Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Printing Comments.

Printing Comments

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 29, 2026)

2

Not only are comments handy when you are displaying your worksheet, but you can also print them out for a permanent record. Excel provides two ways to print comments. The first is as they are displayed on your worksheet. This method results in a graphic printout that shows comments over the top of your worksheet, as they appear when displayed on the monitor. Only those comments currently displayed on the screen are printed, however. If a comment is hidden, it is not printed at all.

The second method is to print the comments separately, at the end of the worksheet. The reference for a cell to which a comment is attached is printed first, followed by the comment itself. Thus, you might see the following on the printout:

   Cell: C4
Comment: Allen L. Wyatt:
         Prices last updated 10/12/22

Each comment is printed in this format, until all the comments are printed. This printing choice is a great way to provide a complete list of all the comments in a worksheet.

To control how comments are printed, follow these steps:

  1. Display the Page Layout tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the small icon at the lower-right corner of the Page Setup group. Excel displays the Page Setup dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Sheet tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Sheet tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

  4. Use the Comments drop-down list to specify how you want your comments printed.
  5. Click on OK to close the Page Setup dialog box.
  6. Print your worksheet as normal.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10102) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Printing Comments.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Creating a Normal Index

Adding an index to a document is an easy task. There are a couple of ways you can do it, as described in this tip.

Discover More

Finding an Invisible Text Box

Text boxes can be a great aid in designing the layout of your document. What do you do when you can't find a text box ...

Discover More

Using InputBox to Get Data

Need your macro to get some input from a user? The standard way to do this is with the InputBox function, described in ...

Discover More

Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Counting Comments in a Worksheet

Need to know how many comments are in a worksheet? You can figure out the count manually, or you can apply the handy ...

Discover More

Keyboard Shortcut for Comments

Adding comments or notes to the cells in your worksheets can help to document different aspects of that worksheet. Adding ...

Discover More

Changing Comment Color for a Single User

The default color used to format comments is determined by Windows, not Excel. You can adjust the formatting of ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four more than 0?

2022-07-16 15:37:20

J. Woolley

My Excel Toolbox includes the following dynamic array function:
=ListComments([AllSheets],[Threaded],[SkipHeader])
This function returns one row for each comment with the following columns: Worksheet, Cell, Author, Comment (text). It works with threaded and unthreaded Comments (Notes).
In older versions of Excel that do not support dynamic arrays, you can use ListComments with the SpillArray function like this:
=SpillArray(ListComments([AllSheets],[Threaded],[SkipHeader]))
SpillArray will determine and populate the spill range for its array expression argument, simulating a dynamic array.
See https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox/

2022-07-16 09:08:37

Karen Prytula

Don't forget to check the 'Row and Column Headings' box too, so you can easily find the cell C4 in the printed document. C4 is pretty easy to find, but if the comment were in cell C234, you will have to start counting all the rows to find it otherwise.

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.