This article is for people who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Windows tools or features and Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Accessibility help & learning content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support.
Modern comments in Excel help you collaborate by adding feedback, assigning tasks, and engaging in conversations. This article covers how to use a screen reader and keyboard to manage comments, including adding and replying to them, mentioning others, viewing comments inline or as a list, and resolving or deleting them.
Notes:
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To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
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In Excel, both Enter and Spacebar can be used to open the context menus. However, Enter will be used in the instruction in the article.
In this topic
Add a comment
Easily add a comment to any cell in your Excel worksheet using keyboard shortcuts for efficient navigation and posting.
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In your Excel worksheet, navigate to the cell where you want the comment to appear.
Tip: When you navigate to a cell that already contains a comment or a note, Narrator and JAWS announce "Contains comment or note" after reading out the contents of the cell. With NVDA, there's no audio cue.
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Press Ctrl+Shift+F2 to add a comment. If a comment already exists, this will start a reply to the existing comment.
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Type your desired comment, and then press Ctrl+Enter to post.
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To edit a comment, press Alt+Z, C to navigate to the Comments pane. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to select the desired comment.
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Press the Tab key until you hear “Edit comment button,” then press Enter to begin editing the comment.
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Update the comment, then press Ctrl+Enter, or navigate to the Post comment button and press Enter.
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Assign task with @mentions
Use @mentions to assign tasks directly to collaborators. Once a comment is posted, the mentioned user will receive a notification and can take action or mark the task as resolved.
To mention someone in a comment, follow these steps:
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Go to the comment box, type @, and then type the person's first or last name. Use the Down arrow key to navigate to the desired name from the suggestions and press Enter to select it.
Note: You can use the @mention feature to inform and involve relevant team members.
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Press Ctrl+Enter to post the comment or use the Tab key to navigate to the Post comment button, and then press Enter.
Read a comment
Quickly navigate and read comments in your Excel worksheet using keyboard shortcuts for seamless review.
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Press Alt+Z, C to open the Comments pane. The focus moves to the pane, and you hear "New comment button."
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Press the Tab key to move the focus to the first comment thread. If the focus was on a commented piece of text, you hear the details of that comment thread instead, and you do not need to press the Tab key.
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To browse the comment threads, use the Down and Up arrow keys. For each comment thread, you hear the name of the person who started it, and the number of replies if the thread has any.
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If you would like to read the comment in more detail, for example, line by line, press Enter when the focus is on the comment, and then press the Tab key until you hear the comment text.
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You can then use the Up or Down arrow key to read the text in detail. When finished, press Shift+Tab once to leave the comment text field and to go back to the comment card.
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From there, you can press the Down arrow key to navigate to the next comment in the same thread or to the next comment thread.
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If the comment thread has replies, press Enter to expand the thread and then use the Down or Up arrow key to navigate between the replies.
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To collapse the thread after reading it, press the Up arrow key until you reach the first comment, and then press Enter.
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Reply to comments
To efficiently reply to comments in a thread, follow these steps to navigate, reply, and return focus to the worksheet:
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Navigate to a comment thread you want to reply to.
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Press Ctrl+Shift+F2 to start a reply.
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Alternatively, press the Tab key until you hear “Add mention or reply,” then press Enter. Type your reply, and press Ctrl+Enter to post it.
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To return the focus to the worksheet, press Alt+F12.
Delete a comment
You can delete comments and comment threads one by one or delete all comments in the worksheet at the same time.
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Navigate to a comment thread that contains the comment you want to delete, and press Enter.
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Then use the Down and Up arrow keys to navigate to the desired comment and press Enter.
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Press the Tab key until you hear “More thread options button," and then press Enter to open the menu.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Delete comment button," and then press Enter to delete the comment.
Delete a comment thread
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Navigate to a comment thread you want to delete.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "More thread options button," and then press Enter to open the menu.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Delete thread button," and then press Enter.
Deleting all comments on a range of cells
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select the cells that contain the comments you wish to delete.
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Press Alt+R, then D to remove all the comments on the selected range of cells.
