Counting Comments in a Worksheet

by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 15, 2012)

Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Counting Comments in a Worksheet.

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:

1. Press F5. Excel displays the Go To dialog box.
2. Click Special. Excel displays the Go To Special dialog box. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Go To Special dialog box.

3. Make sure the Comments radio button is selected.
4. Click OK. Excel selects all the cells that contain comments.
5. Right-click the status bar and choose Count. The status bar now displays the number of selected cells—the number of comments in the worksheet.

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.

Program Successfully in Excel! John Walkenbach's name is synonymous with excellence in deciphering complex technical topics. With this comprehensive guide, "Mr. Spreadsheet" shows how to maximize your Excel experience using professional spreadsheet application development tips from his own personal bookshelf. Check out Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA today!