your Word documents.
Suppose someone asks you to proofread or cooperate on a document. If you have a printed copy, you can use a red pen to cross sentences, mark misspellings, and add comments to the margins. Word allows you to do all of these things electronically using the Track Changes and Comments features.
Understanding Track Changes
When you turn on track changes, each change made in the document will appear as a colored markup. If you delete the text, it will not disappear – instead, the text will be crossed out. If you add text, it will be underlined. This allows you to view edits before making the changes permanent.
Reviewing changes
Tracked changes are really just suggested changes. To become permanent, they must be accepted. On the other hand, the original author may disagree with some tracked changes and reject them.
Track viewing options
If you have too many tracked changes, they can be distracting if you are trying to read through the document. Luckily, Word provides a few different ways to customize tracked changes, how to hide tracked changes.
notes
Sometimes you may want to add a comment to give feedback instead of editing a document. Although it is often used in combination with track changes, you do not need to turn on track changes to use comments.
Compare documents
If you edit a document without tracking changes, it is still possible to use review features such as accept and reject. You can do this by comparing two versions of the document. All you need is the original document and the modified document (the documents also have different filenames).
The original and revised documents will appear in a pane on the right, which you can use for reference (although you cannot edit them). If you do not see the pane, click Compare.
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