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How to insert comment and notes in Excel

July 20, 2022
4.9K Views

Microsoft Excel, a popular spreadsheet tool, is used by millions to organize data, do complex computations, and create professional reports. Despite its popularity, many Excel users struggle with basic functions like notes and comments. Annotations help add information, calculate, and collaborate. Adding notes and comments to an Excel spreadsheet is easy and can boost productivity. We'll show you how to add notes and comments to Excel in this post.

Introduction

One of the most feature-rich and commonly used spreadsheet programs available today is, without a doubt, Microsoft Excel. Numerous people and organizations worldwide have benefited from this potent program's ability to manage their data more efficiently, swiftly evaluate information, and make better decisions based on precise insights and trends. However, getting the most out of Excel can occasionally be challenging, especially for individuals who are unfamiliar with the program or have little familiarity with its sophisticated capabilities.

Adding notes and comments to your spreadsheets is one such tool that can be quite helpful. These annotations might offer crucial context, additional details, or even just serve as a simple reminder of what specific data stands for. Therefore, learning how to write notes and comments in Excel is a crucial skill that no one should be without, whether you're trying to keep track of precise data, communicate with colleagues, or simply stay organized.

If you are wondering why you can not add a note and comment in excel, this article will walk you through the process of how to add note and comment in Excel shortcut along with a step-by-step guide to provide useful advice on making the most of these indispensable features. Let's start and see how simple adding notes and comments to your Excel files is!

Comments and Notes in Excel

Comments in Excel

While you add a comment to an Excel cell, a brief note that appears while the mouse is hovered over the cell can also be added. This is a fantastic technique to add more details to the data entry or formula that the cell holds. Right-click on the cell and choose "Insert comment" to add a comment. To close the comment box after entering your message, click outside.

By using the Comment Formatting options, which let you adjust the font, size, color, border, and positioning of the comment box, you may also alter the look and functionality of your comments. You can even upload an image or a URL to your comment to add extra context or resources pertinent to the situation or even automate comments in excel.

How to add comment in Excel


Notes in Excel

Similar to comments, notes in Excel are typically used for private notes that should not be visible to others. Simply choose the cell for the note and click "New Note" in the "Notes" section of the "Review" tab of the ribbon to create one. After entering your note, close the note box by clicking outside of it. You can read notes by hovering your cursor over the small icons that represent them in the top-right corner of the cell.

By navigating to the Note Options, you may alter the font, size, color, and transparency of the note icon as well as the look and behavior of your notes. The "Next" and "Previous" buttons in the Notes Pane also make switching between notes simple.

Notes in Excel


How to Add a Note and Comment in Excel

Adding a Note to Excel

In Excel, adding a note to a cell is simple and a great way to add background information or insights to your data. Just follow the steps explained:

Step 1

Simply right-click on the desired cell and choose "Insert Note" from the dropdown menu to make a note. As an alternative, you can open the comments box directly by pressing Shift+F2.

How to add a note in excel

Step 2

Once the remark box is open, you may write your comments in and edit or format them as needed.

Step 3

To close the remark box after you're done, click on the cell next to it. A red triangle will emerge in the cell's upper-right corner when you hover your mouse pointer over it, signifying that this cell has a comment. The note icon will remain visible, showing that there is a note in that cell.

How to add a note in excel


Adding a Comment to Excel

In Excel, adding a comment to a cell is also simple. There are only a few tiny distinctions between it and adding a note. The steps below explain how to add comments in Excel!

Step 1

Select the cell you want to remark on and click the Review tab on the ribbon to add a comment.

Step 2

The comment box will display when you click "New Comment" or "Insert Comment." Like the note, you can format or change your comment after typing it.

How to add comments to a cell in excel



Step 3

Click outside the comment box to close it when you're done. The red triangle in the cell's upper-right corner that serves as the comment indicator won't become visible to you until you mouse over it. You can also choose "Edit Comment" or "Delete Comment" by right-clicking on the cell.

Difference between Comments and Notes

Both comments and notes are annotation tools that let users add more details to a cell, although they differ significantly from one another.

Notes in Excel:

  • Can be used to add longer, more in-depth information that is not directly related to the data in the column or the entire spreadsheet.

  • Can be accessed by placing your cursor on the little red triangle in the cell's corner.

Comments in Excel:

  • Can be used to add more concise, precise information pertinent to the data in the cell.

  • Can be accessed by right-clicking on the cell and selecting "Insert Comment".

  • Are contained in a separate box and do not affect the spreadsheet's existing data and formatting.

Overall, comments work best when you need to add a brief note on a particular data point or calculation, whereas notes work best when you need to provide more thorough context or supplementary information that is not essential to the overall operation of the spreadsheet. Excel users may use these annotation capabilities more productively and produce more useful and organized spreadsheets by being aware of the debate- excel notes vs comments.

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why can't I add a note in excel


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FAQs

1.How do you add a note instead of a comment in Excel?

In Excel, you must first choose the cell where you wish to put the note and then right-click on it.

Step 1

Choose "Insert Note" from the dropdown menu. Alternatively, you can press "Shift + F2" on the keyboard. The note will appear as a tiny red triangle in the cell's upper right corner once you have added it.

Step 2

To read the note's contents, hover your cursor over the triangle. The worksheet is not obscured with notes, which are not displayed in the cell like comments. Adding extra information that you do not want to display in the worksheet but would like to keep on hand as a reference can be done by adding notes. That clears why can't I add a note in excel.

Excel notes vs comments


2.How do I add the same note to multiple cells in Excel?

In Excel, you may use the "Fill Handle" tool to simultaneously add the same note to numerous cells.

Step 1

Insert the note in the first cell of the desired location. Then, keep your cursor stationary over the cell's bottom right corner until it turns into a crosshair.

Step 2

When copying the note, click and drag the pointer over the appropriate cells. Excel will automatically insert the same note into the selected cells.

Step 3

The note can be copied to numerous cells using the "Paste Special" option. To copy a note from one cell to another, just select the note-containing cell, press "Ctrl + C," then pick the cells into which you wish to paste the note, right-click, select "Paste Special," then select "Comments" from the list of "Paste" options. As a result, the note will be pasted into each of the chosen cells.

How to add multiple comments in excel


Conclusion

In conclusion, the ability to add notes and comments to an Excel document is a crucial skill that every user should possess. These tools assist users in annotating their work while also saving time and enhancing clarity.

Irrespective of their experience level, anyone can add notes and comments to their Excel sheets with the help of our step-by-step guide. Whether you're a novice or a seasoned user, this article offers useful advice and guidelines that are certain to be helpful.

Why then wait? Try the WPS office to see how to add notes and comments in Excel to begin enjoying the advantages of these beneficial annotation tools!


15 years of office industry experience, tech lover and copywriter. Follow me for product reviews, comparisons, and recommendations for new apps and software.