Resolve comments
When you resolve a comment thread, it is dimmed in the Comments pane and no more replies can be added to a resolved thread. You can delete or reopen a resolved thread. Resolving a thread does not delete it.
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Navigate to a comment thread you want to resolve.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "More thread options button," and then press Enter to open the menu.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Resolve thread button," and then press Enter.
Tip: To reopen a resolved comment thread, you must open the Comments pane. Press Alt+Z, C to open the pane if it is not already open. Then navigate to the thread, press the Tab key until you hear "Reopen button," and press Enter.
Add a note
Notes are meant for simple annotations or reminders and do not support threaded replies or collaboration.
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In your Excel worksheet, navigate to the cell where you want the note to appear.
Tip: When you navigate to a cell that already contains a comment or a note, Narrator and JAWS announce "Contains comments or note" after reading out the contents of the cell. With NVDA, there's no audio cue.
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Press Shift+F2 to add a note to the selected cell.
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Type your desired note, press Esc to exit the note editor, then press Esc again to return focus to grid.
See also
Use a screen reader to find and replace data in Excel
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Excel
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Modern comments in Excel help you collaborate by adding feedback, assigning tasks, and engaging in conversations. This article covers how to use a screen reader and keyboard to manage comments, including adding and replying to them, mentioning others, viewing comments inline or as a list, and resolving or deleting them.
Note: This topic assumes that you are using the built-in macOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, go to VoiceOver Getting Started Guide.
In this topic
Add a comment
Easily add a comment to any cell in your Excel worksheet using keyboard shortcuts for efficient navigation and posting.
-
In your Excel worksheet, navigate to the cell where you want the comment to appear.
Tip: When you navigate to a cell that already contains a comment or a note, VoiceOver announces "Contains comment or note" after reading out the contents and location of the cell.
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Press Command+Shift+F2 to add a comment.
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Type in your comment, and then press Command+Return to post the comment.
Assign tasks with @mentions
Use @mentions to assign tasks directly to collaborators. Once completed, the mentioned person will receive a notification and can mark the task as resolved.
To mention someone in a comment, follow these steps:
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Go to the comment box, type @, and then type the person's first or last name. Use the Down arrow key to navigate to the desired name from the suggestions and press Return to select it.
Note: You can use the @mention feature to inform and involve relevant team members.
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Press Command+Return to post the comment.
Show comments in a worksheet
Comments' insertion points are highlighted in the worksheet.
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Press F6 until you hear the currently selected tab, for example, "Home tab selected," and then press Control+Option+Left or Rightarrow key until you hear "Review tab." Press Control+Option+Spacebar to select the Review tab.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "Show comment button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
Reply to comments
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Navigate to the comment thread you want to reply to.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "@mention or reply edit box," then type your desired reply, and press Command+Return to post it.
Resolve or delete comments
When a comment is resolved, it is marked as done and it is dimmed in the Comments pane in the margin. Resolving a comment does not remove it, but no more replies can be added.
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Navigate to the comment thread you want to resolve or delete.
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Press Tab key until you hear “More thread action button,” and then press Control+Option+Spacebar to open more thread menu item.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Resolve Comment" or "Delete Comment," and press Return to select. The comment thread is resolved or deleted.
Add a note
Notes are meant for simple annotations or reminders and do not support threaded replies or collaboration.
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In your Excel worksheet, navigate to the cell where you want the note to appear.
Tip: When you navigate to a cell that already contains a comment or a note, the screen reader announces "Contains comment or note" after reading out the contents of the cell.
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Press F6 until you hear the currently selected tab, for example, "Home tab selected," and then press Control+Option+Left or Rightarrow key until you hear "Review tab." Press Control+Option+Spacebar to select the Review tab.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "Notes menu button,” press Control+Option+Spacebar to open the dropdown menu.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear “New note,” and then press Return to add a note.
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Type your desired note, press Esc to exit the note editor, then press Esc again to return focus to grid.
See also
Use a screen reader to find and replace data in Excel
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Excel
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use Excel for iOS with VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, to add comments collaborate on your worksheet. This article covers how to use a screen reader to add and reply to comments, mention others, view comments inline or in a list, and manage them by resolving or deleting as needed.
