I have a 300+ page document and occasionally “Comment A1“(or other number) pops up and I cannot get rid of it. What is it and how do I delete it??? It looks like a pink long balloon-type thingy.
— Submitted by Angie from Jeff City, Missouri
ANSWER: Those pink long balloon-type thingies are Comment balloons. These are used when several people are collaborating on a document. Comments from different users show up with different colors and initials.
Follow these steps to delete unwanted comments:
- Click the Review tab.
- In the Comments group, click the down arrow at the bottom of the Delete button. (This button will look grayed out unless your cursor is inside one of the Comment balloons. It cannot be selected unless the document contains Comments.)
- Select Delete All Comments in Document.
-or-
If you only want to delete one comment, make sure your cursor is inside the Comment balloon, then click Delete.
This will get rid of the comments.
Tip: If your document contains comments, make sure they are removed before you send out the final version of your document! Comments may contain sensitive (or embarrassing) information that should not be shared with anyone outside your work group.
Comments
(These comments were from a previous commenting system. If you want to add to the discussion, use the comment box at the bottom of the page. Thanks!)
Your initials in comment balloon
by: Anonymous
How can you create a comment without having your initials show up in the comment balloon?
Remove Initials from Comment Balloon
by: Sue
When you installed Microsoft Word, it asked for your name and initials during the installation process. This is the information that Word inserts into the comment balloon. You can change your initials by going to Office Button (2007) or Help tab (2010) > Options > General. If you don’t want your real initials showing, change them to something generic, such as X, or author.
If you completely remove your name and initials, I find that Word puts them back in for you.
