OmniDocWhy are Word comments not displayed when printing?
Comments will appear on the page when Word prints. This article explains three methods of removing comments: turning off the display of marks, adjusting the mark settings during printing, and using a copy to delete comments, and provides verification methods before printing.
Key points of this article
- Whether comments can appear on paper mainly depends on the current mark display status of Word and the mark settings when printing, both of which must be checked.
- If you want to temporarily not print comments, first turn off the display of comments in the review tab, then preview the print interface to confirm that there are no comment boxes on the page.
- To permanently remove comments, you should first save a copy and then use "Delete All Comments". The comments will be retained in the original file for traceability.
- Be sure to watch the print preview before printing, because the content displayed in the preview is close to the effect on the paper.
After many people have revised a contract or paper, when they print it out, they see that the margins of the page are crowded with comment boxes, and red revision marks are also printed on the paper. When sending paper manuscripts to leaders, clients or teachers, these contents often should not appear. This article is written for people who need to print Word documents but don’t want their comments to be printed.
After reading this, you'll know three things: why comments are printed, how to keep them off the paper without deleting the content, and when you should actually delete comments. The method is based on Word's universal printing and review capabilities and does not rely on any third-party tools.
After the comments are printed, how to remove them? One sentence conclusion
First turn off the comment display in the review interface, then go to the print interface to confirm that the printed content does not contain marks, and check the print preview one last time. I just want the paper to be clean and there is no need to change the file itself. Only when it is confirmed that the annotation record is no longer needed will deletion be considered.
| your situation | Recommended practices | reason |
|---|---|---|
| I just want to print this time without comments, and the file will need to be used later. | Turn off comment display and preview before printing | The content of the file is not changed and the comments remain in the original manuscript. |
| There are options related to markup and annotation in the print settings. | Uncheck these options | Directly tell the printer not to output marks, suitable for situations where the paper must be clean every time |
| Send someone an official version without comments | Delete all comments after saving a copy | Keep comments on the original manuscript and hand over the copy to avoid accidental deletion. |
| Convert documents to PDF before sharing | Hide comments in Word first, then export PDF | The exported content follows the current display status of Word and must be previewed before exporting. |
| There are revision records in the comments and need to be kept on file | Do not delete, only hide and display | The modification process cannot be retrieved after deletion. The original manuscript should be retained when filing. |
Before you start: Confirm these points first
1. Confirm whether the annotation is actually displayed. Word comments have two states: shown and hidden. If you don't see the comment box currently on the page, and it usually won't appear when you print it, the problem may lie somewhere else, such as revision marks or text in the header. Take a look at the editing window first to determine whether you are dealing with comments, revisions, or both.
2. Distinguish between "annotation" and "revision". Comments are comments or explanations on a certain paragraph of content, while revisions are traces of additions, deletions, or changes to the text. Both will be displayed when printing, but the settings in the Review tab are not exactly the same. As long as the comment box is turned off, the revision underline may still be printed on the paper and needs to be checked separately.
3. Confirm whether you need to retain the comments on the original. Many documents need to be modified by multiple people, and the comment records themselves are valuable. Before deleting, think clearly whether anyone will need to check "who made what comments and when" in the future. When in doubt, save an annotated manuscript first.
4. Know which version of Word you are using. Different versions have slightly different option names and locations in the printing interface. This article focuses on the review tab and printing interface. If you encounter an option that you cannot find, you can enter "annotation" or "mark" in the search bar of the interface.
5. Prepare the printer or preview environment. Just looking at the screen is not enough, there may be differences between the print preview and the actual paper. If you have a printer at hand, print a test page first; if you don't have a printer, you can use a virtual printer to output it as PDF, and then use a PDF reader to view it.
Steps to hide comments in Word and then print them
The following steps are applicable to the situation where you only want the paper to be printed this time without annotations and retain the original annotations.
- Open the Word document that needs to be printed and switch to the review tab at the top.
- Find the "Show Marks" or similar drop-down menu and check whether "Annotations" is checked.
- Uncheck "Comment" to hide the comment box from the editing area. If there are options such as "Revisions" or "All Marks" in the menu, check those as well.
- Enter the file menu, and then enter the printing interface.
