The fastest way to add a comment

To add a comment in Word, select the text or click where you want the comment to appear, then press Ctrl+Alt+M on Windows or Cmd+Shift+A on Mac. A comment box opens on the right side of your document. Type your note and click outside the box or press Enter to save it. The commented text gets highlighted in the document, and a small number appears next to it to mark the comment's location.

If keyboard shortcuts do not work for you, the menu route is just as quick. Go to the Review tab at the top of Word, then click New Comment. Select your text first if you want the comment tied to a specific phrase; if you do not select anything, the comment attaches to wherever your cursor sits.

Word shows all comments in a panel on the right side of the screen. Each comment displays the commenter's name, the date and time it was added, and the text of the note. You can see at a glance which parts of the document have been marked up and what feedback exists.

Key Takeaways

  • Press Ctrl+Alt+M (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+A (Mac) to open a comment box instantly without using the menu.
  • Select text before adding a comment if you want the note tied to a specific phrase; otherwise the comment floats at your cursor position.
  • Comments appear in a panel on the right side of the document with the commenter's name, timestamp, and text visible.
  • You can reply to existing comments, delete comments you no longer need, and resolve comments once feedback has been addressed.
  • Track Changes and Comments work together but are separate features — Comments are for notes and feedback, while Track Changes records edits to the text itself.

Replying to and resolving comments

When someone else has left a comment on your document, you can respond directly to it. Click the comment in the right panel, then click the reply arrow or text field that appears below the original comment. Type your response and press Enter. The reply nests under the original comment so the conversation stays organized in one place.

Once feedback has been addressed, you can mark a comment as resolved. Right-click the comment in the right panel and select Resolve, or click the checkmark icon next to the comment. Resolved comments fade slightly in the document but remain visible — they do not disappear. If you need to reopen a resolved comment, right-click it again and choose Reopen.

To delete a comment entirely, right-click it and select Delete. If you delete a comment by mistake, you can undo the deletion with Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Cmd+Z (Mac) as long as you have not saved the document since.

Viewing and hiding the comments panel

The comments panel on the right side of Word can be toggled on and off. If you want to focus on the document text without seeing the comment boxes, go to the Review tab and click Show Comments to turn the panel off. The comments remain in the document — they are just hidden from view. Click Show Comments again to bring the panel back.

You can also adjust how comments display. In the Review tab, click the dropdown arrow next to Show Comments and choose Show Only Comments to hide all other markup, or Show All Markup to see comments alongside any tracked changes. This is useful when you are working with multiple types of feedback at once.

Comments in shared and co-authored documents

When you share a Word document with others through OneDrive or SharePoint, comments become a way for multiple people to leave feedback without changing the actual text. Each person's comments show their name and the time they added the note. If two people are editing the document at the same time, you see their comments appear in real time as they add them.

In a co-authored document, you can filter comments to see only feedback from a specific person. Click the Review tab, then look for filter options in the comments panel. This helps when you want to focus on one person's feedback or track who said what.

Comments in shared documents stay with the file even after you close it. When someone else opens the document later, they see all the comments that have been left, along with the names of who left them. This makes comments useful for asynchronous feedback — people do not have to be editing at the same time to have a conversation about the document.

Printing documents with comments

By default, Word prints only the document text, not the comments. If you want to print the comments along with the document, go to File and click Print. In the print settings, look for an option that says Print Markup or Print Comments and turn it on. The comments will then print in the margins or on separate pages depending on your Word version and print settings.

If you want to print only the comments without the document text, you can export them. Go to Review, click the dropdown next to Delete, and select Delete All Comments in Document — but only after you have saved a backup. Alternatively, some users copy the comments panel and paste it into a separate document for a record of all feedback.

Differences between comments and tracked changes

Comments and Track Changes are two separate tools in Word that serve different purposes. Comments are notes and questions about the text — they do not change the document itself. Track Changes records actual edits: deletions, insertions, and formatting changes. You can use both at the same time in the same document.

Use comments when you want to ask a question, suggest an idea, or flag something for discussion without modifying the text. Use Track Changes when you are making actual edits and want the document owner to see what you changed and accept or reject each change. A document might have comments asking "Should this paragraph be shorter?" and tracked changes showing the actual deletion of a sentence.

Both appear in the Review tab, and both can be hidden or shown independently. You can resolve comments but you cannot resolve tracked changes — instead, you accept or reject each tracked change one at a time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add a comment without selecting text first?

Yes. If you do not select any text, the comment attaches to your cursor position in the document. The comment will not highlight a specific phrase, but it will still appear in the comments panel and be tied to that location in the document. This is useful for general feedback about a section rather than feedback on a specific word or sentence.

What happens to comments when I save the document?

Comments are saved as part of the document file. They stay in the document every time you open it, and they remain visible to anyone else who opens the file. If you want to remove comments before sharing, you must delete them manually or use the Delete All Comments option in the Review tab.

Can I change the name that appears on my comments?

Yes. Go to File, click Options, then select General. Under "Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office," change the name in the User name field. New comments you add will show the updated name, but comments you already left will keep the old name.

How do I see all comments in a document at once?

The comments panel on the right side of Word shows all comments in the document. If the panel is not visible, go to the Review tab and click Show Comments. You can scroll through the panel to see every comment, or use the navigation arrows at the top of the panel to jump from one comment to the next.

Can I export comments to a separate file?

Word does not have a built-in export feature for comments alone, but you can copy the comments panel text and paste it into a new document. Alternatively, you can print to PDF with comments visible, which creates a record of all feedback. Some users also take screenshots of the comments panel for documentation purposes.