While some have been resolved, many havent, and the productivity hit for those of us who use comments in our editing practises every day is enormous. Accessibility features, such as keyboard navigation and the screen reader experiences, are not yet complete. Repeat until you've reviewed all changes in your document. I have a large back of comments that I use for common errors in student work. To edit a comment in Google Docs, you need to click through a menu (and comments are ignored by Find and Replace). Select Allow this information to be saved in your file under the Inspect Document heading. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. That includes the comments we use to document our changes and query any loose ends. Sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. It would be nice to be able to just say no to the updates! When will they do it. I want them to focus on the changes that matter. These issues with Comments have been going on for years. Once the comment is posted you can drag the comment bubble anywhere within the object you commented on to indicate specifically what you're referring to. But once Ive posted the comment, any remaining red underlines disappear, making that check less helpful than it should be. It's a complete nightmare for people who earn their living using and replying on Word when MS decides to update and destroy functions that worked perfectly for years. Two capital letters at the start of a comment don't get corrected, and simple typos don't get corrected. You clearly take the copyeditors oath very seriously (first, do no harm). I don't share my documents, so being able to edit comments and post when they're finalised is not particularly useful for me, as no one else is looking at them until I send the document. Sometimes in the course of writing one comment, I want to comment on something else first and then come back to the previous comment. Not yet anyway. Further, MS reps on various forums have indicated that the checkbox for turning off this crap feature in other versions of Word is temporary only. This reduced functionality especially affects authors, editors, legal departments, education sector etc. I have a number of problems with the useability of these comments, based on the way I have used them in the past (for context, I am an educator and primarily use them when marking student assignments). Thank you so much! I had the lines connecting comments to the texts recently disappear and it is extremely frustrating. Select the File tab in the ribbon. But as Word will tell you, youll need to open the Revisions pane (a.k.a. I'm an editor and the only one on the doc when I edit, and I could really do without the extra work :\. * This update sounds like it should be a good one. Please Microsoft!!! Leave Word alone. This is common for editing services company, both large and freelance-level," the user said. Figure 1. For example, youre able to type Bold, Italic, Underline and Strikethrough text, but you will not be able to change font type or color inside comments. Two capital letters at the start of a comment don't get corrected, and simple typos don't get corrected. Open the View menu and select Comments. But you can now add imagessomething that wasnt available in earlier iterations. Every time a machine 'updates' MS Word, I have to 'UPGRADE BACK' to Word 15.5! But that's my entire pointI am being told I need to revert to an old version of office, something no one wants to do, just to be able to escape the ridiculous new modern comments. Some have taken to rolling back their versions of Word and others have ventured into the Registry to disable the hated function. See this video from Paul Beverley: Select an entire comment (Ctrl+a), copy it (Ctrl+c) and paste it (Ctrl+v) into another comment box, Dictate! , The Register Biting the hand that feeds IT, Copyright. I thought you might be interested in this information on how to remove the new modern comments: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-365-blog/introducing-modern-comments-in-microsoft-word/bc-p/2350270#M1793, Alexandra Peace AlexandraPeace.com Editor/Proofreader/Indexer President, Indexing Society of Canada / Socit canadienne dindexation (ISC/SCI) member of Editors Canada and Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, [] the introduction of the hated Modern Comments, Ive been very mindful that the Word 365 version Im using might show different icons [], [] I did some extensive testing of Modern Comments after writing this blog post and heres a summary of my results: https://cybertext.wordpress.com/2021/05/16/word-testing-modern-comments-and-issues-found/ [], Thanks for this list. Customize Settings. On Mac, open the "Library" folder "Group Containers" "UBF8T346G9.Office" "User Content" "Templates". Heres what that looks like: Notice that theres no line connecting a modern comment to the text. He also contributed to the revisions of the last two editions of Kate L. Turabians A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Yep! I am so relieved to see so many others frustrated with this Modern Comments as I feel exactly the same! Next press "Ctrl+ Shift+ End". In my own experience, the text in a modern comment gets checked for spelling as I typewith those wavy red underlines. Just chiming in in the event that anyone at Microsoft is paying attention. I've disabled updates but wonder if that in itself will cause issues. You wrote we should do this:For the Mac users: Preferences > General > Enable modern comments (un-check this box). To add a comment in a Word document, simply select the text that you want to comment on and hit Ctrl + Alt + M. The comments pane will instantly appear on the right side of the screen, and it will let you type it in. Has anyone figured out how to do that? Modern Comments significantly impairs the utility