Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Viewing Comments.

Viewing Comments

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 1, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

When you are adding a comment, Word displays the comment balloons at the right of the document. Most users, when they are through entering the comment text, hide the comment balloons so they will be able to see more of their document at once. If you later want to view your comments, follow these steps:

Make sure the Review tab of the ribbon is displayed.
In the Tracking group you see the Reviewing Pane tool. Click the down-arrow at the right of the tool. You should see two options displayed.
Choose either Reviewing Pane Vertical or Reviewing Pane Horizontal, according to your desires. The Reviewing Pane should appear as indicated by your choice.
Make any changes to your comments, as desired.
Close the Reviewing Pane by again clicking on the Reviewing Pane tool.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12656) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Viewing Comments.

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

Printing Graphic Thumbnails

If you are doing work with a lot of graphics, it may be helpful to create a summary page that contains thumbnail ...

Discover More

Cleaning Text

You can use the CLEAN worksheet function to remove any non-printable characters from a cell. This can come in handy when ...

Discover More

Stopping Word from Accessing the Internet

When you start Word, does it try to access the Internet? It may, depending on how your version of Word is configured. If ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Comments in Headers and Footers

Comments can be a necessity when developing documents in conjunction with other people. They can be used to help document ...

Discover More

Changing Text in a Comment

Word has a very powerful find-and-replace capability, but it can be a bit persnickety when it comes to changing text ...

Discover More

Struggling with New Changes to Track Changes

In the latest versions of Microsoft 365, the company has introduced an entirely new way to deal with markup comments. ...

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 seven more than 3?

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.