Note: This topic assumes that you are using the built-in iOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, visit Apple accessibility.
In this topic
Add a comment
Use comments in Excel to provide suggestions to others or keep track of issues that need follow-up.
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In your Excel for iOS worksheet, navigate to the cell where you want the comment to appear, and then double-tap the screen.
Tip: When you navigate to a cell that already contains a comment, VoiceOver announces: "Contains comment."
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Tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers, flick right until you hear "Show ribbon button," and double-tap the screen.
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Flick left or right until you hear the currently selected tab, for example, "Home button." Double-tap the screen to open the tab selection menu, flick right until you hear "Review button," and then double-tap the screen.
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Flick right until you hear "Comment button," and double-tap the screen.
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Type your comment, flick left until you hear "Post button," and then double-tap the screen.
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The comment is added to the cell and the Comments pane opens.
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Flick right until you hear "Close the Comments pane," and then double-tap the screen to close the Comments pane and return to the worksheet.
Assign task with @mentions
You can use @mentions to assign tasks directly to collaborators. Once assigned, the mentioned person will receive a notification and can mark the task as resolved.
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In the comment box, type "@" followed by the person's first or last name.
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Flick left until you hear the suggested names. When you hear the correct name, double-tap the screen to select it, and type your comment.
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Flick left until you hear "Post button," then double-tap the screen. The comment will be posted, and the mentioned member will be notified.
Read a comment
Follow these steps to navigate and read comments. You will learn how to access the comments and move through comment threads efficiently.
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In your Excel worksheet, tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers, flick right until you hear "Show ribbon button," and double-tap the screen.
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Flick right until you hear “Home button,” and then double-tap the screen.
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Flick right until you hear "Review button," and double-tap the screen.
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Flick right to select the Show Comments button and then double-tap the screen.
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To read a comment, flick right until you hear the comment thread followed by the cell number and reviewer’s name.
Note: If the worksheet contains multiple comments, the number of pages announced is based on the total number of comments in your document.
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To go to the next or previous comment, flick right until you hear “Page 1 of 3 adjustable.”
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Flick up or down with one finger to move to the next or previous comment.
Reply to comments
To respond to a comment in Excel, please follow these steps. You will learn how to navigate to the comment, add your response, and maintain a clear and efficient conversation.
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To reply to a comment thread, go to the specific comment.
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Flick right until you hear "Add mention or reply," and double-tap the screen.
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Type your reply, tap the screen once, then flick right until you hear "Post button." Double-tap the screen to post your reply.
Resolve comments
When you resolve a comment thread, no more replies can be added to it. You can reopen a resolved thread. Resolving a thread does not delete it.
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To resolve a comment thread, go to the specific comment.
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Flick right until you hear "More thread actions button," and double-tap the screen to open the context menu.
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Flick left or right until you hear "Resolve thread button," and double-tap the screen.
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To reopen a resolved comment thread, flick right to select Reopen thread button, and double tap the screen.
Delete a comments
To delete a comment in Excel, follow these steps to navigate to the comment, remove it, and keep your worksheet organized.
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To delete a comment thread, go to the specific comment.
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Flick right until you hear "More thread actions button," and double-tap the screen to open the context menu.
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Flick left or right until you hear "Delete thread button," and double-tap the screen.
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Flick right to select the Delete button, then double-tap the screen to confirm the deletion.
See also
Use a screen reader to find and replace data in Excel
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Excel
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use Excel for Android with TalkBack, the built-in Android screen reader,to add comments and collaborate on your worksheet. This article covers how to use a screen reader to add and reply to comments, mention others, view comments inline or in a list, and manage them by resolving or deleting as needed.
Note: This topic assumes that you are using the built-in Android screen reader, TalkBack. To learn more about using TalkBack, go to Android accessibility.
In this topic
Add a comment
Easily add a comment to any cell in your Excel worksheet for efficient navigation and posting.
Tip: When you navigate to a cell that already contains a comment, TalkBack announces "Contains comment."
-
In your Excel worksheet, navigate to the cell where you want the comment to appear, and then double-tap the screen.
