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

Rounding Numbers

The primary method of rounding values is to use the ROUND function in your formulas. Here's an introduction to this ...

Discover More

Smushing Text Together

Word gives you control over how your text appears on the page. This includes adjusting how close letters are to each ...

Discover More

Automatic Page Numbers in New Documents

If you want to have page numbers in your documents, by default, the easiest solution is to make your changes in ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Adding a Comment to Multiple Cells

Adding a comment to a single cell is easy. What if you want to add the same comment to multiple cells, however? Here are ...

Discover More

Static Sizes for Comment Boxes

Adding comments to your worksheet can be helpful in documenting what the worksheet contains. If you want to make sure ...

Discover More

Keyboard Shortcut for Comments

Adding comments to the cells in your worksheets can help to document different aspects of that worksheet. Adding a ...

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 two more than 7?

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.