Insert Comment option is missing from right-click menu

Anonymous
2019-03-09T21:28:27+00:00

I am using Excel 2016 on Windows 10. Today, the "Insert comment" option disappeared from the right-click pop-up context menu. When I right-click on a cell with no comment, there is no option to add one. If I right-click on a cell with a comment, I can edit or delete the comment. On the Insert tab of the ribbon, the Comments section is grayed out. This problem is affecting all spreadsheets that I have tried.

I googled the problem and tried every solution offered but none of them worked. How can I add comments to cells again?

Thank you

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-06-06T08:40:11+00:00

    I had this - New Note disappeared from the right hand menu on a workbook I use for my home accounts. On further inspection I saw I had two worksheets selected simultaneously for some reason. I clicked both worksheet tabs so only one was selected and the missing feature reappeared.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-12-16T18:26:12+00:00

    Hey MS Team,

    I just experienced the same problem today, and from reading the months and months of comments on this forum, this is a reoccurring problem with Excel.  The F2 option does not work for me; I can edit existing comments but add none, EXCEPT by doing a Search for the term "comment", then I get an option to add a comment box to a cell.   So now I wait a few weeks or months and this function just reappears????

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-08-30T04:56:37+00:00

    My Comment function mysteriously returned in about three days after doing the latest Microsoft upgrade. I don’t know if my system did an additional update or what happened but Comments are back.

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-08-11T05:46:16+00:00

    I fixed my problem by going to the display settings at bottom of the screen and checking "optimize for compatibility" this brought back the notes feature on the right mouse button. That is evidently the new name for the old comment feature.

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  5. Anonymous
    2019-08-09T01:30:04+00:00

    I found this thread while researching Insert Comment option missing from right-click menu and Comments section grayed out on the Review ribbon.

    Here is what I found and the fix. 

    1. The missing Insert Comment/New Comment on the right click menu and the grayed out Comments section of the Review Ribbon appears to only affect files that are older Excel 97-2003 (.xls) format. These are files that have shown in Compatibility Mode since Excel 2007.
    2. In Excel 2016/Office 365 there are now both Comments and Noteson the Review tab:
      1. Comments in Excel 2016/Office 365 are more like a discussion thread in the right panel.
      2. Notes in Excel 2016/Office 365 look identical to what Comments looked like in older versions of Excel. If there were existing comments in a workbook created in older version of Excel (both .xls and .xlsx files), they will now appear as Notes.
    3. You have to select Show Comments and Show All Notes if you are using both and want to see them all. If Show All Notes was already selected, you need to IT Crowd it by turning it off and back on to see previous items that had been Comments but are now Notes.
    4. The Shift+F2 option mentioned above inserts a New Note, not a Comment.
    5. Running Office Updates did not work.
    6. Saving As modern .xlsx format did not work.
    7. Going to File > Info and clicking on Convert next to Compatibility Mode forces you to save as .xlsx file. This DID work and now Comments section is no longer grayed out on the Review ribbon and New Comment now shows up in the right-click menu.

    I am not going to editorialize on why MS decided to change what was called Comments and now call them Notes. I am going to editorialize on the decision to create a brand new feature and call it the exact same thing as a feature that people have used for decades:

    Thanks a lot, that was an awesome decision. 

    I'm sure there were plenty of folks in those meetings who argued against this. I would love to hear the comments that supported this choice.

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