How to print without comments in Microsoft Word

The ability to leave comments on a Microsoft Word document is certainly useful. However, the presence of comments can be irritating when printing the document. Fortunately, there is a way to get rid of them before printing.

In this article, we’ll show you how to achieve this in each version of Word. But first, let’s quickly explain what comments are and go over some more basic comment functions.

What are comments and how to insert them?

By definition, a comment is a note or annotation that an author or reviewer can add to a document. In Microsoft Word, editors most often use them to explain certain decisions or request additional clarification from the author. Let’s see how you can insert a comment into a Word document.

Commenting in Word 2007 and Word 2010

1. To add a comment, select a part of the text that the comment refers to and click the New comment button. It is located in the Review tab, below Comments cluster. A balloon will appear next to the text you selected. If you have not selected any text, the word next to the flashing cursor will be automatically selected.
2. Click inside the balloon and write your comment. Once you’re done commenting, click anywhere outside the balloon.

Note: Word 2010, 2013, and 2016 are quite similar, so you most likely won’t have any problems using some of the newer editions.

Commenting in Word 2002 and Word 2003

1. First, select a word/paragraph, or simply click where you want to comment.
2. Now click on the Insert menu and then choose CommentA comment bubble will appear again, ready to show what you are about to comment on.

Note: You cannot insert a comment in the header or footer of the document.

Change and delete comments

Changing comments is very easy, as you will probably be able to see them (unless you have hidden them).

1. All you need to do is click on the balloon and then change its text.
2. Another way to do this is to click on the Review panel Located in the Review and find the comment you want to change.

1. The easiest way to delete a comment is to right click on the balloon and click Delete comment.
2. Additionally, you can do the same within the Review Panel.

The review panel

The goal of the Review Panel is to make long comments easier to read, as well as to provide an overview of all comments in one place.

1. To display the panel in versions of Word 2007 and 2010, you must enable it in the Review tab, it is in the Tracking group. You can choose whether you prefer a horizontal or vertical version.

1. In older versions of Word (2002 and 2003), you should find the Reviewing toolbar and then click Review Panel. He Reviewing The toolbar should appear now, but if it doesn’t, go to the View menu, search Toolbars there and click Reviewing.

Print without comments

Word 2010 and 2016

There are two ways to prepare a document for printing without comments in both Word 2010 and 2016.

1. Go to the Review eyelash.
2. Now, find the Tracking Features group and open the Show marking menu from there.
3. If it is checked, delete the Comments box.

1. The other way is to go to the main Archive eyelash.
2. From there, choose Print to open the configuration window. At the top is the dropdown menu where you can choose which pages to print.
3. After clicking on it, you will notice that there is a Print marking lever. Turn it off.

Word 2007

Word 2007 also has two methods for preparing a file for printing without any comments, the first being the same as in more recent versions of Word. In short, you need to find the Review tab and then the Tracking group from there. There is a drop-down menu that says Show Markup and a Comments checkbox that needs to be cleared.

If you prefer to handle comments from the main menu, click the Office button in the upper left corner. From there, go to Print, which will take you to the Print dialog box. As in other versions of Word, there is an option that asks you what you want to print (“Print What”). “Document showing marks” is selected by default. You should click the drop-down menu and choose “Document” instead.

Word 2002 and Word 2003

Again, there are two methods, both similar to other versions of Word. The first is to click Mark on the View menu to hide the balloons in the document.

The second is to click Print on the File menu. Just like in Word 2007, look to set the “Print What” option in Document.

To sum up

While comments are a very useful feature, most users want their Word documents to print without comments. Simply follow the process explained in this article and you can do it yourself.

Do you use the comments feature in Word? If so, what do you use it for most? Do you know any other way to print Word documents without comments? Let us know in the comments below!