Comments

By the Syncfusion DevTutorials team · Last updated

Add, edit, reply to, resolve, and delete comments, and move between them.

When people work on a document together, they need a way to ask questions and give feedback without changing the text itself. Comments are notes attached to a piece of text, shown in the margin. In this lesson, you'll add, edit, reply to, and delete comments, and move between them.

Open the Word sandbox and follow along. The comment tools are on the Review tab.

Add comments

  1. Select the text you want to comment on, such as a word, a sentence, or a heading.
  2. Go to Review > New Comment. (In Microsoft Word, you can also press Ctrl + Alt + M.)
  3. A comment box opens in the margin, linked to your selection. Type your note.
  4. Click Post, or click back in the document.

The commented text is highlighted, and the comment shows your name and the time.

Always select the exact text your comment is about. "This number looks wrong" is much clearer when it's attached to the number, not to the whole paragraph.

Edit comments

Comments can be changed after you post them. To change a comment you wrote:

  1. Click the comment in the margin.
  2. Open its menu (the ⋯ button) and choose Edit, or click into the text.
  3. Change the text and click Post or Save.

Reply to comments

Comments also work as conversations. To answer someone's comment, click Reply in their comment and type your answer. Replies stay together in one thread under the original comment, so the whole conversation is in one place.

When the issue is sorted, mark the comment Resolve (in its menu). A resolved comment fades out but isn't deleted, so you can still see what was discussed.

Delete comments

Sooner or later, a comment outlives its purpose and needs to go. To delete one:

  1. Click the comment.
  2. Open its menu and choose Delete, or right-click the commented text and choose Delete Comment.

To remove every comment at once (for example, before sending a final version), go to Review > Delete > Delete All Comments.

Comments travel with the file. Before you send a finished document to a customer or a teacher, delete all comments, or they'll see your notes.

Navigate comments

After adding several comments, finding them becomes important. In a long document, comments can be pages apart. Use the Previous and Next buttons in the comment area of the Review tab to jump from one comment to the next.

In the sandbox, the Comments pane on the side lists every comment, so you can also click one there to jump to its text.

If you can't see comments, check that they're turned on: Review > Show Comments. Hidden comments are still in the document; they're just not displayed.

Common mistakes

Here are the most common traps, and how to fix them:

MistakeWhat happensHow to fix it
Typing the feedback into the textYour note becomes part of the documentDelete it, then add it as a comment
Adding a comment with nothing selectedIt's attached to a single point, and readers can't tell what it's aboutSelect the text first
Deleting a comment instead of resolving itThe discussion history is lostUse Resolve when you might need it later
Sending a file with commentsThe reader sees private notesDelete All Comments before sending
Comments seem to have disappearedThey're hiddenTurn on Show Comments

Exercise

Now it's time to work with comments yourself.

Click New in the sandbox title bar, and type these paragraphs:

  • Team Picnic Plan
  • The picnic is on Saturday at Green Park.
  • Everyone should bring one dish to share.

Now do each task and press Check.

What to remember

  • Select text, then Review > New Comment to add a comment.
  • Edit, Reply, Resolve, or Delete from the comment's menu.
  • Previous and Next jump between comments.
  • Delete All Comments removes every comment at once.
  • Comments are saved in the file, so remove them before sending a final version.

In the next lesson, you'll track every change made to a document, and accept or reject each one.