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Can I remove Modern Comments and revert back?
My Word (on Microsoft 365) has updated to Modern Comments. I have a number of problems with the useability of these comments, based on the way I have used them in the past (for context, I am an educator and primarily use them when marking student assignments).
The main issue is that autotext is no longer supported in a comment. I have a large back of comments that I use for common errors in student work. Some of these comments are up to a paragraph, or contain URLs to instructions for certain things. It's incredibly helpful to be able to insert these quickly and will increase my marking time substantially if I can't use them.
Comments are slow to open. If I open a comment using a keyboard shortcut (on a Windows computer) and start typing, the first one or two letters often gets inserted into the main text
They don't use the same autocorrect tools as the main text. My typing has evolved to use those features. Two capital letters at the start of a comment don't get corrected, and simple typos don't get corrected
There are more steps to use them than before. I don't share my documents, so being able to edit comments and post when they're finalised is not particularly useful for me, as no one else is looking at them until I send the document. However, I can't click out of it to finish, I have to click or ctrl+Enter to post. I also can't just click INTO it to edit, I have to click on more buttons.
It doesn't make sense to only be allowed to edit one comment at a time, particularly if the idea is to not post them until you're ready to share with others. Sometimes in the course of writing one comment, I want to comment on something else first and then come back to the previous comment. You're forced to finish one first, to the standard you're happy for others to see, defeating the purpose of not having to post until it's finished. Why not allow multiple to be in draft?
If I forget to post and try to type a new comment, it pulls me back to my previous comment and starts typing, making me lose my spot where I wanted the next comment
It has added an extra space to the side of the document, which wouldn't be an issue except that making any formatting changes under tracked change, which I often also do when marking assignments, goes into the ORIGINAL pane where comments use to be, widening the document even further (extra space for formatting, then another extra space for comments). My computer screen isn't large enough to cope with the extra width.
Once I post a comment, it's still selected. There have been a number of times I've posted a comment then tried to ctrl+F something in the document, but it won't respond to my ctrl+F. Not something that is necessarily a huge issue but it is annoying and I can't see the purpose for keeping a comment selected when it's posted and non-responsive.
Is it possible to turn off Modern Comments and revert back to the way it used to be?
Send feedback to Microsoft to let them know what you think about the so-called modern comments; for instructions, see https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-do-i-give-feedback-on-microsoft-office-2b102d44-b43f-4dd2-9ff4-23cf144cfb11.
Microsoft's rationale about "posting" is mentioned in the support article at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/using-modern-comments-in-word-edc6ae71-0a2d-49fe-8faa-986f1e48136a (which you may have seen already).
Finally, you should see an option to temporarily revert to the previous, more user-friendly interface at File > Options > General. Clear the check box next to "Enable modern comments."
- If you have installed the Modern Comments feature on your website or platform and want to remove it and revert back to the previous comment system, the process will depend on the specific platform and setup you are using.
Generally, if you are using a content management system (CMS) like WordPress, you can usually deactivate the Modern Comments plugin in the plugin menu and then activate your previous comment system plugin or use the default comment system built into your theme.
If you are using a custom-built platform, you will need to consult with your development team or website administrator to determine the best way to remove Modern Comments and revert back to your previous comment system.
Before removing Modern Comments, it's a good idea to back up your website or platform to ensure that you can restore it if something goes wrong during the process.
It's also important to note that removing Modern Comments may not be possible in some cases, as it may be a default or mandatory feature of your platform or theme. In such cases, you may need to consider other options or workarounds to achieve the desired result.
if you need More Information then https://dreamyworldinfo.com/ Visit i get all information from it - They are so bad!!!! I just upgraded from Office 2016 and this is just awful. Everything chiara369 said. Please revert!!!!
Be sure to post feedback for Microsoft and let them know that you do not like the so-called modern comments. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-do-i-give-feedback-on-microsoft-365-2b102d44-b43f-4dd2-9ff4-23cf144cfb11.
Note that it is still possible to turn off modern comments (a temporary option according to Microsoft). In Word for Windows, click File > Options > General and clear the check mark next to "Enable modern comments."
Stefan_Blom THANK YOU!!! It also worked for Word for Mac. This made my day.
Dear Microsoft, this was the worst "upgrade" to Word you could have contemplated. Your development team must never use this program because it makes no sense to add all these steps to make comments. Who was asking for that? No one.
I am so relieved to see so many others frustrated with this Modern Comments as I feel exactly the same! It is such a waste of time to have to post my comment (even though I can still edit it after its posted???) so that I can move on. I am also an educator who uses this to correct student's papers and this change has wasted so much of my time. Track changes worked perfectly before and this was not something that needed to be "fixed". Please Microsoft!!! No one likes these changes.
I agree. Please provide the option to revert. This change has stuffed up my workflow. It has reduced functionality and increased the clunkiness of comments in so many different ways (as outlined in other posts.
It is clear that an extensive community of people use MS Word in a variety of ways that do not require collaboration.
Also, please in the future ask the community of members who use MS products for feedback on intended changes. It isn't clear that this has been done before rolling out such features that actually erode functionality.
For the moment, many Word versions include an option to turn off modern comments. In Word for Windows, click File > Options > General and clear the check mark next to "Enable modern comments." Restart Word to get classic comments back.
You can let Microsoft know what you think about modern comments. Use the Feedback facility available within Word.
- Bless you! I made a special point of registering for this forum only to find a solution to this Modern Comments mess that has made my academic workflow so difficult. In Word for Mac, there is a checkbox for Modern Comments in Word/Preferences/General. I un-checked that box, closed Word, reopened Word and presto, back to classic commenting. Phew.
- Yep agreed - absolute pain that doesn't agree with the way I use comments to help review and track documents
- Yes, MS at it finest. They change things no one asked them to change. And leave broken things unfixed. Hopefully one day there will be no more MS or Google.
- I agree "Modern Comments" is a misnomer. They are slow, harder to see, less user friendly (having to click "send" to post!?!? AND if you don't have a large monitor, since they sit way off to the side, you have to reduce the size of everything to see them beside the content upon which them comment. Please fix this, Microsoft. Your highest-end users (writers, editors, etc.) are suffering.
Can't turn off so-called "Modern" comments in Word for Mac 2021 – option does not appear with Preference|General sequence. The new comments are far worse than useless – they're annoying, cluttered, oversized, and are making me revisit LibreOffice for working with student essays instead. Have a look at this thread – users actively hate this feature. Return the default comments to the old style, and see if anyone at all bothers to choose the "modern" option.
How do I step through the tracked changes AND COMMENTS now? Going to Review > Changes > Next/Previous used to step through Tracked Changes and Comments. Now it seems to only step through Tracked Changes. How do I get the old feature back? I know I can step through Review > Comments > Next/Previous but then this misses the tracked changes. Having the one feature that steped through all was extremely useful instead of now having to remember to step through Comments and Tracked Changes separately. This latest update is killing my time management!
- Modern Comments are terrible for visibility. Disabling modern comments now after losing 30mins messing around. Trying to figure out how to turn it off. Thanks Microsoft.