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Flick right until you hear “Comment button,” and then double-tap to activate.
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Type your comment and flick right until you hear “Post comment button,” and then double-tap to post the comment.
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Flick right until you hear "Close the Comments pane," then double-tap the screen to close the Comments pane and return to the worksheet.
Assign task with @mentions
Use @mentions to assign tasks directly to collaborators. Once a comment is posted, the mentioned user will receive a notification and can take action or mark the task as resolved.
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In the comment box, tap "@" followed by the person's first or last name.
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Flick right until you hear the suggested names. When you hear the correct name, double-tap the screen to select it.
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Flick right until you hear "Post comment button," then double-tap the screen. The comment is posted, mentioned person will be notified.
Read a comment
Quickly navigate and read comments in your Excel worksheet for seamless review.
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In your Excel worksheet, flick right until you hear “Show comments button,” and then double-tap the screen to open the comments pane.
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To read the comment, flick left or right to select the comment thread and double-tap the screen.
Note: If the worksheet contains multiple comments, use the Next comment and Previous comment buttons to navigate through all the comments or move to a specific one.
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To move to the desired comment, flick left or right to select the Previous comment or Next comment button, and then double-tap the screen.
Reply to comments
To efficiently reply to comments in a thread, follow these steps to navigate, reply, and return focus to the worksheet:
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To reply to a comment thread, first navigate to the desired comment in the thread as instructed in Read a comment.
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Flick right until you hear "@mention or reply," and double-tap the screen.
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Type your comment, then flick right until you hear "Post reply button," and double-tap the screen.
Resolve comments
When you resolve a comment thread, no more replies can be added to it. You can reopen a resolved thread. Resolving a thread does not delete it.
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To resolve a comment thread, first navigate to the desired comment in the thread as instructed in Read a comment.
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Flick right until you hear "More thread actions button," and double-tap the screen. You hear "Delete thread."
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Flick right until you hear "Resolve thread," and double-tap the screen.
Tip: To reopen a resolved comment thread, navigate to it. When you hear the first comment, TalkBack also announces that the thread is resolved. Drag your finger around the lower left corner of the screen until you hear "Button reopen," and double-tap the screen.
Delete a comment
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To delete a comment thread, navigate to the desired comment in the thread as instructed in Read a comment.
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Flick right until you hear "More thread actions button," and double-tap the screen.
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Flick right until you hear "Delete thread," and double-tap the screen.
Note: When you activate the More thread actions button, focus lands directly on the Delete thread. If you miss it, flick right or left to find it again.
See also
Use a screen reader to find and replace data in Excel
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Excel
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Modern comments in Excel for the web help you collaborate by adding feedback, assigning tasks, and engaging in conversations. This article covers how to use a screen reader and keyboard to manage comments, including adding and replying to them, mentioning others, viewing comments or as a list, and resolving or deleting them.
Notes:
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If you use Narrator with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, you have to turn off scan mode in order to edit documents, spreadsheets, or presentations with Microsoft 365 for the web. For more information, refer to Turn off virtual or browse mode in screen readers in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.
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To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
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When you use Excel for the web, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because Excel for the web runs in your web browser, the keyboard shortcuts are different from those in the desktop program. For example, you'll use Ctrl+F6 instead of F6 for jumping in and out of the commands. Also, common shortcuts like F1 (Help) and Ctrl+O (Open) apply to the web browser – not Excel for the web.
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When you use Excel for the web with a screen reader, switch to the full screen mode. Press F11 to toggle the full screen mode on and off.
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In Excel, both Enter and Spacebar can be used to open the context menus. However, Enter will be used in the instruction in the article.
In this topic
Add a comment
-
In your Excel for the web worksheet, navigate to the cell where you want the comment to appear.
Tip: When you navigate to a cell that already contains a comment or a note, the screen reader announces, "Contains comment or note," followed by the commenter's name.
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Press Ctrl+Shift+F2 to add a comment. If a comment already exists, this will start a reply to the existing comment.
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Type your desired comment, then press Ctrl+Enter to post your comment.
