How to Find All Comments and Notes in an Excel Workbook
Comments contain critical context but hide in cells. Here's how to surface and manage them across your workbook.
Excel has two types of cell annotations: classic Comments (now called Notes in newer versions) and threaded Comments for collaboration. Both contain valuable information — assumptions, warnings, explanations — but both hide invisibly in cells.
When you inherit a workbook, those comments might be the only documentation explaining why formulas work the way they do. Here's how to find them all.
Method 1: Show All Comments
Review tab → Comments group → Show All Comments
This displays all comments as floating boxes. Problem: with many comments, they overlap and become unreadable. And you have to do this for each sheet manually.
Method 2: Go To Special
Ctrl+G → Special → Comments
This selects all cells with comments on the current sheet. You can then use Tab to cycle through them. But you can't see the comment text from this view — just the cell locations.
Method 3: Review Pane (Microsoft 365)
In Microsoft 365, the Comments pane (Review → Show Comments) lists threaded comments in a sidebar. But it only shows the new threaded comments, not classic Notes.
The Cross-Sheet Problem
None of these methods work across sheets. To find all comments in a 50-sheet workbook, you'd have to repeat the process on each sheet, remembering which ones you've checked.
There's no built-in way to get a workbook-wide list of all comments with their locations.
Exporting Comments with VBA
You can write a macro to loop through all sheets and cells, collecting comments into a list. This works but requires VBA knowledge and creates a static snapshot that goes stale immediately.
Comments as Documentation
The real value of comments isn't just reading them — it's understanding the workbook's logic. Comments often explain:
- Why a formula uses a specific approach
- Assumptions that affect calculations
- Warnings about cells that shouldn't be changed
- Data sources and refresh dates
Find Everything in Your Workbook with Object Explorer
Named ranges, charts, comments, hidden sheets — Object Explorer shows you everything in your workbook at a glance.
Related Reading
- Comments & Notes — manage annotations
- Workbook Audit — audit complex workbooks
- Workbook Documentation — document your work
Official Resources
- Comments and notes — Microsoft guide
- Show/hide comments — display options
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