Changing the Comment Color

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 22, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Many people like to use the comments feature of Word to embed comments in a document. When you later move your mouse pointer over the top of a comment indicator in the document, a small pop-up box appears that shows the comment associated with the indicator.

The normal color for the comment box is a pale yellow, to supposedly mimic the appearance of the paper sticky notes that we all know and love so well. What if you don't like pale yellow sticky notes, however? In that case, you may be looking for a way to change the color Word uses for the comment box.

The news here is both bad and good. It is bad because Word doesn't have a way to change just the color of the comment box. The good news is that Word relies on the system colors set in Windows to determine what color the comment boxes should be. Word uses the ToolTip color setting for the comment boxes. If you want to change that setting, follow these steps:

  1. Minimize Word, along with all your other programs.
  2. Right-click on any area of the desktop itself. Windows displays a Context menu.
  3. Choose Properties. Windows opens the Display Properties dialog box.
  4. Make sure the Appearance tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  5. Figure 1. The Appearance tab of the Display Properties dialog box.

  6. Using the Item drop-down list, choose ToolTip.
  7. Click on the Color indicator, to the right of the Item drop-down list. Windows displays a small palette you can use to select a color.
  8. Click on the color you want to use.
  9. Click on OK.

These steps work in Windows XP. If you are using a different version of Windows you'll need to adapt the steps to meet your needs. Now your comment boxes will be the color you selected. In addition, since you changed the ToolTip color, all your ToolTips in Word and all your other programs will be the same color, as well.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1429) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Updating to Smart Quotes

As you type a document, Word automatically converts your quote marks and apostrophes to "curly" versions that look more ...

Discover More

Inserting a Sound File in Your Document

Got an audio file you want to insert in your document? It's easy to do when you use the Object dialog box, as described ...

Discover More

ExcelTips: Amazing Array Formulas (Special Offer)

ExcelTips: Amazing Array Formulas lets you harness the power in these special types of formulas. Ratchet up your ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Getting Word to Remember the Default Date and Time Format

One way to insert the current date into your document is to use the Date and Time dialog box. The Default button in the ...

Discover More

Understanding Unicode Characters

Unicode is a character-encoding scheme that works with a huge variety of characters. This tip explains what Unicode is ...

Discover More

Text Doesn't Wrap at Margin in Normal View

If you are using Word in Normal view, and the text on the screen doesn't wrap at the right margin like it should, the ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 2 + 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.