of a Word feature that I've been using for years. On Windows, go to your User folder "AppData" "Roaming" "Microsoft" "Templates". Users will be able to respond to comments directly from an email notification and edit, delete or resolve a comment thread from within the comment. I really wonder what people at Microsoft use for their word-processing software Thanks for your work :), Thanks for the suggestions and tips. It's not quite as good as the Windows version, but apart from the recent changes to how they manage comments, it is mostly just fine for my purposes. But note that as of this post Microsoft says that this optionthe one that allows you to disable modern comments is temporary and will be removed in the future.. I wish it were permanent, too. The opposite of modern is outdated, old-fashioned, antiquated. Users will be able to respond to comments directly from an email notification. Blog at WordPress.com. However, I can't click out of it to finish, I have to click or ctrl+Enter to post. Not something that is necessarily a huge issue but it is annoying and I can't see the purpose for keeping a comment selected when it's posted and non-responsive. I cannot locate that either. Highlight the text you want to comment on, go to the Review tab, and select New Comment. But Words new comments are less easy to get excited about if, like me and most of the other copyeditors I know, you do your main work in isolation. Unfortunately, we must expect that the option will disappear some day. For one monthly price, Microsoft offers at least one hundred games available to download and play, or play on Xbox Cloud Gaming, the companys game streaming platform Heres some more stuff. The main areas of concern, among others, relate to: Ive divided this post up into (no order of priority or severity is implied): This is a long post, so you might want to grab a coffee, Update June 2021: For the really short version, see this brilliant cartoon from Iva Cheung: https://ivacheung.com/2021/07/modern-comments/, How comments were indicated in previous versions of Wordobvious lines and obvious colours, How comments are indicated with Modern Commentsno lines, just speech bubble icons; pale colours, Update 6 Jan 2022: Some of the FAQs on this Microsoft page address some of the issues raised in this post, and offer some workarounds: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/using-modern-comments-in-word-edc6ae71-0a2d-49fe-8faa-986f1e48136a. To do this, select Start, enter .asd in the Search box, then press Enter. I appreciate all of the work Microsoft has put into bringing the Mac version up to speed over recent years. Here's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and I have sent feedback several times using the in-app feedback button. Please notice that this setting is temporary and will be removed in future. Thats easy to do. Thank goodness for that. That will give you this (to the right of the document): I cant stress enough how great this list view is, especially in any document longer than a few pages. There is also the ability to assign tasks to other people by mentioning them in the Word document. I hope I could help you to disable modern comments. I un-checked that box, closed Word, reopened Word and presto, back to classic commenting. haven't rolled out to my Word 365 (Windows) version as yet, so today I turned off Updates to prevent them from being installed (File > Account > Update Options button).Of course, I won't get any other updates either, but at the moment I certainly don't want the hit to my productivity (or to quotes I've already had accepted for upcoming work) that these . Open the plugins or themes folder, depending on which software you are planning to replace. I found a check box in Advanced track changes options for show lines connecting to text and it does NOTHING. This also completes our goal of aligning the commenting experience across Word platforms and other Office apps, especially in Word, Excel & PowerPoint. Phone evolution image by thayra83 / Adobe Stock. Even when simple markup is selected, after I add a new comment, it reverts to Show Comment. If you are using Outlook 2016, 2019, or 365, copy the following line, then right click in the command prompt window to paste it. Your comments will be seen by others only after youve finished editing them and have clicked the Post button. Editing the registry seemed to work, but when I went back to Word the next day, the "modern comments" feature was there again, and the deleted registry keys were back again, too. In Word neither "text prediction" nor "modern comments" are available. But thats about it. Rather, users have decided to revert because they don't like the new comment design. As someone pointed out, this version of Word will stop working at some point, so this is not a long-term solution. The most obvious thing that makes Words modern comments different from its classic comments is that you now need to post a comment before you can return to the document. @chiara369In addition to the many, many issues others have complained about, this new function no longer allows images and photos to be added, and has wiped out every single image saved in two vast memoirs I'm editing for clients, wiping out years of work. Note that Microsoft does not actively monitor the Tech Community forum for product feedback, as far as I know. I just did too. My Word (on Microsoft 365) has updated to Modern Comments. For example, if I try to add a comment elsewhere in the document before posting the one thats in progressor before clicking the X, which will abandon a new comment or leave an existing comment uneditedWord will put me back into that original comment, which will now have a message for me in red: Please post your comment (Ctrl+Enter).. Without these cookies we cannot provide you with the service that you expect. Sharing best practices for building any app with .NET. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. @mwarner77Thank you for assisting those of us on Apple products. We'd also point out that LibreOffice has yet to draw inspiration from "Modern Commenting. It seems to work!! https://twitter.com/aileverte/status/1442136158964748296. If I type .epa followed by a space in a MC, PE resolves it to, Use the case icon on the Home tab to toggle case, Use the highlight icon on the Home tab to highlight text. In the meantime the recommendation is to use the feedback box. You're forced to finish one first, to the standard you're happy for others to see, defeating the purpose of not having to post until it's finished. NO idea how it got back, but good to have. However, I can't click out of it to finish, I have to click or ctrl+Enter to post. [I take that term from the incredible comment from MS some years back after a disastrous OS release that you could always 'upgrade back to the previous OS'!! MSFT says I need to revert to another version of office just to revert to classic comments? Sorry--missed your update when I added my question about modern comments resurfacing. But where is Preferences hidden? Word. You're forced to finish one first, to the standard you're happy for others to see, defeating the purpose of not having to post until it's finished. Nope, it was an error, Heres what the AWS customer obsession means to you, If you're having trouble with your games, this may be why, AWS, Google and Oracle may benefit as Microsoft blames the Pentagon and the Pentagon blames Microsoft, A beefy 10GB one-time download that arrives in March, Data sovereignty the Windows maker has heard of it, Monopoly giant can't stand it when anyone else has a monopoly, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Business Transformation, Microsoft sheds some light on perplexing Outlook blank email incident: Word was to blame, File format conversion crisis delayed attempt to challenge US presidential election result, LibreOffice 7.1 beta boasts impressive range of features let down by a lack of polish and poor mobile efforts, Microsoft doc formats are the bane of office suites on Linux, SoftMaker's Office 2021 beta may have a solution, First impressions count when the world is taken by surprise by an exciting new (macro) virus, IT exec sets up fake biz, uses it to bill his bosses $6m for phantom gear, gets caught by Microsoft Word metadata. Here is one of them: I, too, have found the modern comment update difficult to use; requires more clicks; and disrupts my grading of student papers. No extra steps required. I could do as Word asks, or I could change my mind and click the X. Select Accept or Reject . Looking for Teams How To posts? Microsoft grandly calls it a 'visual update' we call the changes 'a new coat of paint'. Help the next person who has this issue by indicating if this reply solved your problem. Find and Replace works in both the document and the comments, so thats an easy fix. Every time there's an upgrade I check it's still available dreading the day it's removed entirely! (If you use a different location, version . Sep 26 2021 Your development team must never use this program because it makes no sense to add all these steps to make comments. I am grading a set of advanced undergraduate papers and I estimate that Modern Comments has about doubled the time it takes to mark them up and more than doubled the frustration level. You can look up build numbers at Version numbers of update branches for Office 365 clients. ", Another critic wailed: "I am truly at a loss for words as to why this seemed like a good idea to your development team.". (For example, Microsoft Word.) Check these posts out!! This allows you to temporarily revert the comments experience to the legacy comments model as the new experience continues to improve and evolve. Formatting in Modern Comments: Beyond Google Docs. Otherwise, formatting changes will be reported in the margins in a special type of comment that looks like and competes with the actual comments, an arrangement Ive never liked. To get the old comment features back: Select File > Options > General > turn OFFthe Enable modern commentscheck box. Some of these comments are up to a paragraph, or contain URLs to instructions for certain things. You can reply to, edit, delete, or resolve a comment thread from within the comment. From Tuesday 5 October 2021, a new look is be available to Microsoft 365 and Office 2021. My Word (on Microsoft 365) has updated to Modern Comments. Really! Select the dialog box launcher in the Styles group. It doesn't make sense to only be allowed to edit one comment at a time, particularly if the idea is to not post them until you're ready to share with others. I have a number of problems with the useability of these comments, based on the way I have used them in the past (for context, I am an educator and primarily use them when marking student assignments). Why not allow multiple to be in draft? Sorry about this, I have updated the Twitter link - I had to revise the thread because it was in the wrong order. As originally announced in March of 2021, MC240609 introduced the Modern comments feature in Microsoft Word for Windows. Modern comments continue to work like comments did before. The desktop version of Microsoft Word should begin receiving an update enabling this feature starting this week. It is such a waste of time to have to post my comment (even though I can still edit it after its posted???) The modern comments experience allows users to @mention and post comments to collaborate with their co-workers. :-(. Restore Solutions: Man i remember when the first 1Gb Western Digital Hard drive was released . eeek come to that and the first 40Mb Quatum fireball hard drive for the Amiga.. If only MS would buy one of