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: Inserting Workbook Comments Into a Cell.

Inserting Workbook Comments Into a Cell

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 1, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Jim would like to insert the text found in the Comments portion of a workbook's properties into a cell. This isn't a comment attached to a cell, but the contents of the Comments field in the workbook properties.

If you need to simply copy the comments a single time, then doing so manually may be the best bet. You can display the Comments field, select whatever contents you want to put into your worksheet, and then press Ctrl+C. Close the properties, select the desired cell, and then press Ctrl+V.

If you have more of a need for the inclusion to be dynamic, then the only way to add those comments to a cell is to use a macro. If you want to have the contents appear in a specific cell (such as A1), then you can simply use a single line of code:

Range("A1")=ActiveWorkbook.BuiltinDocumentProperties("comments")

That's it; a single line of code to stuff the comments into the cell. You can build upon this, if desired, to create a user-defined function that is helpful for placing the comments anywhere you desire.

Function putComments() As String
    putComments=ActiveWorkbook.BuiltinDocumentProperties("comments")
End Function

In order to use this user-defined function, simply use the following in a cell:

=mySheetComment()

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 (6560) 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: Inserting Workbook Comments Into a Cell.

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. ...

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