Remove Comments in Word: Simple Steps to Do It

 The Comment feature in Microsoft Word is very useful for noting down something that needs attention, needs to be corrected, or provides additional information to others reading your document. This is especially helpful when users are working in teams, however, after the Word document is complete and no longer needs those comments, it’s best to delete them.

Deleting comments in Word is also necessary, because in order to create a final finished version after editing, as well as to share it with others without the attached comments. In this article, FPT Shop will guide you on how to delete comments in Word quickly and efficiently, suitable for all versions.

What is the Comment feature in Word?

The Comment feature in Microsoft Word is an essential tool that helps optimize the process of composing and editing documents, especially when working in teams or when feedback and suggestions for improvement are needed from multiple sources. They can clarify specific changes they want to make or make suggestions to improve the document.

Comments often come with a user’s name, time, and description. This makes it easy to identify the origin of the feedback and manage suggestions from multiple people. Comments also allow users to focus on specific aspects of the document they are interested in, helping to increase the efficiency and quality of editing work. After handling these comments, users will want to know how to delete Comments in Word to make the document look tidy and more professional.

Why delete comments in Word?

Comment in Word is a useful feature, but sometimes you may need to delete comments in Word for some common reasons:

• Creating a more professional document: Deleting comments in Word can make the document look tidy and more professional. Comments can make the document look messy and difficult to read.
• Protect sensitive information: Comments can contain personal information or important business secrets. Deleting comments in Word ensures that this sensitive information is not disclosed or accessed in an unreliable manner.
• Easier document management: Comments in Word can accumulate over time and make the document difficult to manage. By deleting unnecessary comments in Word, you can make the document easier to track and edit.

Before deleting comments in Word, make sure you have reviewed and saved any important information. This ensures that you do not lose any important information you have noted and can continue to work safely and efficiently.

What does Comment in Word look like?

The image below is an example of how a comment after being inserted into a document can appear in Microsoft Word.

In some cases, if comment owners have made notes and want the document to be less messy, they can hide those comments. At this point, the Word document with inserted comments you will see the icons as shown below.

To view the content of that comment, you just need to left-click on the comment icon and the comment will be displayed immediately for you to know. 

4 ways to delete Comments in Word 2010, 2013, 2016,…

The method to delete comments in Word may vary depending on the specific version of Microsoft Word. However, the following 4 methods to delete comments in Word are considered simple and quick to apply to most user versions on computers.

Method 1: Delete Comment in Word directly

For Word documents with few comments, you can use the manual solution to delete comments in Word directly. This method is relatively simple, performed very quickly through the right-click menu. To delete individual comments in Word, you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the docs file.

Step 2: Go to the position of the comment you want to delete in Word, then right-click on that comment, and select Delete Comment.

Step 3: Repeat the above steps to delete comments in Word with other comments you want to remove from your Word document.

In case comments in Word have been hidden by someone else, to delete these hidden comments you perform the following steps to delete comments in Word.

Step 1: Open the Word document on the computer that needs to delete comments.

Step 2: On the ribbon toolbar, you select the Review tab. Then click the Show Comments button in the Comments feature group to display all comments in the document. 

Step 3: Right-click on the comment you want to delete (or the word/phrase is commented), from the drop-down menu select the Delete option or you can click the Delete button on the ribbon to delete comments in Word.

You can also use the Delete or Backspace key to delete the selected comment in Word. Note that the steps and names of the options may vary depending on the specific version of Microsoft Word you are using.

Method 2: Delete Comment in Word using the Review tab

Step 1: Open the Word document containing comments.

Step 2: Access the Review tab on the toolbar.

Step 3: You will see 2 icons Accept and Reject. When you hover the mouse over the Reject tab, you will be able to delete the comments one by one.

Method 3: How to delete all comments in Word

The method of deleting comments in Word using the method above is only suitable when the Word document has few comments, however, if there are many comments in the document and you want to delete all comments in Word. Please follow the steps below:

Step 1: In the Word toolbar, click the Review tab.

Step 2: In the comments section, click the Delete Comment icon and choose Delete All Comments in Document. 

By following the steps above, you can delete all comments in Word with just a few mouse clicks. Once again, be sure to check the document before deleting comments in Word to ensure that you do not lose any important information.

Method 4: How to delete comments in Word using VBA code

There is another easy way to delete comments in Word collectively, that is through VBA code (Visual Basic For Applications). Perform the steps as follows.

Step 1: Open the Word document that needs to delete comments on your computer.

Step 2: Press the Alt-F11 shortcut to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Application window.

Step 3: In the new displayed window, access the Module > Insert menu, then copy and paste the VBA code below into the module window in the right pane.

VBA code to delete all comments in Word

Step 4: Finally click the Run button (the button with the Play icon) to apply VBA or press the F5 key to execute the delete comment command in Word.

How to hide comments in Word

In some cases, you may not want to delete comments in Word but simply hide them so that the Word document looks neat. This can be done easily with the following steps. 

Step 1: Open the Word document with comments to be hidden.

Step 2: Switch to the Review tab from the ribbon toolbar.

Step 3: Pay attention to the Comments feature group, the Show Comments option is highlighted and you can see all the existing comments in the document. You can click the Show Comments button to deselect this option. Then, all the comments in the Word document will disappear in the right side of the document. Instead, you only see the comment icons in the Word document.

But when you click on this comment icon, Word will display the content of that comment for you to view in detail and be easier. Or if desired, you can also delete comments in Word from here according to one of the two methods above.

Notes when deleting comments in Word

When you delete a Comment in Microsoft Word, there are some important notes you should consider, such as: 

• Double-check before deleting: Note that deleting a Comment is an irreversible process. Before deleting, make sure you have thoroughly checked the document, especially when using the Delete All Comments in Document feature. 
• Back up before deleting: Before deleting any Comments, it’s a good idea to backup your document. This helps ensure that you can recover any Comments or any noted information if you accidentally delete them. Use the shortcut keys Ctrl + S (or Command + S on Mac) or click the save icon.
• Archive Comments: In addition to backing up the document, if you feel the Comments are valuable and want to preserve those Comments for the future, you can copy the content of the Comment and paste it elsewhere in the document or back it up to another document for future access.
• Comment deletion technique: Avoid deleting Comments by cutting and pasting or deleting content directly using the Backspace or Delete command on the keyboard, as this can cause information loss or create formatting issues in the document.
• Use Track Changes: If you want to keep the history of Comments and edits in the document, use the Track Changes feature. This feature will track all changes and Comments you have added or deleted.

Conclusion 

In this article, we have provided a detailed guide and discussion on 3 optimal methods to delete Comments in Word for all user versions. Hopefully, with the information above, you will be able to manage Comments effectively in your documents and take advantage of this powerful feature to produce quality documents and save time in your work.