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How to Stop Word Comments Column from Appearing in an Exported PDF
Question details
The user needs to prevent the comments and revisions column from appearing when exporting a Word document to a PDF file.
- Product
- Word
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Exporting or saving a finalized Word document as a PDF without displaying any internal markup, comments, or tracked changes.
- Observed behavior
- The exported PDF continues to show the comments column and revision descriptions on the side of the page, even when revisions are set to display inline or comments appear to be removed.
Ensure you have full editing permissions for the document, as you will need to accept or reject tracked changes and modify export settings to hide markup.
Accept Tracked Changes and Delete Comments Before Exporting
The most reliable way to prevent the markup column from appearing in a PDF is to permanently resolve all comments and tracked changes within the document itself.
If your document no longer needs to be reviewed, clearing all the background markup ensures that the PDF conversion tool only sees the final text. Merely changing the view to 'No Markup' will not stop the data from being exported.
Open your document and navigate to the 'Review' tab on the top ribbon.
Click the arrow below the 'Accept' button in the Changes group and select 'Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking'.
Click the arrow below the 'Delete' button in the Comments group and select 'Delete All Comments in Document'.
Go to File > Save As, choose PDF as your format, and save the file. The markup column will no longer appear.
Change PDF Publish Settings to Exclude Document Markup
If you want to keep the comments in the original Word file but hide them in the exported PDF, you can adjust the specific PDF export options.
Use WPS Office to Seamlessly Export Clean PDFs
WPS Office provides an intuitive word processing tool, WPS Writer, which makes it incredibly simple to manage track changes and export documents to PDF exactly how you want them.
- 1. Open Document: Launch WPS Writer and open your .docx file.
- 2. Manage Markup: Go to the 'Review' tab to manage your Track Changes and Comments easily.
- 3. Access PDF Export: Click 'Menu' in the top-left corner and select 'Export to PDF'.
- 4. Adjust Settings: Verify your export settings to ensure comments are excluded, then click the 'Export' button.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does a grey area still show up on the right side of my PDF?
The grey margin appears because 'Track Changes' or 'Comments' are still active in the document, or the 'Document showing markup' option was selected during the PDF export. Accepting all changes and turning off markup will remove this margin.
Can I hide comments in the PDF without deleting them in Word?
Yes. When saving as a PDF, click on the 'Options' button in the Save As dialog box and change the 'Publish what' setting from 'Document showing markup' to 'Document'. This keeps the comments in the source file but excludes them from the PDF.
Does 'Simple Markup' view prevent comments from exporting?
No, 'Simple Markup' only changes how the document looks on your screen. To ensure markup doesn't export, you must configure the export options to exclude it or fully resolve all changes.
How do I completely remove reviewer names from my exported document?
To remove reviewer names and personal information, go to File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document, and choose to remove 'Document Properties and Personal Information' before exporting.
