The fastest way to remove all comments at once

Open your document in Word and go to the Review tab at the top. On the right side of the ribbon, you'll see a button labeled Delete with a dropdown arrow next to it. Click that arrow and select Delete All Comments in Document. Word will remove every comment in one action.

If you want to remove comments one at a time instead — to read them first or keep some — click the comment itself in the document or in the Comments pane on the right side, then click Delete without the dropdown. This removes only that single comment.

The Comments pane shows you a list of all comments in your document. If it's not visible, go to Review and click Show Comments to open it. From there you can see who left each comment, when it was added, and what it says.

Key Takeaways

  • Use Review > Delete > Delete All Comments in Document to remove every comment at once with no way to undo it afterward.
  • Click a single comment in the document or the Comments pane, then click Delete to remove just that one.
  • The Comments pane on the right side lists all comments in order, showing who wrote each one and when.
  • Deleting a comment is permanent — Word does not keep a record of what was deleted, so read comments before removing them if you need to remember what they said.

Removing comments before you share the document

If you're about to send a document to someone else, you may want to remove all comments first so they don't see your internal notes or edits. The Delete All Comments in Document option is the quickest way to do this.

Before you delete, consider using Review > Show Comments to open the Comments pane and read through them. This takes a minute but prevents you from accidentally removing a comment you meant to keep or that contains information you need to act on.

Removing tracked changes along with comments

Comments and tracked changes are two different things in Word. A comment is a note attached to text; tracked changes show edits you or someone else made to the document itself. Deleting comments does not remove tracked changes, and vice versa.

If you want to remove both, go to Review and look for Accept All or Reject All to handle tracked changes, then use Delete All Comments in Document for the comments. The order matters — accept or reject changes first, then delete comments, so you don't lose track of what was edited.

What happens when you delete a comment

Once you delete a comment, Word removes it permanently from the document. You cannot undo this action after you close and reopen the file, so if you're unsure whether you need a comment, take a screenshot or copy the text before deleting it.

If you delete comments by mistake and haven't closed the file yet, you can press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac) to undo the deletion. This works only in the current session — once you close the document, the undo history is gone.

Removing comments from a document others are editing

If multiple people are working on the same document, deleting comments affects everyone. When you delete a comment, it disappears from the document for all users who have it open. If someone else is viewing the document at the same time, they'll see the comment vanish when they refresh or when Word syncs the changes.

If you're working in a shared document (like one stored in OneDrive or SharePoint), Word may ask you to confirm that you want to delete comments, especially if other people have made them. This is a safety measure to prevent accidental loss of feedback.

Hiding comments instead of deleting them

If you want comments out of sight but don't want to delete them permanently, you can hide them instead. Go to Review and click Show Comments to toggle the Comments pane off. The comments stay in the document — they're just not visible on screen.

When you hide comments this way, they're still there if you or someone else opens the document later and turns the Comments pane back on. This is useful if you want a clean view of the document for printing or sharing a draft, but you might want to refer to the feedback later.

Removing comments from a PDF or printed copy

If you've converted your Word document to a PDF or printed it, comments don't carry over automatically. PDFs can have their own comment system, but Word comments won't appear in a PDF unless you specifically export them. Printing a Word document prints only the text and images, not the comments pane.

If you need to share a document without comments visible, converting to PDF or printing is one way to do it. However, the original Word file still contains the comments — they're just not in the PDF or printout. If you want to permanently remove them from the Word file itself, use the delete method described above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I undo deleting all comments at once?

Yes, but only if you haven't closed the file. Press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac) immediately after deleting to bring them back. Once you close and reopen the document, the undo history is erased and you cannot recover deleted comments.

Will deleting comments affect the actual text in my document?

No. Comments are separate from the document text. Deleting a comment removes only the note itself, not the text it was attached to. The words, sentences, and paragraphs in your document stay exactly as they are.

How do I see who wrote each comment before I delete it?

Open the Comments pane by going to Review > Show Comments. The pane on the right lists each comment with the author's name and the date it was added. Click any comment in the list to jump to it in the document.

What's the difference between deleting a comment and accepting a tracked change?

A comment is a note or question; accepting a tracked change means you approve an edit someone made to the text. Deleting a comment removes the note but doesn't change the document. Accepting a tracked change keeps the edit and removes the "change pending" marker.

If I delete comments from a shared document, can other people still see them?

No. Once you delete a comment from a shared document, it's gone for everyone. If others have the document open, they'll see the comment disappear when Word syncs the changes, usually within a few seconds.