Forum Discussion
Can I remove Modern Comments and revert back?
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."
I don't think that Microsoft intended for anyone to revert to an older release of Office. Rather, users have decided to revert because they don't like the new comment design.
I recommend that you post feedback on the comment feature. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-do-i-give-feedback-on-microsoft-office-2b102d44-b43f-4dd2-9ff4-23cf144cfb11.
Hi Stefan_Blom
But that's my entire point...I am being told I need to revert to an old version of office, something no one wants to do, just to be able to escape the ridiculous new modern comments.
Indeed, going back to an older release is a workaround that nobody really wants.
If Microsoft gets feedback from sufficiently many users, they may offer an option to go back to the older comments design. My personal guess, though, is that it is unlikely to happen, because they have made an effort to redesign the feature based on corporate feedback saying that comments should not be seen (in shared documents) until after they have been posted et cetera (if I have understood the situation correctly). Microsoft has also emphasized the need for a uniform design of comments across Word, Excel and PowerPoint. (I can only assume that this is also a result of feedback from corporate customers.)
What might happen, as a result of user feedback, is that minor tweaks may be introduced, that is, the comment feature may be a little more customizable than it is today.
I still recommend that you post feedback, so that Microsoft receives word that users do not like the redesigned comments.