Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Adding Comments to Your Document.

Adding Comments to Your Document

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 28, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

Word allows you to add comments to your document, as a separate element of the document. Comments do not interfere with the main text and appear in their own area of the document. Comments are normally not printed when you print a document.

Here's how to add your own comments:

Place the insertion point where you want the comment anchored. You can, if you desire, choose a passage of text about which you wish to comment—just select the text as you would normally select it.
Display the Review tab of the ribbon.
Click on the New Comment tool in the Comments group. Word places a comment in the margin.
Type in your comment text.
When done with the comment, click somewhere in the document outside of the comment.

If you later want to view the comments, display the Review tab of the ribbon and use the Next and Previous tools, in the Comments group, to move from comment to comment.

To add a comment to your document without taking your hands off the keyboard, you can use the Ctrl+Alt+M key combination

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8761) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Adding Comments to Your Document.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Reducing File Sizes for Workbooks with PivotTables

Need to reduce the size of your workbooks that contain PivotTables? Here's something you can try to minimize the ...

Discover More

Counting Commas in a Selection

If you have a range of cells in which you want to count all the commas, there are several ways you can derive the figure ...

Discover More

Changing What Is Pasted in a Dialog Box

When you record a macro, Word very literally records what you do. This includes filling in various settings in dialog ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Jumping To a Comment

Got a document with lots of comments in it? You can navigate from comment to comment with ease by using the Go To tab of ...

Discover More

Moving Text to a New Footnote

For certain types of work, footnotes are a necessity. Word provides an easy way to create new footnotes, but what about ...

Discover More

Using Multiple References to a Single Comment

Find yourself repeating the same comment over and over? Here's a couple of ways you can save some typing by simply ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is five more than 6?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

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.