How to Read Full Comment in Excel (6 Handy Methods)

In this article, we will walk you through some effective methods to read full comments in Excel.

The following table contains the Name, Subject, and Marks columns of some students, with comments and notes in several cells. We will use 6 methods to read the full comments (and notes) of this table.

Method 1 – Using the Review Tab to Read the Full Comment

This is a very quick and effective method to read full comments and notes in Excel.

Steps:

Go to the Review tab >> select the Show Comments option.

The comments are now displayed at the right of the Excel sheet. Every comment includes the cell number where the comment is located.

Next, we want to read all the notes.

Go to the Review tab >> select Notes >> select Show All Notes.

All the notes are shown.

Read More: How to Find Comments in Excel

Method 2 – Using the Data Validation Feature to Read Full Comments

Here, we have a dataset that is expanded to column 38. The C4 and D4 column headers contain a comment and note respectively. We will apply Freeze Panes to freeze the column header, then apply Data Validation to read the full comment.

Steps:

Follow the steps of Method 1 to view the comments and notes in the dataset.

Select row 5 >> go to the View tab >> select Freeze Panes.

The column header has been frozen.

Now, if we hover our mouse over cell D4 the full comment will be visible, however the full note of cell D4 won’t. To see the full note, we will use the Data Validation feature.

Select cell D4 >> go to the Data tab >> select Data Tools >> select Data Validation option >> select Data Validation.

The Data Validation dialog box will appear.

Select Input Message.
In the Input Message box, enter the content of the note on cell D4. Alternatively, copy the note content before freezing the column header, and paste it into the Input Message box.

Click OK.

Click on cell D4 to see the full note.

Method 3 – Using the Go To Special Feature

This is a very effective method to highlight the cells with notes in Excel.

However, only in Excel 365 can we highlight the cells with notes by using the Go To Special feature. In previous versions only the cells with comments can be highlighted.

Steps:

Go to the Data tab >> select the Editing option.
Select Find & Select >> select Go To Special.

The Go To Special dialog box will appear.

Select Notes >> click OK.

Cells B12 and D10 are highlighted as they have notes.

Hover the mouse on the highlighted cells to see the notes.

Here, we hover our mouse on cell D10, and the note is shown.

Method 4 – Using Excel Options to Read Full Comments

We can also use the Advanced Excel option to read full comments.

Steps:

Go to the File tab.

Select Options.

The Excel Options window will appear.

Select Advanced >> scroll down to the Display option.
Mark Indicators and notes, and comments on hover >> click OK.

Now, we can see the notes in the Excel sheet.

To check if the comments are also visible:

Hover the mouse on cell C12 to read the full comment.

Method 5 – Printing Comments to Read Full Comment/Notes

Printing the full comments is another approach to reading them.

Steps:

Go to the Page Layout tab >> select Page Setup, (marked with a red box in the image below).

The Page Setup dialog box will appear.

Select Sheet >> in the Comments and notes box, select At end of sheet.
Click on Print Preview.

On page 2 of the Print Preview, we can see all the comments.

Print the page to read the full comments.

Method 6 – Using the Format Comment Option

In many cases, the comments or notes format is set in a way that is difficult to read. In that case, we can format comments to make them more legible.

Excel 365 allows application of Format Comment on notes and comments. For earlier versions, Format Comment can be applied on the comments only.

Let’s apply the Format Comment option to format the note of cell B12.

Steps: