Make Comments Appear On the Left in Word

Comments posted in a Word document appear on the right, by default, in a region called the Markup Area. But you can have it your way: move those comment balloons to the left, if you want!

On a Mac, open the Track Changes options from Word’s Preferences. At the bottom, in the Balloons area, click the drop-down list of Margins and select your preference.

Setting the side for the Markup Area on a Mac.

In a Windows environment, on the Review ribbon, click the little triangle in the corner of the Track Changes area to open the settings. At the bottom in the Balloons area, select your preference for Margins then click OK.

Click the tiny arrow to expand the Track Changes Options on a Windows computer, then click Advanced Options…
In the bottom Balloons area, select Margin Right or Left.

These Settings are User Specific

Like the colour and underline settings for tracked changes, these preferences are set for for each computer separately. Open the file on another computer and the display will reflect preferences set on that other computer.

a map "locator pin" styled as the MS Word logo
Learn more tips for working with Track Changes in Chapters 3, 4, & 5 of the book.



Got a gnarly Word problem? Submit your problem and we’ll try to answer it in the Q&A thread.



Learn with us! Join a course today.

© This blog and all materials in it are copyright Adrienne Montgomerie on the date of publication. All rights reserved. No portion may be stored or distributed without express written permission. Asking is easy!

Leave a Reply