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.

When a document contains both comments and tracked changes, review them separately. A comment explains feedback, while tracked changes show edits to the document text. After saving, keep the file in .docx format when it needs to be reopened in Microsoft Word.

Why Are Comments Not Showing in Word?

If you know a document was reviewed but cannot see any comments, check the following conditions.

• The Comments pane is closed. Select the Comments button or go to Review → Show Comments.
• You are using Contextual view. This view focuses on active comments near the current text. Switch to List view to see all threads, including resolved ones.
• The document uses classic comments. Choose All Markup and make sure Show Markup → Comments is selected.
• You are looking at tracked changes instead of comments. Colored underlines, strikethrough text, and formatting marks are revisions, not comment threads.
• The sender shared a clean copy. Comments may have been deleted or removed before the file was sent.
• The file is in an older or incompatible format. Save an editable copy as .docx and reopen it.
• The file is protected or view-only. You may be able to read comments but not reply, resolve, or edit them without permission.

If the comments were intentionally hidden because the review is complete, use the appropriate guide to accept or resolve comments in a Word document. To permanently clean the file, see how to remove comments from a Word document.

How to View Resolved Comments and Comment Details

Resolved comments usually disappear from the default contextual view, but they are not necessarily deleted.

1. Go to Review → Show Comments.
2. Select List view.
3. Scroll through the Comments pane to locate the resolved thread.
4. Open the thread to review the discussion or choose Reopen when the issue still needs attention.

The comment card displays the reviewer’s name and the thread content. In collaborative cloud documents, it may also show replies, reactions, task assignments, or @mentions. To change the name used for new comments, follow the separate guide on changing your name in Word document comments.

How to Print a Word Document with Comments

Comments do not have to appear in every printed copy. Word uses the Print Markup setting to control whether comments and other review marks are included.

1. Open Review → Show Markup and select Comments if you want to print them.
2. Go to File → Print.
3. Under Settings, enable Print Markup.
4. Check the preview, then print the document.

To print a clean copy, clear Print Markup. Hiding markup for printing does not delete comments from the document.

Manage Word Comments with WPS Office

WPS Writer provides comment and review tools for Word-compatible documents. It can be useful when you need to open a .docx file, read reviewer feedback, make corrections, and check tracked revisions without changing the file format.

Use the same safe workflow in any editor: first read the full comment thread, then apply the requested change, review any tracked revision separately, and finally resolve or remove the comment when the discussion is complete.

FAQs

Why can’t I see comments in my Word document?

Open the Comments pane and switch to List view. If the document uses classic comments, select All Markup and enable Comments under Show Markup. The sender may also have deleted the comments before sharing the file.

How do I view resolved comments in Word?

Go to Review → Show Comments and select List view. Resolved threads remain available there unless they were permanently deleted.

Can I view comments in Word without editing the document?

Usually, yes. A view-only user can often read existing comments, but replying, resolving, or deleting may require editing or reviewing permission.

Can I view comments on a phone or tablet?

Yes. In the Word mobile app, tap highlighted text to open the comment pane, then use the review controls to move between comments.

How do I see who wrote a comment?

The reviewer’s name appears in the comment card or Comments pane. The visible name comes from the account or user information used when the comment was created.

Are comments the same as tracked changes?

No. Comments are discussion threads attached to document content. Tracked changes are insertions, deletions, moves, or formatting revisions that must be accepted or rejected separately.

Do comments appear when I print the document?

They appear only when Print Markup is enabled. Clear Print Markup when you need a clean printed copy without comments.

Summary

How to view comments on a Word document: in current Word versions, open Review → Show Comments and choose Contextual or List view. Use List view for resolved threads, the Reviewing Pane for classic or complex comments, and the mobile review pane when working on a phone or tablet. If comments remain hidden, check the document view, permissions, file format, and whether the sender shared a clean copy.