no longer able to add comments to cells

[aasale5]

Yesterday when I right-clicked a cell I was able to add a comment.  Today that option is no longer on the right-click menu.  My "new" button in the comments window is grayed out and so are all the options in the review menu comments section.  What changed?  How do I get it back?  I also do not have a "new note" option in the menu anywhere.  My existing comments have all been turned to notes, even those that had replies.  Did something change yesterday?  I am an Office 365 business user.  Thanks!

[#2]

@aasale5 

If you are experiencing issues with adding comments to cells in Excel, it could be due to a few reasons. Here are some troubleshooting steps you can take to resolve the issue:

1. Check Comment Settings:
• Make sure that comments are not disabled in your Excel settings. Go to the "File" tab, select "Options," choose "Advanced," and ensure that the "Show comments" option is selected.
2. Review Tab:
• Check if the "Review" tab is visible in the Excel ribbon. The "Comments" section, which includes options for adding and managing comments, is typically found in the "Review" tab.
3. Right-Click Context Menu:
• While in a cell, try right-clicking to see if the context menu displays the option to insert a comment. If it doesn't, there might be a specific issue with your Excel installation.
4. Office 365 Updates:
• Ensure that your Office 365 installation is up to date. Microsoft frequently releases updates that address bugs and introduce new features. You can check for updates in the "Account" section of the Excel options.
5. Excel Online:
• If you are using Excel Online, make sure that you have the necessary permissions to add comments. Some online environments may have restrictions.
6. Reset Excel Settings:
• In some cases, resetting Excel settings to default might help. This can be done through the "File" tab, selecting "Options," and choosing "Quick Access Toolbar." Use the "Reset to Defaults" button.
7. Repair Office Installation:
• If the issue persists, you can try repairing your Office installation. Go to "Control Panel" > "Programs" > "Programs and Features," select Microsoft Office, and choose "Change." Then, select "Quick Repair" or "Online Repair."
8. Group Policy Restrictions:
• In a business environment, your IT administrator may have applied group policies that restrict certain features. Check with your IT department if this might be the case.
9. Temporary Profile Issue:
• In rare cases, a corrupted user profile could cause issues. Try creating a new user profile on your computer and see if the problem persists.

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

If none of these steps resolve the issue, you may want to reach out to your IT support for more targeted assistance, as there might be specific configurations or issues with your Office 365 environment.

My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

Hope this will help you.

Was the answer useful? Mark as best response and Like it!

This will help all forum participants.

[#3]

@NikolinoDE 

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply - I will save it because it has great information.  The issue, on further investigation, was that my file somehow was saved as an Excel 97-2006 file type (it was shared with someone else briefly who opened it in Excel online).  This caused many more issues than just the comments - many other aspects of my file were unavailable to me.  I was able to save it as an .ods file and then save as .xlsx again and all seems well - except that all my former comments are now notes!  I'll take it rather than rebuilding this 5-year old file.  Thanks again for your help!

[#4]

I am unable to see an Options choice under the File tab for excel. Am I missing something w/ this?

[#5]

@NikolinoDE I had this exact same problem for the first time today. All my other spreadsheets worked fine - just the one had the problem. I even tried opening it on another laptop and it still wouldn't let me add comments. I wondered if there was a dodgy calc somewhere in the workbook, so I took a punt and selected every sheet in the workbook (15 tabs) and then pressed Calculate Sheet and voila comments worked again! 

[#6]

@aasale5   check if you have multiple sheets selected -  took me an hour to figure it out ,  google search on the topic returns zero good results

[#7 · Accepted solution]

What seems to have solved the problem is to STOP sharing the worksheet with someone who is using it in excel online.  There were a host of problems with conditional formatting, notes, comments, etc.  The other issue that kept happening was when my co-worker would open it in excel online, it would become an older version when it saved to the shared drive.  I have had zero problems since I stopped having her do updates in on-line. 

[#8]

@Anthony_E_Miller This worked for me.  I hope I can remember it when it occurs again. I do recall this happening a few years ago and it "magically" recovered at some point.  Very frustrating.