Microsoft KB Archive/286169

= Frequently asked questions about comments in Word =

Article ID: 286169

Article Last Modified on 1/29/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office Word 2007
 * Microsoft Office Word 2003
 * Microsoft Word 2002 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q286169



SUMMARY
A comment is a note or annotation that an author or reviewer adds to a document. Microsoft Word displays the comment in a balloon in the margin of the document or in the Reviewing pane.

This article answers some of the more frequently asked questions about the Comment feature in Word.



MORE INFORMATION
 What is a balloon?

A balloon shows markup elements (for example, comments) in print layout view or web layout view. The balloon appears in the margins of your Word document to avoid hiding text or affecting the layout of the document. How do I view the comments in a Word document?

To view the comments in a Word document, turn on the Markup feature.

To do this in Microsoft Office Word 2003 and in Microsoft Word 2002, click Markup on the View menu. Word displays balloons in your Word document for each comment.

To do this in Microsoft Office Word 2007, click the Review tab, click Show Markup in the Tracking group, and then click to select the Comments check box.

If you do not see the comment balloon, change the view of your document to either print layout or Web layout view. To do this, click Print Layout or Web Layout on the View menu. How do I hide the comments in my Word document?

To hide the comments, turn off the Markup feature.

To do this in Word 2003 or in Word 2002, click Markup on the View menu.

To do this in Word 2007, click the Review tab, click Show Markup in the Tracking group, and then click to clear the Comments check box. How do I insert a comment?

To insert a comment in a Word 2003 or Word 2002 document, follow these steps:  Click to select the text or item on which you want to comment, or click the place where you want to insert your comment. On the Insert menu, click Comment. Type your comment in the comment balloon that appears when you are in print layout or Web layout view, or in the Reviewing pane when you are in normal or outline view.</li></ol>

To insert a comment in a Word 2007 document, follow these steps: <ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha;"> Click the Review tab.</li> In the Comments group, click New Comment.</li> Type your comment in the comment balloon that appears when you are in print layout or Web layout view, or in the Reviewing pane when you are in normal or outline view.</li></ol>

Note You cannot insert a comment in the header or footer area of a document.</li> How do I modify a comment?

To make changes to an existing comment, do one of the following: <ul> Click the comment balloon, and then type the text that you want.</li> In the Reviewing pane, find the comment that you want to change, and then type the text that you want.</li></ul> </li> How do I delete a comment?

To delete a comment, do one of the following: <ul> Right-click the comment balloon, and then click Delete Comment on the shortcut menu that appears.</li> In the Reviewing pane, right-click the comment, and then click Delete Comment on the shortcut menu that appears.</li></ul> </li> What is the Reviewing pane?

Word cannot always display the complete text of a comment in a balloon. Alternatively, there may be too many comments to easily read the comments in balloons. To see the complete set of comments in a Word document, use the Reviewing pane. The Reviewing pane displays all unaccepted and unrejected changes and comments in a document.

To open the Reviewing pane in Word 2003 or in Word 2002, click Reviewing Pane on the Reviewing toolbar. If the Reviewing toolbar is not displayed, point to Toolbars on the View menu, and then click Reviewing.

To open the Reviewing pane in Word 2007, click the Review tab, click Reviewing Pane in the Tracking group, and then click Reviewing Pane Vertical or Reviewing Pane Horizontal.</li> How do I print the comments in my Word document?

To print a document together with the comments in Word 2003 or in Word 2002, follow these steps: <ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha;"> Click Print Layout on the View menu.</li> On the View menu, click Markup to display the comments in your Word document.</li> Display the comments the way that you want them to appear in the printed document. To do this, do one of the following: <ul> View all comments: To view all of the comments in your Word document, click Show on the Reviewing toolbar, point to Reviewers, and then click to select All Reviewers.</li> <li>View comments that were made by a reviewer: To view the comments that were made by a specific reviewer, click Show on the Reviewing toolbar, point to Reviewers, and then click to select the reviewer whose comments you want to display.</li></ul> </li> <li>On the File menu, click Print.</li> <li>In the Print dialog box, change the Print what box to Document showing markup, and then click OK.</li></ol>

To print a document together with the comments in Word 2007, follow these steps: <ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha;"> <li>Click the View tab, and then click Print Layout in the Document Views group.</li> <li>Click the Review tab, click Show Markup in the Tracking group, and then click the Comments check box.</li> <li>Display the comments the way that you want them to appear in the printed document. To do this, do one of the following: <ul> <li>View all comments: To view all of the comments in your Word document, click the Review tab, click Show Markup in the Tracking group, point to Reviewers, and then click to select All Reviewers.</li> <li>View comments that were made by a reviewer: To view the comments that were made by a specific reviewer, click the Review tab, click Show Markup in the Tracking group, point to Reviewers, and then click to select the reviewer whose comments you want to display.</li></ul> </li> <li>Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Print.</li> <li>In the Print dialog box, change the Print what box to Document showing markup, and then click OK.</li></ol> </li> <li>How can I print my document without printing the comments?

To print a Word document without printing the comments in Word 2003 or in Word 2002, do one of the following: <ul> <li>Click Markup on the View menu to hide the balloons in your Word document, and then print your document.</li> <li>In Word 2003 or in Word 2002, click Print on the File menu. In the Print dialog box, change the Print what box to Document, and then click OK.</li></ul>

To print a Word document without printing the comments in Word 2007, do one of the following: <ul> <li>Click the Review tab, click Show Markup in the Tracking group, and then click to clear the Comments check box</li> <li>Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Print. In the Print dialog box, change the Print what box to Document, and then click OK.</li></ul> </li> <li>I can see the comments, but how can I determine the author of a comment and when it was made?

To determine the name of the commenter, along with the date and time that the comment was made, do one of the following: <ul> <li>Rest the mouse pointer on the comment balloon. A ToolTip that contains this information will appear.</li> <li>Open the Reviewing pane and locate the comment.</li></ul> </li> <li>How can I respond to a comment?

In Word 2003 or in Word 2002, click the comment to which you want to respond. On the Insert menu, click Comment. Type your comment in the new comment balloon that appears.

In Word 2007, click the comment to which you want to respond. Click the Review tab, and then click New Comment in the Comments group. Type your comment in the new comment balloon that appears.</li> <li>Is there a way to use the comment feature as in the earlier versions of Word?

No. You can turn off the balloons and use the ToolTip or the Reviewing pane to view the comments, but there is no way to revert to the Comment feature in earlier versions of Word. The new Comment feature replaces author initials and comment numbers (as in earlier versions of Word) with author name, date, and a timestamp. This functionality is a more accurate record of the comments inserted in your Word document.</li> <li>'''In earlier versions of Word, when I insert a comment, Word selects the nearest word and highlights it to indicate where the comment is. Why has this functionality changed?'''

The new comment feature does not force you to associate a word with the comment. Instead of highlighting the area of the comment, Word now inserts a set of large colored braces around the location of the comment. If you select text when you insert a comment, Word places the braces around the text. Otherwise, the braces are inserted at the insertion point and may resemble a vertical line.</li></ol>

Additional query words: inf WD WD2002 WD2003 WD2007

Keywords: kbhowto KB286169

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