Comments allow people who collaborate on documents to ask questions, provide suggestions, insert notes, and generally annotate a document's contents without directly inserting any information into the body of the document.

Where comments are displayed
The reviewing pane while viewing the document in any view (Reviewing Pane button is on the Reviewing toolbar) or in a margin balloon if you're working in Web Layout or Print Layout view.

When the reviewing pane is open, it is displayed below the document's editing window, along the bottom of the Word window.

When you use balloons to display information, the balloons appear next to your document's contents in either the left or right margin.

Configuring User names for comments

Tools | Options | User Information – the user types their name in the name box, and initials in the initials box

Change these settings back if you are using someone elses machine and then the settings will only effect the document you are working on.

Configuring comment colours

On the Reviewing toolbar click Show | Options…
or Tools | Options | Track Changes

The default option for colours is By Author – which guarantees that each author’s comments will be represented in a different colour – although not necessarily the same colour on different machines.  The alternative is to show one colour for all comments.

To see which colours have been associated with which users, click on Show | Reviewers

Show/hide users’ comments
This only works in Print/ Web View –
Show | Reviewers (Tick/Untick user’s name)

Marking E-mail Replies
Tools | Options | [General] – E-mail Options ‘Mark My Comments With’

Restricting Reviewier Changes to Comments Only
Tools | Protect Document | ‘Comments’

If you forget the password, copy and paste into a new document and all the markup will transfer over to the new document (2002 onwards)

Inserting Comments
Inserting without selecting text – leaves a coloured insertion mark, indicating where the comment points to.
When you select text, coloured brackets are placed around the text you are refering to.

3 Methods:
Insert | Comment
Revewing toolbar
CTRL ALT M

You can turn off balloons in Print Layout view and just work with the Reviewing pane – Show | Options

To finish a comment, click outside of the balloon or press ESC

Changing the Style of Balloon Comments

1. Open the Styles and Formatting Task Pane
2. From the Show drop down list, choose Custom
3. Select Balloon text – from the styles to be visible list
4. From the list of styles, choose to modify the Balloon text style
5. Configure the style
6. Click on Automatically update – to update the balloons and text in the Reviewing Pane

This does not change the style of the text you type into the balloon! To change this style modify the Comment Text style – follow the procedure above.

Show/ Hide Balloons
Show | Options | ‘Use balloons…’
The comment appears as a screen tip when the mouse pointer is placed over the comment insertion point.
When the balloons are not used the Reviewing Pane automatically opens when inserting a comment.

You can show hide the line connecting the balloon to text in Show | Options as well.

Changing the size and position of balloons
 Show | Options

Percentage option for sizing – is a percentage of the document width. Balloons to do affect the final document width or compromise the text area.

Reviewing Comments
You can review comments with or without reviewing tracked changes.
Focus on just reviewing comments:

View | Markup toggles the markup view
On the Reviewing toolbar – select either of the Markup views: Final or Original
Under Show untick all options except Comments
Use the Next and Previous buttons on the Reviewing toolbar to navigate through your comments – balloons in Print Layout and Comment lines in the Reviewing Pane.

CTRL G select Comment and then reviewer’s name as alternative

To see when and who made a comment, hover over it – a screen tip appears.  If the name does not appear and Author appears instead click on Tools | Options | Security ‘Remove Personal Information from this file on Save’

Responding to Comments
Two ways:

1. Type into an existing comment – non colour coded option
2. Click into an existing comment (balloon or reviewing pane) and add a new comment – this way a comment appears immediately below the existing comment and is colour coded

Deleting Comments
Generally, comments serve a temporary purpose—reviewers insert comments, someone addresses the comments, and then the comments are removed before the document's final publication (either on line or in print).

Delete a single comment – right click – Delete comment or use Delete Comment button on Reviewing toolbar – works for balloon and review pane.

Delete all comments from a particular reviewer – Show (untick All Reviewers) and then tick reviewers whose comments need deleting. Then click on the Delete Comment button and delete all comments shown.

Delete all comments - choose to delete all comments in document from the Reviewing Toolbar, Delete Comments button.

Printing Comments

Set the orientation-
Show | Options | Paper Orientation
Auto – Word works out the best orientation for you
Preserve – keeps the orientation of the document as it is
Force landscape – forces landscape orientation

Print settings-
Reviewing toolbar Show | (make sure only comments are showing)
File | Print | Print What | Document Showing Markup  (margins are changed to accommodate balloons)

List of markup in Print What is a separate list of markup elements.

Web Pages
When you save a document as a web page the comments and other markup are retained, but all in the same colour.