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: Printing Comments.

Printing Comments

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 25, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Not only are comments handy when you are displaying your worksheet, but you can also print them out for a permanent record. Excel provides two ways to print comments. The first is as they are displayed on your worksheet. This method results in a graphic printout that shows comments over the top of your worksheet, as they appear when displayed on the monitor. Only those comments currently displayed on the screen are printed, however. If a comment is hidden, it is not printed at all.

The second method is to print the comments separately, at the end of the worksheet. The reference for a cell to which a comment is attached is printed first, followed by the comment itself. Thus, you might see the following on the printout:

   Cell: C4
Comment: Allen L. Wyatt:
         Prices last updated 11/15/12

Each comment is printed in this format, until all the comments are printed. This printing choice is a great way to provide a complete list of all the comments in a worksheet.

To control how comments are printed, follow these steps:

  1. Choose the Page Setup option from the File menu. Excel displays the Page Setup dialog box.
  2. Make sure the Sheet tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Sheet tab of the Page Setup dialog box.

  4. Use the Comments drop-down list to specify how you want your comments printed.
  5. Click on OK to close the Page Setup dialog box.
  6. Print your worksheet as normal.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2846) 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: Printing Comments.

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

Removing Unused Styles

Got an older document that has a bunch of unused styles defined in it? You can get rid of those styles easily by using ...

Discover More

Converting to Automatic Endnotes

When you add endnotes to a document, they are automatically maintained and renumbered by Word, as necessary. If you get a ...

Discover More

Adjusting Row Height for a Number of Worksheets

Adjusting the height of a row or range of rows is relatively easy in Excel. How do you adjust the height of those same ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Moving Comment Background Pictures to Cells

When formatting comments, you can use a graphic as a background for the comment box. If you later want to move this ...

Discover More

Editing a Comment Close to Its Cell

Have you ever chosen to edit a comment, only to find that the comment is quite a ways from the cell with which it is ...

Discover More

Comments Don't Appear when Cell is Pointed To

One way that you can view comments in a worksheet is to have them appear when you hover the mouse pointer over a cell. If ...

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 + 9?

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.