How to Add Comments in Word (Step-by-Step)

Word Tutorials Nuts & Bolts

In this article, you’ll learn how to add comments in Word, as well as two different ways to quickly navigate them.

Example of a comment added to Word

Adding comments in Word is a great way to mark up your documents without having to directly edit its content. It's like adding sticky note reminders to yourself (or colleagues) without messing up your content.

If you frequently work with lots of comments in Word, I recommend adding the Comments Group to your Quick Access Toolbar, as pictured below.

Example of the Comments group added to the Quick Access Toolbar in Word

​That way you can quickly and easily get at the commenting commands, without having to dig through your Ribbon.

Add comments (Ribbon)

To add a comment, select your text, navigate to the Review tab and select New Comment

To add a comment to something in Word, simply:

  1. Select the text (or object) you want to comment on
  2. Navigate to the Review tab
  3. Click New Comment
  4. Write your comment

You can add comments to anything in Word, including text, images, charts, tables, etc. Simply place your cursor next to (or highlight) what you want to comment on and click on New Comment.

Comment Writing Tip: Make sure that the comments you add to Word are actionable and constructive. There's nothing worse than trying to update a document based on vague comments that don't make much sense.

For some actionable advice on leaving constructive and actionable comments, read Articulate's comment guide here.

Add comments (right-click menu)

Using the right-click menu to add a New Comment in Word

​To add a comment using the right-click menu, simply:

  1. Select and Right-Click what you want to comment on
  2. Select New Comment
  3. Write your comment

This is a fastest way to add comments in Word, as you don't have to continually navigate back and forth between the contents of your document and the Review tab.

Delete Comment shortcut: You can also right-click any comment within your document and use a shortcut to quickly delete them. To learn how to do that (and a variety of other ways to remove comments in Word), read our guide here.

Add comments (Quick Access Toolbar)

If you want add, remove and navigate between lots of comments in Microsoft Word, I recommend adding the Comments group to your Quick Access Toolbar (which is super easy to do).

Navigate to the Review tab, right-click the comments group and select add to quick access toolbar

To add the Comments group to your Quick Access Toolbar, simply:

  1. Navigate to the Review tab
  2. Right-click the Comments group (anywhere along the bottom)
  3. Select Add to Quick Access Toolbar

With the Comments group added to your Quick Access Toolbar, you can now get at all the comment commands (add, next, previous, etc.) by simply clicking it with your mouse, as pictured below.

Example of the comments group on the Quick Access Toolbar in Word

If you later want to remove the Comments group from your Quick Access Toolbar, simply right-click the command and select Remove from Quick Access Toolbar, as pictured below.

To remove a command from your quick access toolbar simply right-click it and select remove from quick access toolbar

Note: Your Quick Access Toolbar might be located above your Ribbon instead of below it like in the picture above. To change its position, simply click the downward facing arrow at the end of your toolbar and select Show Below the Ribbon.

Click the more commands option on your quick access toolbar and select show below the ribbon
On the Review tab, use the Previous and Next commands to navigate your comments

​To use the Previous and Next comment commands, simply:

  1. Navigate to the Review tab
  2. Click Previous or Next

Previous takes to you the preceding comment from where you are currently active in your Word document.

Next takes you to the next comment from where you are currently active in your document.

If you have a lot of comments to review, you can also navigate your comments using the Reviewing Pane, discussed below.

Hidden Comments: The cool thing about the Previous and Next commands is that they work even if your comments are hidden. To learn how to hide comments in Word, read our guide here.

Navigate to the review tab and select the Reviewing Pane to navigate your comments in word

​To open the Reviewing Pane in Word to review and navigate your comments, simply:

  1. Navigate to the Review tab
  2. Open the Reviewing Pane dropdown menu (click the downward facing arrow at the end)
  3. Choose either Reviewing Pane Vertical or Reviewing Pane Horizontal

Inside of the Reviewing Pane you can see and click through comments and other tracked revisions, as shown below.

Inside the reviewing pane in word you can see any tracked changes and comments inside your document

Conclusion

So those are the basics of adding comments in Word, and two different ways you can navigate them within your document.

Adding comments is a great way to markup your documents without editing the underlying content. In this way you can quickly scan through your document and easily remember what you need to change in the future.

Another way you can make working with your Word documents easier, is to properly format them and then insert a table of contents. To learn all about tables of contents in Word, read our guide here.

If you enjoyed this tutorial and want to learn more ways to improve your Microsoft Office skills, visit us here.