How to Add Comments in Excel 2016

Edited 1 week ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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Microsoft Excel is a powerful tool that individuals and professionals around the world use for a variety of tasks, including data analysis, financial modeling, and much more. One of Excel's useful features is the ability to add comments to cells. These comments help provide context, explanation, or annotation for the data within those cells. This feature is extremely useful when collaborating with others or keeping track of ideas and notes for yourself. In this detailed guide, we will explore the ways you can add, edit, and manage comments in Excel 2016.

Why use comments?

Comments in Excel are important for several reasons:

• Clarity: Comments can help make the data clearer by providing explanations about the figures or formulas used in the calculations.
• Feedback: When more than one person is working on the same spreadsheet, comments serve as a means of asking questions or providing feedback without changing the data.
• Documentation: They serve as a form of documentation that keeps track of changes, reasons for decisions, and other important notes related to the data.

Adding comments in Excel 2016

Adding comments in Excel 2016 is a simple process. Follow the steps below to add comments to your Excel cells:

Step 1: Select the cell

First, you need to select the cell where you want to add the comment. This is done by clicking on the cell with your mouse. Make sure the correct cell is highlighted before moving on to the next step.

Step 2: Insert a comment

Once the cell is selected, go to the Review tab in the Excel ribbon at the top of the screen. The ribbon is the toolbar that contains various options and features in Excel. In the Review tab, look for the 'Comments' group. Here, you will find an option called New Comment. Click on this option to insert a comment in the selected cell.

Step 3: Write a comment

After you select New Comment, a comment box will appear next to the selected cell. You will also see a cursor inside the comment box, indicating that you can start typing your comment. Enter the text you want to appear as a comment in the box. This can be an explanation, note, or any information you want to attach to the cell.

Step 4: Save the comment

Once you've written your comment, click anywhere outside the comment box to save the comment. The comment box will disappear, but rest assured that your comment is still saved in the Excel sheet. A small red triangle in the upper-right corner of the cell will now indicate that a comment is associated with it.

Viewing comments

Excel 2016 allows you to easily view comments. To view the contents of a comment, simply hover your mouse over the cell containing the comment. The comment box will pop up, displaying the typed text. If you want to view all the comments in a specific sheet, there is an option to display all comments at once.

All comments are displayed

To display all comments, go to the Review tab and click the Show All Comments button. This will open all comments in their respective cells, allowing you to view them without having to hover over each cell separately.

Editing comments

You may find that you need to edit an existing comment. Perhaps you made a typo or you need to update information. Here's how you can edit a comment:

Step 1: Go to the cell

Find and select the cell that contains the comment you want to edit. Make sure the red triangle is visible, indicating that a comment exists.

Step 2: Edit the comment

Under the Review tab, click on the Edit Comment option. The comment box will open, allowing you to make the necessary changes to your comment.

Step 3: Save changes

Once you've made the changes, save and close the comment by clicking outside the comment box. The changes will be saved, and your revisions will appear in the comment.

Deleting comments

If a comment is no longer needed, it can be deleted. Deleting comments in Excel 2016 is simple:

Step 1: Select the cell

Select the cell containing the comment you want to delete.

Step 2: Delete the comment

Click the Delete button found in the Comments section of the Review tab. This action will remove the comment from the selected cell.

Benefits of using comments

Using comments in your Excel worksheets offers several benefits:

• Improves communication between team members working on a shared spreadsheet.
• Helps in documenting important decisions or other relevant notes for future reference.
• Saves time by providing a quick and easily accessible reference to each cell's data.

Example use case

Consider a scenario where you are working on a budget report with team members. Each team member is responsible for a different section of the report. Using comments, each member can easily annotate their respective sections with notes explaining their calculations or decisions. Also, if another team member has a question, they can add a comment to draw attention to it without altering the data. Thus, comments play a vital role in maintaining a clear and effective workflow.

Conclusion

Comments in Excel 2016 provide an incredibly useful way to enhance collaboration and understanding of data. They're easy to add, view, edit, and delete. By using comments strategically, you can clarify complex information, track your thoughts, and communicate effectively with others working in the same spreadsheet. Understanding how to use comments effectively can help you leverage Excel's full potential as a data management and analysis tool. Hopefully, this guide has provided you with the steps and understanding you need to effectively use comments in your Excel project. Whether you're working alone or as part of a team, comments can significantly enhance the way you manage and share information in Excel 2016.

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