Viewing Comments in Excel

Understanding Excel Comments

Excel comments serve multiple purposes such as explaining formulas, adding notes, and cross-referencing other workbooks. By default, comments are hidden but can be shown, edited, formatted, moved, and deleted as required. Each cell with a comment displays an indicator.

Excel Show Comments Shortcut

To quickly show or hide comments in Excel, use the keyboard shortcut Alt+V, C, or Shift-F2. For users of Excel 2007, a macro named Show_Hide_Comments must be created to perform this action as no default shortcut exists.

Displaying Comments in Cells

Comments can be added to cells by right-clicking and selecting New Comment. They can be edited or deleted in the same manner. Excel stores comments within the file, and they can be managed across various Excel platforms, including Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel for the web, and Excel Mobile.

Comment Indicator Visibility

Excel displays a comment indicator in the corner of cells with comments. You can toggle the visibility of these indicators through Excel's default settings.

Working with Comments on Mobile Devices

Users on mobile devices such as iPhones, Android phones, Windows tablets, and Windows phones can insert, edit, and delete both standard and threaded comments directly through their respective Excel applications.

Common Use Cases

• 
  Collaborating on a spreadsheet by providing feedback directly on relevant cells
• 
  Reviewing peer suggestions or notes for data validation purposes
• 
  Tracking the history of changes or decision-making rationale through comment threads
• 
  Managing tasks by using comments to assign action items to team members
• 
  Improving data accuracy by annotating sources or assumptions next to the related data points

Excel vs Sourcetable: A Comprehensive Comparison

Data Integration: Sourcetable streamlines data analysis by allowing users to connect multiple data sources into a single interface, a feature not natively available in Excel. This integration simplifies data management and enhances productivity.

AI-Assisted Analysis: Sourcetable's AI copilot offers an interactive experience, helping users create complex formulas and templates. Excel requires manual input for such tasks, potentially increasing the time investment for users.

User Interface: Sourcetable provides a user-friendly, spreadsheet-like interface that is familiar to Excel users, but with the added benefit of AI assistance, making data manipulation more accessible to non-expert users.

Functionality: While Excel is a powerful tool for data analysis and visualization, Sourcetable's AI features provide a more intuitive approach for users who may not be well-versed in formula creation or data analysis techniques.