Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Pasting a Comment into Your Document.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 5, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016
Word includes a powerful tool that allows you to add comments to your document. Since comments are designed for reviewers' annotations while developing a document, it is handy to know how to paste the text of a comment into your main document. This is done using editing techniques you are already familiar with. Follow these steps:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6036) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Pasting a Comment into Your Document.
Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!
Find yourself repeating the same comment over and over? Here's a couple of ways you can save some typing by simply ...
Discover MoreIn the latest versions of Microsoft 365, the company has introduced an entirely new way to deal with markup comments. ...
Discover MoreWhen you add a comment to a document, Word helpfully includes the date and time that the comment was added. If you don't ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2020-06-05 17:12:09
Malcolm Patterson
If there is a way to move a comment, I don't know it. I don't find it to be a problem. I often decide to propose replacing a little more or a little less than originally intended (or to put the comment in a different place).
1. Copy everything in the comment (selected by mouse or with Ctrl+A, followed by Ctrl+C ).
2. Delete the comment (right-click, then D).
3. Select the new placement for the comment.
4. Initiate a new comment (Alt, R, C--but the old way still works: Alt+I, M)
5. Paste the contents of the clipboard to the new comment (Ctrl+V).
6. Edit the comment as necessary to suit the new location.
It seems like a large number of steps, but it's quick. I would welcome suggestions for a better way.
2020-06-05 16:37:31
Malcolm Patterson
I'd suggest that step 4 should be
Select the text to be replaced by what's on the clipboard or position the insertion point at the place in your main document where you want the clipboard text to be inserted.
One doesn't always want to insert the entire comment, which may include added text to support or explain the proposed change.
Common practice in our organization is to reserve markups for the correction of errors. Alternative language is proposed in comments instead of markup. This way, both the original and the alternative are readable at the same time. Typically, the reviewer making the comment will select exactly the text to be replaced before initiating the comment. This helps the author (and other reviewers) understand exactly what is proposed.
2020-06-05 07:08:18
Hazel K
Is it possible to move comments to a different part of the same document, rather than deleting from where it is and either re-typing or pasting into the new place?
Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2023 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here:
Comments