Leave comments in word

Insert or delete a comment

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Attaching your comments to specific parts of a document makes your feedback more clear. If someone else is commenting on the document, replying to their comments lets you have a discussion, even when you’re not all in the document at the same time.

  1. Select the content you want to comment on.

  2. Go to Review New Comment.

  3. Type your comment. If you want to make changes to any of your comments, just go back and edit them.

  4. To reply to a comment, go to the comment, and select Reply.

Note: Keep in mind that it’s possible for others to edit your comments. Comments in an Office document are stored in the file, so anyone with edit access to your file can edit your comment.

Add a comment

Delete comments

Right-click the comment, and choose Delete Comment.

To delete all the comments in the document, go to the Review tab, click the down-arrow on Delete, and choose Delete All Comments in Document.

  1. Select the content you want to comment on.

  2. Select Review > New Comment.

    Comments in Word ribbon

  3. Type your comment, and select Post.An image of a comment, showing the Post button. The Post button is in the bottom righthand corner of the Comment card when you are drafting a new comment or comment reply.

  4. To reply to a comment thread, go to the comment, and select @mention or reply.​​​​​​ An image of a comment, showing the @mention or reply box. Click into this text field to start a new reply to the associated comment thread.

Bubbles Comment bubble in the margin indicate where someone has left a comment.

Practice with comments and other collaboration features in Word by downloading this Collaborate in Word learning guide.

Edit comments

You can edit a comment by selecting Edit comment under the More thread actions drop down menu, which can be found in the top right hand corner of the comment. 

An image of a comment card, showing the Edit comment option. The option is under the More thread actions drop down menu, which can be found in the top right hand corner of the comment.

Note: In Word for the Web we have restricted the Edit comment option to be available only on comments that you have authored. However, keep in mind that it may still be possible for others to edit your comments by modifying your Office file directly.  

Delete comments

You can delete a comment by selecting Delete thread under the More thread actions drop down menu, which can be found in the top right hand corner of the comment.

An image of a comment, showing the Delete thread option under the More thread actions menu on the comment card.

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  1. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 1

    1

    Double-click a Word document you wish to change. Doing so will open the document in Microsoft Word.

  2. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 2

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    Click and drag your cursor across some text. This will highlight the text. You’ll want to highlight everything on which you wish to leave a comment (e.g., an entire sentence or paragraph).

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    Right-click or two-finger click the selected text. Doing this will prompt a drop-down menu.

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    Click New Comment. It’s at the bottom of the right-click menu.

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    Type your comment. It will appear on the right side of the Microsoft Word window.

  6. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 6

    6

    Click anywhere on the document. Doing so will cement your comment, allowing you to move on to the next section of text that needs commenting.

    • Be sure to save your document before closing, or your comments won’t be saved.
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  1. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 7

    1

    Double-click a Word document you wish to change. Doing so will open the document in Microsoft Word.

  2. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 8

    2

    Click the Review tab. It’s in the blue section at the top of the document’s page. Doing so will open a new set of options related to editing your document.

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    Click Track Changes. This option is at the top of the Word page, near the middle of the screen. Clicking it will enable Microsoft Word’s «Track Changes» feature.

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    Click the drop-down box next to Track Changes. Doing so will present you with the following editing options:

    • Simple Markup — Draws a vertical red line on the far left side of any added or deleted text, but shows no other edits.
    • All Markup — Displays all changes you make to your document in red text and comment boxes on the left side of the page.
    • No Markup — Displays your changes in addition to the original document, but no red text or comment boxes appear.
    • Original — Displays the original document without your changes.
  5. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 11

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    Click All Markup. This option allows you to leave comments for other users to review if need be.

  6. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 12

    6

    Click and drag your cursor across some text. This will highlight the text. You’ll want to highlight everything on which you wish to leave a comment (e.g., an entire sentence or paragraph).

  7. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 13

    7

    Click the New Comment button. It’s near the center of the «Review» row of tools at the top of the Word window.

  8. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 14

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    Type in your comment. It will appear on the right side of the Microsoft Word window.

