Word to the wise: Using the Insert Comment feature in Word

Today, we have a guest blogger. Elyssa is an editor and project manager at Brainstorm, a leading provider of online and onsite software training and one of our partners that provides customized content for your Productivity Hub.

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For my job, I review other people's written work quite a bit, making suggestions on how to improve the style and language of all sorts of documents. If you need to review someone else's work, you don't have to print it out and jot a bunch of hard-to-read notes on a paper copy that can easily get lost. Microsoft Word will let you actually insert notes into a document so your suggestions can be saved electronically.

For example, you can tell an employee to change the headings and font size of a sales proposal by using the Insert Comment feature. Here's what to do:

1. Click after the word or character where you want to insert a comment.

2. To create a comment, go to the Review tab on the Ribbon and click New Comment.

3. The comment will attach to the word closest to your insertion point. A comment bubble will appear that includes your initials and the number of the comment. For example, if your initials are ACA, your first comment will be labeled "Comment [ACA1]." Multiple users can insert comments into a document. Their work will show up with their own initials listed in their comment bubbles.

4. Type your comment in the comment box.

5. When you finish, click outside the comment to reenter the document.

6. To add more comments, click the next place requiring comment. This will be your new insertion point. On the Review tab, click New Comment again.

By using the  Insert Comment feature in Word, you'll be able to easily keep electronic notes to yourself, a manager, coworker or employee in the actual document that needs changing. So throw away the sticky notes and paper copies and rest assured that all your suggestions and corrections will remain with the original document. Watch a free, short training video on this topic by BrainStorm.

Elyssa

Comments

• Anonymous
  March 14, 2011
  What if you don't WANT your initials in the comment? I can't figure out how to get them out! It's for something that I am posting as a volunteer, and Word is posting my real initials. I want the comment to appear, but NOT the initials. I have Word 2004 on a Mac OSX. Can you hep me?