Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: Getting Rid of "Comment" in Comments.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 27, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, and 2013
When Janet inserts a comment into a document, the comment balloon appears at the right side of the document, as it should. Within that balloon is the word "Comment," after which she can type her comment. Jane would like to remove the word "Comment" from the balloon, or perhaps replace it with text of her choosing.
Unfortunately, you cannot get rid of the word "Comment," nor can you change it. It seems that the text is hard-coded into the Word program. Various WordTips subscribers even looked for ways to resize the word (in an effort to make it vanishingly small), but with no success.
So the tip here is this: It can't be done and you can't change it. This will hopefully help Janet (and others looking to do the same thing) to stop looking for a solution to something that cannot be fixed.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10470) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Getting Rid of "Comment" in Comments.
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2018-04-07 17:24:47
Smoosh
Wow, thanks, P. Davis! This has been one of the most annoying things about Word. My margin notes are so much easier to read now.
Formatting the balloon as _no fill_ does not get the space back, but I just return down to the next line to start my text. This avoids a weird line break in the text, and makes it even easier to read, I think.
Since I'm usually only making notes for myself, I don't need the comment #, but I can see how it would be necessary for some.
2018-03-07 12:32:16
Debra Graham
For me, the word "Comment" does not appear in the balloon when I am viewing the document online, nor is the comment numbered.
{fig}
However, when I print the document, the word "Commented" plus a number appears.
{fig}
I want the comment number to appear when I am viewing online, so that I can refer to Comment #X when talking over the phone with a colleague. Why does the number appear in the printed version but not the online version?
In addition, when I view comments online, my name is spelled out. When I print the comment, my initials appear. Is this by design?
2018-02-14 05:34:30
H2Fooko
Great workaround, but it should be somewhere anyway: you have "Comment" in English, "commentaire" in French ...
Thank you again
2017-06-07 07:52:15
Vitaly
Great! You saved me a lot of time. Now I wonder if I should start for an alternative text processor.
2015-06-09 00:50:46
Delmar Pete
Awesome P. Davis!
I have always wanted to do that (remove "Comment" from balloons) but (understandably) have not known how.
What an obscure settings-menu pathway! How did you ever discover it?
And one last comment: Big Kudos for adding your comment in the comments regarding the main comments about "Getting Rid of 'Comment' in Comments"!
2015-05-18 11:35:20
Kim
That works, but unfortunately doesn't save any space, since it just makes the word "Comment" invisible.
2015-04-07 08:58:31
P. Davis
Actually, you can, but only in a Word 2010 or newer document, and compatibility mode has to be off.
In your styles menu, find "balloon text," and in the pull down men, choose, "Modify."
At the bottom of the box, in the "Format" pull down menu, choose, "text effects" (it will be grayed out in versions older than Word 2010, and in files that are in compatibility mode).
The default is "solid fill." Change that to, "no fill." After that, all that will be left in the comment box is the text that you entered.
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.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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:
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