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

Working on Shared Templates

In many companies it is common to have standard templates accessible through the internal network. If you have templates ...

Discover More

Jumping to a Relative Page

When you are navigating around your document, you may find it helpful to jump a certain number of pages either toward the ...

Discover More

Controlling the Program Used with Hyperlinked Images

How to tell Windows which program to use for graphics with hyperlinks.

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 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Formatting Comments

Need to change the appearance of the text in your comments? It's easy to do using techniques you are already familiar with.

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

Turning Off the Date and Time Shown in a Comment

When you add a comment to a document, Word helpfully includes the date and time that the comment was added. If you don't ...

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.