Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 24, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365
Sanjib would like to get a count of all the comments in a worksheet. Unfortunately, Excel doesn't include a function that allows you to access this information. You can, however, get the value manually by using this process:
Figure 1. The Go To Special dialog box.
If you want to get the number of comments and place it into a cell, then you need to use a macro to create a user-defined function.
Function CountComments(rCell As Range) Application.Volatile CountComments = rCell.Parent.Comments.Count End Function
This function grabs the value of the Count property for the Comments collection. It is then returned by the function to the worksheet. To use it in your worksheet, enter a formula such as the following:
=CountComments(A1)
The cell address you use in the formula is unimportant; it should simply reference a cell on the worksheet for which you want the count.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12363) 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: Counting Comments in a Worksheet.
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2024-06-18 12:10:34
J. Woolley
@Carol Sartorius
The old Comments option button in the Go To Special dialog is now labeled Notes (legacy unthreaded comments). To count the new threaded Comments, see my previous comment below.
2024-06-17 18:06:29
Carol Sartorius
The comments box has been removed in excel and there appears no way to count those now. :(
2022-09-24 13:03:11
J. Woolley
The Tip's CountComments function considers legacy unthreaded comments (Notes). For new threaded comments, use this:
CountComments = rCell.Parent.CommentsThreaded.Count
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.
In older versions of Excel you can use ListComments with the SpillArray function described in UseSpillArray.pdf. You can also get count values for the active worksheet with these formulas:
=VBAResult("ActiveSheet.Comments.Count")
=VBAResult("ActiveSheet.CommentsThreaded.Count")
See https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox/
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