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To edit the comment, navigate the desired comment, then press Tab key until you hear “More thread actions button,” and press Enter, to select the Edit comment button.
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Update the comment, then press Ctrl+Enter, or navigate to the Post comment button and press Enter.
Assign tasks with @mentions
Use @mention to assign tasks directly to collaborators. Once completed, the mentioned person will receive a notification and can mark the task as resolved.
To mention someone in a comment, follow these steps:
-
Go to the comment box, type @, and then type the person's first or last name. Use the Down arrow key to navigate to the desired name from the suggestions and press Enter to select it.
Note: You can use the @mention feature to inform and involve relevant team members.
-
Press Ctrl+Enter to post the comment or use the Tab key to navigate to the Post comment button, and then press Enter.
Read a comment
Quickly navigate and read comments in your Excel worksheet using keyboard shortcuts for seamless review.
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Press Alt+R+H to open the Comments pane. The focus moves to the pane, and you hear "New comment button."
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Press the Tab key to move the focus to the first comment thread. If the focus was on a commented piece of text, you hear the details of that comment thread instead, and you do not need to press the Tab key.
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To browse the comment threads, use the Down and Up arrow keys. For each comment thread, you hear the name of the person who started it, and the number of replies if the thread has any.
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If you would like to read the comment in more detail, for example, line by line, press Enter when the focus is on the comment, and then press the Tab key until you hear the comment text.
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You can then use the Up or Down arrow key to read the text in detail. When finished, press Shift+Tab once to leave the comment text field and to go back to the comment card.
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From there, you can press the Down arrow key to navigate to the next comment in the same thread or to the next comment thread.
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If the comment thread has replies, press Enter to expand the thread and then use the Down or Up arrow key to navigate between the replies.
Reply to comment
To efficiently reply to comments in a thread, follow these steps to navigate, reply, and return focus to the worksheet:
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Open the Comments pane using Alt+R, H.
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Navigate to the comment thread you want to reply to.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "Add mention or reply button." Press Enter, type your reply, and then press Ctrl+Enter to save it.
Link to comment
The Link to comment feature in Excel allows you to share a direct link to a specific comment within the worksheet.
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Navigate to the comment thread containing the comment you want to link to.
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Press Enter and use the Down or Up arrow key to select the desired comment.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "More thread options, button." Press Enter to open the menu. Then press the Down arrow key until you hear "Link to comment," and press Enter.
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Your clipboard now contains the comment link, ready for sharing. Press the Esc key to dismiss the Link copied dialog and return to the thread.
Resolve comment
When you resolve a comment thread, it is dimmed in the Comments pane. No more replies can be added to a resolved thread. You can delete or reopen a resolved thread. Resolving a thread does not delete it.
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Open the Comments pane as instructed in Use the Comments pane.
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Navigate to the comment you want to resolve.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "More thread actions," and press Enter.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Resolve thread," and then press Enter to resolve the comment.
Tip: To reopen a resolved comment thread, open the Comments pane. Then navigate to the comment thread, press the Tab key until you hear "Reopen button," and press Enter.
Delete a comment
You can delete comments and comment threads one by one or delete all comments in the worksheet at the same time.
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Navigate to a comment thread that contains the comment you want to delete.
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Press Enter and then use the Down and Up arrow keys to navigate to the desired comment.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "More thread options button," then press Enter to open the menu.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Delete thread," and press Enter to delete the comment.
Delete a comment thread
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Navigate to a comment thread you want to delete.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "More thread options button," and then press Enter to open the menu.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Delete thread," and press Enter.
Delete all comments
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Select the cells that contain the comments you wish to delete.
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Press Alt+R, then D to remove all the selected comments.
Add a note
Notes are meant for simple annotations or reminders and do not support threaded replies or collaboration.
Note: When you navigate to a cell that already contains a comment or a note, the screen reader announces, "Contains comment or note," followed by the note creator's name.
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In your Excel worksheet, navigate to the cell where you want the note to appear.
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Press Shift+F2 to add a note to the selected cell.
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Type your desired note, and then press Esc to save your note.
See also
Use a screen reader to find and replace data in Excel
Technical support for customers with disabilities
Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.
If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.
