Excel Tip: Add a Comment to a Cell in Your Spreadsheet

Submitted by schwarz on

You can add a comment to any cell to make your Excel spreadsheet easier to understand.  This is handy any time you're sharing a spreadsheet with someone, to indicate how a complex formula works, or just to jot a note to yourself.

It's an unobtrusive way to add comments, that doesn't clutter up your spreadsheet.

Here's how to add a comment to a cell:

  1. The easiest way I've found is to right-click on a cell, and from the menu click on Insert Comment
  2. A small yellow box with your name and a blinking cursor appears. You can enlarge or smallify the comment box by dragging the handles on the edges of a comment box.
  3. Type your comment; it can be a maximum of 32,767 characters.
  4. Click anywhere outside of the comment box.
  5. A red triangle in the upper-right corner of the cell indicates your comment was set.

To see a comment, just hover your mouse cursor over the red triangle, and it will pop up.

For info on editing comments, and details on the version of Excel you use, take a look at these:

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