  9. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 15

    9

    Click anywhere on the document. Doing so will cement your comment, allowing you to move on to the next section of text that needs commenting.

    • Be sure to save your document before closing to make sure that your comments are preserved.
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  1. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 16

    1

    Double-click a Word document you wish to change. Doing so will open the document in Microsoft Word.

  2. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 17

    2

    Click the Review tab. It’s in the blue section at the top of the document’s page. Doing so will open a new set of options related to editing your document.

  3. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 18

    3

    Click Track Changes. This option is at the top of the Word page, near the middle of the screen. Clicking it will enable Microsoft Word’s «Track Changes» feature.

  4. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 19

    4

    Click the drop-down box next to Track Changes. Doing so will present you with the following editing options:

    • Simple Markup — Draws a vertical red line on the far left side of any added or deleted text, but shows no other edits.
    • All Markup — Displays all changes you make to your document in red text and comment boxes on the left side of the page.
    • No Markup — Displays your changes in addition to the original document, but no red text or comment boxes appear.
    • Original — Displays the original document without your changes.
  5. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 20

    5

    Click All Markup. This option allows you to leave comments for other users to review if need be.

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    6

    Click Ink Comment. It’s in the top-right corner of the «Comments» section of the toolbar at the top of the page.

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    Write your comment. You’ll do so in the pane on the right side of the page.

    • If your computer doesn’t have a touchscreen, you can click and drag the mouse to draw.
    • The horizontal lines in the pane will disappear when you submit your comment.
  8. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 23

    8

    Click or tap anywhere on the document. Doing so will cement your comment, allowing you to move on to the next section of text that needs commenting.

    • Be sure to save your document before closing to make sure that your comments are preserved.
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  1. Image titled Add a Comment in Microsoft Word Step 24

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    Double-click an edited Word document. Doing so will open the document in Microsoft Word.

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    Hover the cursor over a comment. You’ll see a couple of options appear below the comment.

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    Click Reply. It’s the leftmost option below your selected comment.

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    Type in your reply. It will appear indented below the original comment.

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    Click anywhere on the document. Doing so will cement your reply to the comment.

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  • You can click Resolve below a comment to remove it from the right-hand editing pane.

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About This Article

Article SummaryX

1. Open a Word document.
2. Highlight text on which you wish to comment.
3. Right-click the highlighted text.
4. Click New Comment.
5. Type in your comment.
6. Click anywhere in the document.

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Leaving comments in a Word document is a good way to leave feedback on a piece you’re reviewing. If the issue you commented on has been resolved, you can remove the note to keep things looking clean. Here’s how.

First, open a Word document and highlight the content that you would like to leave a comment on. Once selected, head over to the “Review” tab and select “New Comment”, which is found in the “Comments” group.

New comment in Review tab

Next, type the comment you would like to leave. That’s all there is to it. Repeat this step for as many comments as you need to leave in the piece.

How to Reply to Comments in Word

If you want to leave feedback on the comment that was already left, simply hover over the comment and click the “Reply” button.

Reply to a comment

Now, type out your reply and save the response.

Reply left on a comment

How to Delete or Resolve Comments in Word

Resolving a comment keeps the comment but shows it as “Resolved” so those collaborating on the piece can see the issue has been fixed. Deleting the comment removes it completely.

If you want other teammates to know an issue was dealt with, use “Resolve”. If you want to clean up some comments in the sidebar, use “Delete”.

To resolve a comment, hover over the comment and click the “Resolve” button.

Resolve a comment

The comment will remain in the sidebar, but it will be grayed out to show the comment has been resolved.

To delete a comment, right-click the item and select “Delete”.Delete Comment

Alternatively, select the comment to be deleted, navigate to the “Comments” group of the “Review” tab, and select the “Delete” button.

Delete Comment from ribbon

If you have a lot of comments in the Word document that you would like to delete all at once, select the arrow under “Delete” and then select the “Delete All Comments In Document” option.

Delete all comments in document

How to Reopen a Comment in Word

If a comment was previously marked as resolved but you need to leave further feedback, you can reopen the comment by right-clicking it and selecting “Reopen Comment”.

