Comments not displaying on hover

Copper Contributor

 

Hi,

 

So I just got back from a stretch of leave to find that comments now only show the 'reply' option, but don't show the original comment or thread ... any idea how to fix this? Going to the menu option (review>show comments) and bringing up a sidebar is ridiculously cumbersome, especially for something that used to work. I have hundreds of comments in my tracker, so this is fairly annoying, and I'm hoping there's an option to have it display again.

3 Replies

@DuncanFardon 

In Excel 365, the default behavior for comments has changed, and they now appear as a small indicator with the option to reply when you hover over a cell that has a comment. However, if you prefer to see the full comment or thread when hovering over the cell, you can change the settings to display comments as they did before.

Here is how:

  1. Click on the "File" tab in the Excel ribbon to access the backstage view.
  1. Choose "Options" from the menu. The Excel Options dialog box will appear.
  2. In the Excel Options dialog box, select the "Advanced" category from the left-hand sidebar.
  3. Scroll down to the "Display" section.
  4. Under the "Display options for this workbook" section, uncheck the box that says "Show comments (indicators only) and select cells on hover."
  1. Click "OK" to apply the changes.

After following these steps, the comments should now display the original comment or thread when you hover over a cell. Please note that the exact location of the options may vary slightly depending on the specific version and build of Excel 365 that you are using. The text and steps were created with the help of AI.

Hope this will help you.

@NikolinoDE 

Well, I tried to uncheck this box.  However, the only way my Excel 365 will allow me to do this is if I check one of the other two boxes.  Since neither of the other two boxes gives the desired behavior of displaying notes on hover, I'd sure appreciate some help with this.

Thanks.

@Drew_Ogilvie 

In Excel 365, Microsoft introduced a new comment display behavior where you see only the comment indicator when you hover over a cell, and you need to click on it to see the full comment or thread. Unfortunately, there may not be an option within Excel's settings to revert to the old behavior of displaying comments in full on hover without third-party add-ins or custom programming.

As a workaround, you might consider using Excel's "Comments" sidebar. Here's how:

  1. Select the cell with the comment.
  2. Go to the "Review" tab in the Excel ribbon.
  3. Click on "Show Comments" in the "Comments" group. This will open the Comments sidebar, which displays all comments for the current sheet.
  4. You can then select a comment from the sidebar to view it in full.

 

Here are some additional steps you can try to troubleshoot this issue if you are stuck with previous solutions proposal:

  1. Check for Updates: Ensure that your Microsoft Office 365 suite, including Excel, is up to date. Sometimes, software updates can fix bugs and improve functionality.
  2. Review Display Settings:
  • Click on the "View" tab in the Excel ribbon.
  • Check if the "Comments" option is selected in the "Show" group. If it is not, select it.
  • You can also try switching between different comment display options to see if that resolves the issue.
  1. Repair Office Installation: If the problem persists, you can try repairing your Office 365 installation. Here is how:
  • Open the Control Panel on your computer.
  • Go to "Programs" > "Programs and Features."
  • Find Microsoft Office 365 in the list of installed programs, right-click it, and select "Change."
    • Choose the option to "Repair" the installation and follow the on-screen instructions.
  1. Disable Add-ins: Sometimes, third-party add-ins can interfere with Excel's functionality. Try disabling any add-ins you have installed and check if the comments display correctly.
  2. Create a New Excel Workbook: If the issue persists only in a specific workbook, try creating a new workbook and see if comments display correctly there. If they do, you may need to copy your data to the new workbook.

The text and steps were created with the help of AI.

 

My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

 

Hope this will help you.

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