Hi ,

Threaded Excel Comments for Faster, Smarter Collaboration

If you’ve ever asked a teammate:

• “What’s in this cell?”
• “Why isn’t this formula working?”
• “Is this value final?”

…you know how quickly those questions turn into long email chains, chat threads, or scattered Teams messages.

Threaded Excel Comments solve this problem. Instead of bouncing between apps, you keep the conversation right where it belongs - inside the spreadsheet.

Note: Threaded comments are available with Microsoft 365 or Excel for the web.

Prefer to read this on our website? 

Then click this link >>> Threaded Excel Comments for Faster, Smarter Collaboration

Video: See Threaded Excel Comments in Action

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Inserting New Threaded Excel Comments

To add a threaded comment:

1. Right-click the cell and choose New Comment (not “Note” - Notes are the old static comments from pre-2019 Excel).

You can also select a cell and press CTRL+ALT+M.

2. Type your message and click the Post button or press CTRL+ENTER.

Anyone with access to the file will see your comment, along with the exact cell it relates to.

Key Features of Excel Threaded Comments

1. Tag Teammates with @Mentions

Need a specific colleague’s attention? Type @Name in your comment:

You can even tick Assign this task to the @ mentioned person to send it straight to their Microsoft To Do list.

Bonus: They’ll get an email notification with a direct link to the relevant cell, so they don’t have to hunt for it.

2. Reply in Threads (Directly from Email)

Once mentioned, your teammate can:

• Reply directly from the email by clicking ‘Add a comment’ without opening Excel:

• Or, click the ‘Go to comment’ link in the email to jump straight to the cell in Excel.

No more digging through an email with a subject line like: “Re: Re: Re: Final Version UPDATED V2”. With threaded comments the full conversation stays neatly stacked in one place - in Excel.

3. Mark as Resolved

When the issue’s fixed, click the ellipsis and then Resolve thread:

The comment flag on the cell will be greyed out in the sheet but remain in comment history for future reference.

This keeps your workbook tidy while maintaining an audit trail.

4. Filter & Navigate with the Comments Pane

In large workbooks, keeping track of every comment is easy with the Comments Pane - go to the Review tab > Show Comments:

Here you can see:

• Who made each comment
• When it was made
• The entire conversation

You can also:

• Click a comment to jump straight to the cell
• Filter to show:
  • Only comments that mention you
  • Only active comments
  • Only resolved comments

5. Printing Threaded Comments

The new threaded comments can only be printed on their own sheet, whereas the legacy comments can still be printed as displayed on the sheet.

Final Thoughts & Tips

Excel’s Threaded Comments are a simple but powerful way to improve collaboration. Whether you’re tagging teammates, tracking feedback, or resolving issues, they help you cut down on email clutter and keep your project moving.

Threaded comments are available in all Office apps, so be sure to also use them when collaborating on Word documents and PowerPoint presentations etc.

Have a great day,

Mynda Treacy

Co-founder My Online Training Hub

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