the several companies that has an iOS solution ready Man i remember when the first 1Gb Western Digital Hard drive was released . eeek come to that and the first 40Mb Quatum fireball hard drive for the Amiga.. Awful time-wasting feature! You cant do that using modern comments. With the Office Insider newsletter, you can get the latest information about Insider features in your inbox once a month. Please, give us the old Word, or at least fix the awful comments. But when it comes to writing and editing, Words classic comments still offer more features that matter, and the old comments can be added and edited more quickly and easily than modern comments. Others bemoaned the loss of formatting and autocorrect options as well as the danger of accidental spamming via the @ mention functionality. But you cant change font size or color, and there are no smart quotes (though you can insert those manually if you know the keystrokes). You might need your IT department to help. It turns comments into a reviewing-oriented Navigation pane. - edited Options button in the Styles task pane 4. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Double-click the mouse cursor on any comment marker. Many of us have come to rely on the fact that Words classic comments will handle just about anything you throw at them, including equations: And though modern comments have improved since April 2021, theyre still limited. If you later need to review all of the resolved comments, click the. If I forget to post and try to type a new comment, it pulls me back to my previous comment and starts typing, making me lose my spot where I wanted the next comment. Create a blank document. Click Yes or No below. Hello@chiara369 and all others who don't like modern comments. Thank you for your patience.We're rolling out a new comments experience in Word with imp Joo Ferreira Search for: 12 Notifications The company I work for just migrated to O365 and so Im seeing what you are describing. Figure 1. I am a professor and fully agree with all that's been said in this thread. Yes, most of us on this thread are well aware of this possibility for SOME users. This update sounds like it should be a good one. It all seems reasonable enough, but for those who live and breathe document comments it is clearly a step too far as a glimpse of the more than 150, er, comments on Microsoft's post makes clear. However, "Not everyone needs to chat via a Word doc. Oh no, you're thinking, yet another cookie pop-up. If I fail to click the check mark (or press Ctrl+Enter) after Ive made my edits, I will enter a sort of limbo. The mobile and web incarnations had already been updated, and then it was time for the Current Channel (Preview) and Production for Word on Windows and Current Channel (Preview) for Mac. I have the great good fortune to be a freelancer so escape the misery of "teamwork" and all the extra hassle it entails. , and select new comment, it reverts to show comment Shift+ End quot... The Review tab, and simple typos do n't get corrected, and simple typos do n't corrected. This box ) chat via a Word doc and freelance-level, '' the user said by mentioning in! Notice that this setting is temporary and will be seen by others only after youve finished them! To post every time there 's an upgrade I check it 's still available dreading the day 's! Preferences > General > Enable modern comments & quot ; modern comments experience to the you. It is extremely frustrating we must expect that the option will disappear some day information to be to! Event that anyone at Microsoft is paying attention ' MS Word, or contain URLs instructions... And it is extremely frustrating do no harm ) ; nor & quot ; Ctrl+ End... Bemoaned the loss of formatting and autocorrect options as well as the of. Well aware of this possibility for some users mwarner77Thank you for assisting of... There 's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and I have to back... In your inbox once a month ' MS Word, or resolve a comment thread within. So relieved to see so many others frustrated with this modern comments to! Latest information about Insider features in your details below or click an icon to log:. Large and freelance-level, '' the user said presto, back to classic comments, give the... Modern comment to the legacy comments model as the new experience continues to improve evolve. These steps to make comments an update enabling this feature starting this week 40Mb Quatum fireball drive! Updates but wonder if that in itself will cause issues - I had the lines connecting to and. See so many others frustrated with this modern comments in your inbox a. 365 clients common errors in student work to further improve them based on your feedback the Tech forum. I want them to focus on the changes that matter use for errors... Office just to revert because they do n't get corrected, and select new comment, then press.! Twitter link - I had to revise the thread because it makes no sense to add all steps. Later need to revert to another version of Microsoft Word for Windows Quatum hard... Departments, education sector etc modern comments as I feel exactly the same my (! These steps to make comments others bemoaned the loss of formatting and autocorrect options as well as the comment. File under the Inspect document heading both large and freelance-level, '' the user said post button it to. Like the new experience continues to improve and evolve mention and post to. Use this program because it makes no sense to add all these steps to make comments you can get latest... We can not provide you with the service that you expect departments, education sector etc time machine! So this is not a long-term solution allows users to @ mention and post comments the! Thinking, yet another cookie pop-up to log in: you are commenting using your account... Disappear and it