Changing the Language of Comment Boxes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 23, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Mary Anne edits academic texts. She is Canadian, as are most of her clients. She therefore sets all documents in Canadian English. However, she discovered that in Track Changes comment boxes are still in U.S. English. Mary Anne wonders how she can change the comment boxes to Canadian English.

The solution to this question is rooted in the way in which Word uses styles. All the text that Word creates is formatted through the use of styles. The text in comment boxes is no exception. You can modify the appropriate styles related to comments by following these general steps:

Display either the Styles dialog box or the Styles and Formatting pane, depending on your version of Word. (How you do this has been covered many times in other issues of WordTips.)
Use the controls in the dialog box or the pane to display all the styles used by Word.
Use the controls to modify the three styles used for comments: Comment Text, Comment Reference, and Comment Subject. You can set the language used for each of these.
Close the Styles dialog box or the Styles and Formatting pane.

That's it. Change the styles, and Word changes how it treats the text formatted with those styles. You'll particularly want to pay attention to the Comment Text style; it is this style that is used for the text shown within comment boxes.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7248) 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. Learn more about Allen...

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What is 6 + 5?

2020-06-22 15:43:21

Your instructions omit a necessary step in my version of Word. In your third step, "Use the controls to modify the three styles used for comments: Comment Text, Comment Reference, and Comment Subject. You can set the language used for each of these," how is one supposed to set the language for each of these? I had to click on "format" at the bottom of the screen, then select "language", which opened the dialogue box for changing the default language. Perhaps this isn't the case in other versions of Word.

2020-06-05 12:35:34

piteq

Richard; if you want to change the language of comments, open styles pane (click that little icon in the lower right corner of Styles section on the Ribbon, click Options, from the first list select All styles, then in the pane find the style named Comment text (or similar, I have Polish Word, so not sure about wording in English version), select Modify command from this style context menu (right-click), click Format, select Language , pick correct language :)

2020-06-05 12:31:27

piteq

This advice saved me tons of time! Thank you :)

2020-05-21 16:04:00

Richard

Thank you, but this didn't help me. How would one change the language of the comments boxes from, say, German to English? (And why aren't they English by default when I've set my proofing language to English on an English-language manuscript?)

2018-10-01 12:31:21

Boo

This didn't work for me... there are no relevant styles appearing when using a comment box.

2018-04-03 04:16:59

Mary

Thanks, but it would be helpful if you provided a link instead of just saying this topic "has been covered many times in other issues of WordTips." I'm struggling to find one of those instances.

2018-03-03 19:55:00

Karolyn at DocEditing dot com

Thank you very much. Although, It took awhile to figure out how to actually follow this advice, because the steps are not laid out and you assume that everyone reading this knows where to find the Styles pane, and how to edit the language for Style. I had no idea. I simply kept looking lol. But at least I knew what to look for, because of your post. Hit me up you ever need editing.
Thanks,
Karolyn H

2017-11-13 19:22:48

Eric Kwati

Thanks very much, Allen. I'm using Word 2016, and was always having my comments default to Canadian French. I followed your directions but could not find a Comment Subject control. That said, I modified the other two, and my comments are now in English US. Thanks!

2017-03-12 16:06:53

pleasureyourselfassikkowill

You think every body is an advanced user. Your "algorithm" does not help in ordinary user. Coud you explain go to ...
then click on .... switch the menu to... select english (...) ....etc. That way you can help a greater audientience. Your current guide was of no help to me.

2017-01-28 12:36:48

Jeff

This is no help. There is not a "styles" or "styles and formatting" pane as far as I can tell, and you don't provide a link to the previous document you mention where this is covered.

2016-03-10 15:04:38

Did not work. Mac Word 2011. Language does not change by making those changes suggested.

2015-09-19 10:04:53

ewa stern

It would be great if you put a link to: (How you do this has been covered many times in other issues of WordTips.) because if you do not follow these articles from the beginning you might have no idea where to find it.
And how does one change the language? I do not ee in Styles dialog box an option for language

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