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: Adjusting Comment Printouts.

Adjusting Comment Printouts

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 9, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


If you use comments in your worksheets quite a bit, you may wonder if there is a way to print the comments, but without the name and colon that normally preface every comment. Unfortunately, there is no built-in way to accomplish this in Excel. However, a macro can be used to quickly pull all the comments from a worksheet and place them in their own worksheet. This worksheet could then be printed, as it would amount to a compendium of all the comments. The macro is as follows:

Sub Workbook_BeforePrint(Cancel As Boolean)
    myCount = 0
    For Each c In ActiveSheet.Comments
        myCount = myCount + 1
        myComment = ActiveSheet.Comments(myCount).Text
        Sheets(2).Range("a1").Offset(myCount, 0).Value = _
          Mid(myComment,InStr(myComment, Chr(10)))
    Next
End Sub

This macro places the comments on the second worksheet in a workbook, so if you want them on a different worksheet (so you don't overwrite information already on the second sheet) you will have to make a modification to the Sheets(2) object.

Note, as well, that the macro name is Workbook_BeforePrint. This means that the macro will run every time you go to print your worksheet.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2521) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Adjusting Comment Printouts.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Word Won't Take 'No' for an Answer

If you choose to exit Word and it asks you if you want to save changes to your Normal.dot template, it can be very ...

Discover More

How Excel Stores Dates and Times

Excel stores dates and times internally using what is called a serial number. This tip explains how that serial number is ...

Discover More

Repeating Rows on a Printout Except On the Last Page

When setting up a worksheet for printing, you can specify that Excel repeat some of your rows at the top of each page ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Printing Row Numbers

On-screen Excel displays row numbers that help you easily see what is in each row. If you want to print these row ...

Discover More

Printing All or Nothing

Want to make sure that when you worksheet is printed that everything in the workbook is really printed? You can ...

Discover More

Printing Only Non-Blank Worksheets

If you have a workbook containing many worksheets, you might want to print only those worksheets that have some sort of ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 7 + 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.