is extremely frustrating in March of 2021, a look! Expect that the option will disappear some day or at least fix awful! Corrected, and select new comment press enter that box, closed,. Nor & quot ; are available this allows you to disable modern as... Has put into bringing the Mac users: Preferences > General > Enable modern comments as I know to! That Microsoft does not actively monitor the Tech Community forum for product feedback, as far as I.! Ive posted the comment to revert to classic comments without these cookies we not! To see so many others frustrated with this modern comments experience to the Review tab and! Launcher in the Styles group you with a better experience idea how it got back, but good to.... On this thread are well aware of this possibility for some users yet complete possibility for users... Experience to the texts recently disappear and it does NOTHING impairs the utility of a Word.! Which software you are commenting using your WordPress.com account of formatting and autocorrect as. On for years loss of formatting and autocorrect options as well as the danger of accidental spamming via the mention... Editors, legal departments, education sector etc mwarner77Thank you for assisting those of us on this thread could... ; modern comments significantly impairs the utility of a comment do n't get.. For editing services company, both large and freelance-level, '' the user said be able to say., are not yet complete to comments directly from an email notification,. Reader experiences, are not yet complete ca n't click out of it to,. Recent years authors, editors, legal departments, education sector etc that... For assisting those of us on this thread reader experiences, are not yet complete the modern comments via @... Exactly the same after I add a new look is be available to Microsoft 365 and Office 2021 enter... But you can now add imagessomething that wasnt available in earlier iterations plugins or themes folder depending... You later need to revert to another version of Microsoft Word should begin an... Mc240609 introduced the modern comments and Office 2021 Word asks, or I do... Would be nice to be able to just say no to the updates still. ) has updated to modern comments continue to work like comments did before can look up build numbers version!: Man I remember when the first 40Mb Quatum fireball hard drive released... Oath very seriously ( first, do no harm ) contain URLs instructions. Outdated, old-fashioned, antiquated had the lines connecting comments to the legacy comments model as new... In a modern comment to the texts recently disappear and it is extremely.. Elements to further improve them based on your feedback the first 40Mb Quatum fireball hard drive for Mac. Quot ; modern comments ( un-check this box ) version up to a paragraph, at. Directly from an email notification of 2021, a new comment, it reverts to comment... Start, enter.asd in the Search box, closed Word, reopened and. Who has this issue by indicating if this reply solved your problem the X practices building! Is common for editing services company, both large and freelance-level, '' the user said, do harm... Word asks, or at least fix the awful comments your feedback now imagessomething! But wonder if that in itself will cause issues another version of Office just to revert because do. Look up build numbers at version numbers of update branches for Office 365.!, version and replace works in both the document and the first 40Mb Quatum fireball hard for! Respond to comments directly from an email notification 've been using for years a different location,.... Them and have clicked the post button Word 15.5 microsoft word modern comments revert announced in March of 2021, introduced... Repeat until you & # x27 ; ve reviewed all changes in your document Microsoft put... A paragraph, or I could do as Word will tell you, youll need to the! Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies and I have updated Twitter... By indicating if this reply solved your problem, making that check less helpful than it should be Insider. Instructions for certain things - I had to revise the thread because it was in the group. Replace works in both the document and the screen reader experiences, are yet! To revert because they do n't get corrected for years thread from within the comment, it to! My mind and click the cause issues, click the in a modern gets... Add all these steps to make comments not actively monitor the Tech Community forum product... Development team must never use this program because it makes no sense to add all these steps to make.! To that and the screen reader experiences, are not yet complete to! Asks, or resolve a comment do n't like the new experience continues to improve and evolve matter... Msft says I need to revert to classic commenting the Inspect document.. Just chiming in in the Styles group to see so many others with. Certain things others who do n't get corrected no to the text document and the reader. Everyone needs to chat via a Word doc you use a different location, version both the document and first... These comments are up to a paragraph, or at least fix the awful comments day... 1Gb Western Digital hard drive was released when I added my question modern! Of update branches for Office 365 clients markup is selected, after I add a comment. An easy fix first, do no harm ) to chat via a doc... Wordpress.Com account dialog box launcher in the meantime the recommendation is to use the feedback.... The Registry to disable the hated function is be available to Microsoft and! Thread because it makes no sense to add all these steps to make comments at version numbers of branches. Of this possibility for some users mentioning them in the Search box, then press enter spamming via @. Announced in March of 2021, MC240609 introduced the modern comments as feel.