- Look for options related to Markup or Annotation in the print settings. If there is a checkbox such as "Print Marks", make sure it is not checked; if there is no such option, the printed content will follow the display state of the editing area.
- Check the print preview on the right and make sure page by page that there are no comment boxes, red revision lines or underlines on the margins of the page.
- Click Print after confirming everything is correct. If the preview still has comments, go back to step 2 and check again.
If you want to always maintain a clean editing view, you can adjust the markup display mode in the Review tab to not show comments, and this state will be inherited every time you open the document.
Check each item after completion
After printing or exporting, do not distribute directly. Once you have the paper or PDF, check this list:
| Check items | How to see | What to do if there is a problem |
|---|---|---|
| Is there a comment box on the margin of the page? | Look through the margins page by page, especially the first page and pages with more changes | Go back to the Review tab to confirm that the comments have been suppressed, and then print again. |
| Is there a red or color revision line? | Look at the underscores, delete lines and vertical marks in the text | Check the revision display settings and accept or reject the revision if necessary before printing (note: accepting the revision will change the text, confirm the content first) |
| Whether the number of pages and typesetting have changed | Compare the number of pages before and after hiding to see if the paragraph is misplaced. | After the comment box is hidden, the page layout may change, re-check the paging and page number |
| Does the header and footer have review information? | Check the header footer area to see if there is a name or date of the modifier | Go to the header and footer to delete the extra markup text |
| Is the printed handwriting clear? | See if the paper or PDF text is obscured. | Check the printer status, or swap the preview to confirm before printing |
# Core comparison
Several common practices vary in use and impact, and choose according to your needs:
| Practice | Whether to change the original manuscript | Is the paper clean? | Suitable for the scene |
|---|---|---|---|
| Print after turning off the display of comments | No | Yes | Print temporarily, the manuscript continues to be modified |
| Unmark options in printing | No | Yes | Do not annotate every time you print |
| Delete all comments | Yes | Yes | Send it to others after the final version, and there is no need to keep comments. |
| Accept or reject amendments | Yes | Yes | The revision has been determined and the final text version needs to be generated |
# which method is suitable for you?
- print it to teachers and leaders for review, but then continue to change it : only turn off the display of comments, and keep the manuscript intact after printing. - official version of bid, contract or release : save another copy, delete comments and revisions in the copy, and then print or export. The manuscript is kept as a process record. - Multi-person collaborative manuscripts need to keep the discussion process : do not delete comments, only hide the display; when finalizing, you can output a non-annotated version. - you often need the same clean paper : set the mark-related option to no output in the print interface, and then print according to this setting every time.
# frequently asked questions (FAQ)
1. Turn off the annotation display, why is there a red line in the print?
The red line is usually a revision mark, not an annotation box. Comments and revisions are controlled separately in the review tab, and the display status needs to be checked separately.
2. Does deleting a comment affect the body?
Not usually. Delete comments only remove the comment box and the corresponding comment content, and the body text remains unchanged. However, if the annotation is a reminder for a paragraph of text, there will be no reminder after deletion, so it is recommended to save a copy first.
3. There are no comments in the print preview, but there is actually printing. What should I do?
First make sure that any tag-related options are checked in the print settings. Also check to see if the printer driver or paper size has changed the page layout, causing the annotation to be truncated at the edge. If you still have a problem, you can export it to PDF and review it again.
4. Just want to show others the content, do not want the other party to see the revision process, can you delete it directly?
You can delete comments and revisions, but save a copy first. Once the revision process is deleted, it cannot be recovered, and the original manuscript should be kept for your own reference. If official documents or review records are involved, they shall be dealt with in accordance with the regulations of the relevant units.
5. After converting the Word document to PDF, are the annotations still there?
The export results usually follow the current display state of the Word. If annotations are hidden in the edit window, they are generally not included when exporting, but you still need to preview the PDF before exporting and confirm it page by page.
# Summary
Whether or not annotations appear when Word prints depends on the display status in the review tab and the markup settings in the print interface. Hide the display and look at the preview when printing temporarily, save a copy and delete the comments when you need to finalize the manuscript, and the modification record of the original manuscript should be properly retained.