Reopen comment

This only works if the comment was marked as “Resolved” and not deleted.

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Whether you’re revising an internal document at your office or looking over a creative project for a friend, sometimes marking your edits in Microsoft Word is a little too definitive. Rather than switching back and forth between the document and an email, you can make notes directly in the document. This will help your recipient also keep track of which section you’re referring to more easily. Luckily, making these notes is a simple process.

How to leave comments in a Word document on Windows

There are a few ways to leave comments in a Word document. If there’s a specific place within the document you have in mind, click and hold the left mouse button over the section of words your comment pertains to. Once there is a grey bar over the selection, a bar will pop up with a New Comment option.

How to add comments to a Word document

IDG / Alex Huebner

After you click, a comment box will appear and you can type your note and click the button that looks like a send arrow. This will keep the words or sentence highlighted so the recipient will know where the comment goes. The comment will then stay in the sidebar for viewing, leaving the text of the document clean.

How to add a comment in Microsoft Word

IDG / Alex Huebner

If you have general thoughts, but don’t want to connect it to a specific part of the document, you can always use the Insert tab at the top and select Comment in the Comments section. This will pull up a comment box along the side of the page just as it does with a sentence selected.

More comment box options

Once a comment is posted, you can edit it, delete it, resolve it, or link to it. If it’s someone else’s and you have additional thoughts, you can reply. To edit, simply click the pencil button next to your name on the comment box.

How to add a comment in Microsoft Word

IDG / Alex Huebner

When you select the three dots at the top right of a comment box, there are a few options available.

To completely remove the comment, select Delete thread with the trash icon next to it and the box will disappear. To have the comment stay in place but mark that the note has been completed, select Resolve thread with the check mark icon. Finally, if you have a question on a specific comment and need to draw it out, instead of rewriting the whole thing in a correspondence, you can simply select Link to comment and it will take the user directly to the area you’re referring to.

How to add a comment in Microsoft Word

IDG / Alex Huebner

You can also reply to a comment if you need further clarification, mark a completed date, or add further notes. Simply place your cursor in the reply box, type your message, and enter it.

How to add a comment in Microsoft Word

IDG / Alex Huebner

How to leave comments in Word for the Web

Editing a comment works differently in Word for the Web. Instead of having its own icon within the comment box, you will need to select the three dots at the top and then click on Edit comment from the menu that drops down.

How to add a comment in Microsoft Word

IDG / Alex Huebner

Leaving comments in a Word document is a good way to leave comments on something you are reviewing. If the issue you commented on has been resolved, you can delete the note to keep things clean. Here’s how.

First, open a Word document and highlight the content you want to leave a comment on. Once selected, go to the “Review” tab and select “New Comment”, which can be found in the “Comments” group.

Then enter the comment you want to leave. That’s all we can say about it. Repeat this step for as many comments as you need to leave in the room.

How to reply to comments in Word

If you would like to leave comments on the comment that has already been left, simply hover the mouse over the comment and click the “Reply” button.

Now enter your answer and save the answer.

How to delete or resolve comments in Word

Resolving a comment keeps the comment but displays it as «Resolved» so those collaborating on the part can see that the problem has been fixed. Removing the comment completely removes it.

If you want other teammates to know that a problem has been dealt with, use «Solve». If you want to clean up some comments in the sidebar, use «Delete».

To resolve a comment, hover over the comment and click the “Resolve” button.

The comment will remain in the sidebar, but it will be grayed out to indicate that the comment has been resolved.

To delete a comment, right click on the item and select “Delete”.

Alternatively, select the comment to delete, go to the “Comments” group of the “Review” tab and select the “Delete” button.

If you have a lot of comments in the Word document that you want to delete all at once, select the arrow under «Delete» and then select the «Delete all comments in document» option.

How to reopen a comment in Word

If a comment was previously marked as resolved but you need to leave more comments, you can reopen it by right-clicking it and selecting “Reopen Comment”.

This only works if the comment has been marked as «Resolved» and not deleted.

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