How To Get Rid Of Markup Area In Word

In this article, you'll learn how to hide comments in Word so that they don't interfere with your workflow. The three different options available to you are:

Hide your comments only –Show Markup
Collapse your comments –Display for Review – Simple Markup
Hide your comments and tracked changes –Display for Review – No Markup

Here is how your document might look with your comments visible, collapsed, or hidden.

While comments are a GREAT way to mark up your Word documents for review, they are extremely distracting and take up a lot of space.

That's why knowing how to hide and collapse them in Word is such a valuable skill to learn.

Note: If your document doesn't have any comments in it, you will not be able to hide them. To learn how to add and navigate comments in Word, read our guide here.

[Watch] Hiding Comments in Word

1. Hide comments only (Show Markup)

This option works best when you want to hide your comments without hiding your other tracked changes and revisions. That way you can continue working on your document without being distracted by the comments.

To hide your comments only in Word, simply:

Navigate to theReviewtab
Open theShow Markup dropdown menu (click on the downward facing arrow at the end)
De-selectComments

Note: If you are leaving comments for other people in Word, make sure they are constructive and actionable. See Articulate's guide on actionable comments here for guidance.

De-selectingCommentshides your comments without affecting any of your other markups or tracked changes. This allows you to focus on updating the content within your document without being distracted by the comments, as pictured below.

To later bring your comments back, simply turn the setting back on (as pictured below):

Navigate to theReviewtab
Open theShowMarkupdropdown menu (click on the downward facing arrow at the end)
SelectComments

Warning: Make sure you re-select comments after you are finished updating your document so they don't remain hidden forever.

To do that, simply open theShow Markup dropdown menu and put a check mark next toComments.

The reason this is important is because hidden comments will remain hidden until you re-select them. This is a common rookie mistake because if someone does not know how to hide comments in Word, they will not know how to un-hide them. So, they won't know what to work on.

If do want to permanently hide your comments, you might as well delete them. To learn how to delete comments in Word, read our guide here.

2. Collapse comments (Simple Markup)

To hide your comments using theSimple Markup view, simply:

Navigate to theReviewtab
Open theDisplay Review dropdown menu (click on the downward facing arrow at the end)
SelectSimple Markup
Toggle theShow Comments command

TheSimple Markup allows you to both review any tracked changes within your document, as well as toggle between two different views for your comments:

Normal comment view
Collapsed comment view

When your comments are collapsed, they appear as little icons on the right-side of your document, as pictured below.

With your comments collapsed, you can click on the comment icon with your mouse to quickly view the individual comment.

If you save and close your document in theSimple Markup view, Word will reopen in that same exact view. That means that if someone does not know how to hide comments in Word, they might not be able to view them.

To ensure the next person sees your comments (including you), I recommend saving your file with theAll Markup view selected.

Note: The only way to unlock and use theShow Commentscommand in Word is to first select theSimple Markupview for your document.

3. Hide comments/tracked changes (No Markup)

To hide your comments and tacked changes using the No Markupview, simply:

Navigate to theReviewtab
Open theDisplay Review dropdown menu (click on the downward facing arrow at the end)
ChooseNo Markup

TheNo Markup view hides all of of your comments and your tracked changes within your document. This is best for reviewing what your document will look like if you were to accept all tracked changes.

Warning: ChoosingOriginal for yourDisplay Review also removes all the comments and tracked changes from your document. However, all of the markup is also permanently removed.

Originalreverts your document back to it's original state, before any comments or tracked changes were made to it.

When you want to see your comments and markup again, simply do the reverse:

Navigate to theReview tab
Open theDisplay for Review dropdown menu (click on the downward facing arrow at the end)
SelectAll Markup

TheAll Markup view displays not only your comments, but also any tracked changes within your document. This is also the default view that all Word documents open in.

Conclusion

So that's how to hide comments in Word, and some of the different options you have depending on how you want to work on your document.

Comments are a great way to mark up your document for review.

Just remember that hiding your comments in some of the views will permanently hide them until they are turned back on. This can lead to confusion on your team if someone doesn't know how to un-hide the comments.

That's why I recommend always turning back on your comments and tracked changes after you finish.

Another way to make your Word document easier to read and navigate is to add a table of contents. To learn how to make a table of contents in Word, read our guide here.

If you enjoyed this tutorial and want to learn more ways to boost your Microsoft Office skills, visit us here.