How to Insert and Delete Comments from Cells in Excel

Excel is a powerful and versatile spreadsheet application that allows you to perform various calculations, analyze data, create charts, and more. One of the features that can enhance your productivity and collaboration in Excel is the ability to insert and delete comments from cells.

Comments are small text boxes that appear when you hover over a cell that has a red triangle in the top-right corner. You can use comments to add notes, explanations, feedback, or reminders to yourself or others who work on the same workbook. Comments can help you document your work, communicate with your team, or highlight important information.

Notes are similar to comments, but they have a yellow background and a different icon in the top-right corner of the cell. Notes are the original way of adding comments in Excel, but they have been renamed as notes in Office 365 to avoid confusion with the new threaded comments feature.

Threaded comments are a new feature in Office 365 that allows you to create conversations with other people who have access to the same workbook. Threaded comments have a purple background and a speech bubble icon in the top-right corner of the cell. You can use threaded comments to ask questions, provide feedback, or discuss ideas with your collaborators.

In this article, we will show you how to insert and delete comments from cells in Excel using different methods. We will also explain the difference between comments, notes, and threaded comments, and how to use them effectively.

How to Insert Comments in Excel

There are several ways to insert comments in Excel, depending on what type of comment you want to add and what version of Excel you are using.

How to Insert Threaded Comments in Excel (Office 365 Only)

If you are using Office 365, you can insert threaded comments in Excel by following these steps:

Select the cell where you want to insert a threaded comment.
Go to the Review tab on the ribbon and click on New Comment in the Comments group. Alternatively, you can right-click on the cell and select New Comment from the context menu.
A comment box will appear on the right side of the screen. Type your comment and press Enter or click on Post.
You can also reply to an existing comment by clicking on Reply under the comment box.
To close the comment box, click on the X icon on the top-right corner.

How to Insert Notes in Excel (Office 365 Only)

If you are using Office 365, you can insert notes in Excel by following these steps:

Select the cell where you want to insert a note.
Go to the Review tab on the ribbon and click on New Note in the Comments group. Alternatively, you can right-click on the cell and select New Note from the context menu.
A note box will appear next to the cell. Type your note and press Esc or click anywhere outside the note box.
To edit or delete a note, right-click on the cell and select Edit Note or Delete Note from the context menu.

How to Insert Comments in Excel (Non-Office 365 Versions)

If you are not using Office 365, you can insert comments in Excel by following these steps:

Select the cell where you want to insert a comment.
Press Shift + F2 on your keyboard or go to the Review tab on the ribbon and click on New Comment in the Comments group. Alternatively, you can right-click on the cell and select Insert Comment from the context menu.
A comment box will appear next to the cell. Type your comment and press Esc or click anywhere outside the comment box.
To edit or delete a comment, right-click on the cell and select Edit Comment or Delete Comment from the context menu.

How to Delete Comments from Cells in Excel

There are also several ways to delete comments from cells in Excel, depending on what type of comment you want to remove and what version of Excel you are using.

How to Delete Threaded Comments in Excel (Office 365 Only)

If you are using Office 365, you can delete threaded comments in Excel by following these steps:

Select the cell that contains the threaded comment you want to delete.
Go to the Review tab on the ribbon and click on Show Comments in the Comments group. Alternatively, you can right-click on the cell and select Show Comments from the context menu.
A comment box will appear on the right side of the screen. Hover over the comment you want to delete and click on the three dots icon (…) that appears next to it.
Select Delete from the drop-down menu.
To delete all threaded comments from the workbook, go to File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document. Check the box for Comments and Annotations and click on Inspect. Click on Remove All next to Comments and Annotations.

How to Delete Notes in Excel (Office 365 Only)

If you are using Office 365, you can delete notes in Excel by following these steps:

Select the cell that contains the note you want to delete.
Go to the Review tab on the ribbon and click on Delete Note in the Comments group. Alternatively, you can right-click on the cell and select Delete Note from the context menu.
To delete all notes from the workbook, go to File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document. Check the box for Comments and Annotations and click on Inspect. Click on Remove All next to Comments and Annotations.

How to Delete Comments in Excel (Non-Office 365 Versions)

If you are not using Office 365, you can delete comments in Excel by following these steps:

Select the cell that contains the comment you want to delete.
Go to the Review tab on the ribbon and click on Delete in the Comments group. Alternatively, you can right-click on the cell and select Delete Comment from the context menu.
To delete all comments from the workbook, go to File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document. Check the box for Comments and Annotations and click on Inspect. Click on Remove All next to Comments and Annotations.

How to Show or Hide Comments in Excel

By default, Excel only shows the comment indicators in the cells, but not the comment text. You can show or hide the comment text by following these steps:

To show all comments in the worksheet, go to the Review tab on the ribbon and click on Show All Comments in the Comments group. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + Shift + O on your keyboard.
To hide all comments in the worksheet, go to the Review tab on the ribbon and click on Show All Comments again to toggle it off. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + Shift + O again on your keyboard.
To show or hide a specific comment, right-click on the cell that contains the comment and select Show/Hide Comment from the context menu.

How to Format or Resize Comments in Excel

You can also format or resize comments in Excel to make them more readable or appealing. You can change the font, color, size, alignment, or border of the comment text or box by following these steps:

Right-click on the cell that contains the comment and select Edit Comment from the context menu.
Right-click on the border of the comment box and select Format Comment from the context menu.
A dialog box will appear with various tabs for different formatting options. You can choose from Font, Alignment, Colors and Lines, Size, Properties, or Protection.
Make your desired changes and click OK.

How to Convert Notes to Comments in Excel (Office 365 Only)

If you are using Office 365 and you want to convert notes to comments or vice versa, you can do so by following these steps:

Select the cell that contains the note or comment you want to convert.
Go to the Review tab on the ribbon and click on Convert to Comment or Convert to Note in the Comments group. Alternatively, you can right-click on the cell and select Convert to Comment or Convert to Note from the context menu.

Conclusion

Comments are a useful feature in Excel that can help you add notes, explanations, feedback, or reminders to yourself or others who work on the same workbook. You can insert and delete comments from cells in Excel using different methods depending on what type of comment you want to add and what version of Excel you are using. You can also show or hide comments, format or resize comments, or convert notes to comments in Office 365.

How to Insert and Delete Comments from Cells in Excel