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 Alt + Ctrl + M on Windows or Cmd + Shift + A on Mac. A comment box opens on the right side of the page. Type your note and click outside the box or press Escape when you're done. The commented text stays highlighted in the document so you and anyone else reading it can see exactly what you're referring to.

If the keyboard shortcut doesn't work for you, the menu route is just as fast: go to the Review tab at the top, click New Comment, and type in the box that appears. Both methods do the same thing — the shortcut is just quicker once you remember it.

Key Takeaways

  • Comments in Word appear in a sidebar and don't change the actual document text, so you can leave feedback without altering what someone wrote.
  • You can reply to someone else's comment directly, creating a conversation thread that stays attached to that spot in the document.
  • Resolved comments collapse but stay visible, so you can see what feedback was addressed without cluttering the page.
  • Comments work across shared documents and email attachments, though replies only work smoothly when the file is shared through OneDrive or SharePoint.

Replying to and resolving comments

When someone else has left a comment, you can reply directly to it instead of adding a separate comment. Click the reply arrow under their comment, type your response, and click the checkmark. Your reply appears indented under theirs, creating a conversation thread about that specific part of the document.

Once feedback has been addressed, click the checkmark icon next to the comment to mark it resolved. The comment collapses but stays in the document — you can expand it again by clicking the arrow if you need to see the full thread. This keeps the sidebar clean while preserving the record of what was discussed.

Comments in shared documents versus email attachments

Comments work best when the document lives on OneDrive or SharePoint and multiple people have access to it. Everyone sees the same comments, replies happen in real time, and you know who wrote what because Word shows each person's name. This is the smoothest experience for collaborative feedback.

If you're sharing a Word file as an email attachment, comments still work — you can add them and send the file back. However, replies don't sync the way they do in shared documents. If person A comments, person B replies, and person A opens the file again, person A won't see person B's reply unless person B sends the updated file back. For back-and-forth feedback, sharing through OneDrive or SharePoint avoids this friction.

Viewing, editing, and deleting your own comments

All comments in a document appear in the sidebar on the right. You can scroll through them, and clicking a comment jumps you to that spot in the text. If you wrote the comment, you can edit it by clicking the three dots next to your name and selecting Edit. Make your changes and click outside the box to save.

To delete a comment you wrote, click the three dots and select Delete. Only the comment author and the document owner can delete comments — you can't remove someone else's feedback. If you need a comment gone and you didn't write it, ask the person who did or ask the document owner to remove it.

Printing and hiding comments

By default, comments don't print with the document — only the text prints. If you want comments included in a printed copy, go to File > Print, click Print Layout or Settings depending on your version, and look for an option to print markup or comments. The exact wording varies between Windows and Mac versions.

If comments are cluttering your screen while you work, you can hide them without deleting them. Go to the Review tab and click Show Comments to toggle the sidebar off. The comments stay in the document — you're just hiding the display. Click Show Comments again to bring them back.

Comments versus track changes

Comments and Track Changes are different tools that serve different purposes. Comments are for feedback and questions — they don't alter the document text. Track Changes records every edit someone makes (deletions, additions, formatting changes) and shows them as marked-up text. You use comments when you want to ask a question or suggest something. You use Track Changes when you're actually editing the document and want the author to see what you changed.

You can use both at the same time. One person might have Track Changes on while editing, and another person might add comments asking questions about those edits. The document shows both the tracked changes and the comment sidebar, so the author can see what was changed and why.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see who wrote each comment?

Yes. Word displays the commenter's name next to each comment. In shared documents on OneDrive or SharePoint, you see the actual account name. In email attachments, you see whatever name was set up in that person's Word settings, which may or may not be their real name.

What happens to comments if I save the file as a PDF?

Comments don't transfer to PDF. When you save or export a Word document as PDF, the comments stay in the Word file but don't appear in the PDF. If you need feedback visible in a PDF, you have to print the document with comments showing, then print to PDF.

Can I search for comments in a document?

Word doesn't have a built-in search function for comments. You can scroll through the sidebar to read them all, or use Ctrl + F to search for text that appears in the comments themselves. If you need to find a specific comment, scrolling the sidebar is usually faster than searching.

Do comments sync if I'm working offline?

Comments sync when you reconnect to the internet. If you're working offline in a shared document, comments you add will upload once you're back online. Comments from other people won't appear until you reconnect, so offline work is better for editing than for collaborative feedback.