When you insert a comment into a worksheet, that comment is associated with a single cell. There may be times when you want to have a single comment associated with two or more cells. Unfortunately, Excel doesn't provide this capability—there is a strict one-to-one correspondence between comments and cells.
You can, however, use a workaround—create your own comments. You can do this using a text box to contain your comment, and then draw lines between the text box and whatever cells the comment applies to. If you normally want your comments hidden, then you will need to use a macro that takes care of making the text box and lines visible or invisible.
For instance, assume that you create a comment in a text box named Text Box 1. Further, assume that you have two lines leading from the text box to the cells to which the comment applies. The first line, named Line 1, leads to cell C15. The second line, named Line 2, leads to cell F7. You could add the following macro to the worksheet's object:
Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Excel.Range) Shapes("Text Box 1").Visible = False Shapes("Line 1").Visible = False Shapes("Line 2").Visible = False If Target.Address = "$C$15" Then Shapes("Text Box 1").Visible = True Shapes("Line 1").Visible = True End If If Target.Address = "$F$7" Then Shapes("Text Box 1").Visible = True Shapes("Line 2").Visible = True End If End Sub
Anytime a selection is made on the worksheet, the three objects are hidden. If cell C15 is selected, the textbox and the line appropriate line are made visible. Similarly, if cell F7 is selected, the textbox and its line are made visible.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11285) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007 and 2010. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Linking Comments to Multiple Cells.
Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!
The default color used to format comments is determined by Windows, not Excel. You can adjust the formatting of ...
Discover MoreNeed to copy whatever is in a comment (a "note") into a cell on your worksheet? If you have lots of comments, manually ...
Discover MoreExcel won't allow you to directly or automatically insert the results of a formula into a cell's comment. You can, ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2012-08-28 11:47:56
fracjackmac
I use the Paste Special command to copy comments to multiple cells using the following:
1) Select the cell with the comment that you want to duplicate.
2) Use CTRL-C to copy the cell
3) Select the cells where you want to copy the comment to (hold the CTRL key as you select cells if selecting multiple non-contiguous cells)
4) Use ALT-E S C ENTER to "Paste Special - Comments"
[ Using the ribbon - Home > Paste > Paste Special > Comments or ALT H V S C ENTER ]
2012-02-13 05:20:37
Andrew Evans
A very useful tip - better than copy / paste the same comment.
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments