How to View Comments on a Word Document

To view comments in a Word document, open the Comments pane rather than looking only for tracked-change markup. In current versions of Word, select Review → Show Comments and choose Contextual or List view. You can also select the Comments button near the upper-right corner of the Word window.

How to View Comments in Word on Windows or Mac

The current Microsoft 365 comment experience uses comment cards and a Comments pane. The exact location of the button can vary slightly between Word for Windows and Word for Mac, but the workflow is similar.

1. Open the document in Microsoft Word.
2. Select the Review tab.
3. Select Show Comments. You can also select the Comments button near the upper-right corner of the window.
4. Choose Contextual to display the relevant comment beside the text you are reading, or choose List to open the complete Comments pane.
5. Select a comment card or the highlighted anchor in the document to connect the discussion with its referenced text.

When comments are attached to text, Word highlights the anchor. Selecting the highlight emphasizes the related comment card. Selecting a comment in the pane takes you back to the relevant location in the document.

Contextual View vs. List View

Modern Word provides two comment views, and choosing the right one makes long review sessions easier.

Comment view	What it shows	Best use
Contextual view	The active comment beside its anchor in the document	Reading or replying while working through the document paragraph by paragraph
List view	A scrollable pane containing all comment threads, including resolved comments	Auditing every comment, checking completed threads, or navigating a heavily reviewed file

The default contextual view may hide resolved comments. Switch to List view when you need to confirm whether an earlier discussion was resolved or when you want to reopen a completed thread.

How to Use the Reviewing Pane and Classic Comments

Some Word versions, older documents, or organization-managed installations may still display classic comment balloons. The Reviewing Pane is also useful when a long comment does not fit inside a comment card or when an older comment contains formatting or objects that modern comments cannot fully display.

1. Go to Review.
2. Select Reviewing Pane.
3. Choose Reviewing Pane Vertical to display the list beside the document, or Reviewing Pane Horizontal to display it below the document.
4. Select an item in the pane to move to the corresponding comment or tracked revision.

For classic comments, set the document to All Markup and confirm that Review → Show Markup → Comments is enabled. Remember that the Reviewing Pane can show both comments and tracked changes; a comment is a discussion, while a tracked change is an actual insertion, deletion, move, or formatting revision.

How to View Comments in Word for the Web

Word for the web can display, reply to, resolve, and delete comments without requiring the desktop application.

1. Open the document in Word for the web.
2. Select Comments or go to Review → Show Comments.
3. Select a thread in the Comments pane to jump to its anchored text.
4. Select the highlighted text or comment marker when you want to open a specific discussion.

If you can open the file but cannot interact with the comments, check whether the document is in Viewing mode. You may need editing or reviewing permission from the file owner. For features that are unavailable in the browser, use Open in Desktop App.

How to View Comments on Mobile Word

On iPhone and iPad, highlighted text indicates that a comment is attached to that part of the document.

1. Open the document in the Word mobile app.
2. Tap the highlighted text to open the comment or review pane.
3. Use the arrow controls in the review pane to move to the previous or next comment.
4. Tap a thread to read its replies or add a response when you have permission.

The ribbon may be collapsed on a smaller screen, so tap the edit or ribbon icon before opening Review. Mobile layouts can vary by app version and device size, but comments remain attached to highlighted text.

How to View Comments in WPS Writer

WPS Writer can open Word-compatible .docx files that contain comments. Its review tools use a familiar ribbon layout.

1. Open the document in WPS Writer.
2. Select the Review tab.
3. Select a highlighted word, sentence, or comment marker to display the related comment box.
4. Use the available comment controls to read, reply to, edit, or delete the thread.
5. If revision marks are hidden, open the View tab and enable Markup.