How To Access and View Comments in Google Docs
Ever been in the middle of editing a Google Doc and wondered, “Where the heck are those comments I saw earlier?” It’s kind of annoying that comments can vanish if not properly viewed or if the other person deletes them. But thankfully, there are a few ways to see them, whether you’re on the web or using the mobile app. This guide covers how to view comments, respond, and understand some of the quirks that come with Google Docs’ comment system—because of course, Google likes to keep things a little confusing sometimes.
How to View and Manage Comments in Google Docs
How to View Comments on Google Docs Web
This method works best when you’re sitting at your PC. It helps keep all comments visible, including the resolved ones if you choose to see everything.
- Open your Google Docs document—just head over to Google Drive and open the file or go directly to Google Docs.
- Click on the Comment icon on the top right of the toolbar. It looks like a speech bubble, so no confusion there.
- From the dropdown, pick your preferred view:
- All: shows both resolved and unresolved comments. Useful if you want to see everything still lingering.
- For you: only comments directed or assigned to you. Handy for when multiple people are editing.
- Open: just the open, unresolved comments. Best when you’re fixing things step-by-step.
- Resolved: shows comments marked as done. Sometimes helpful to double-check if something’s truly closed.
- Once a comment is visible, you can reply, add notes, or see who’s involved. Just click on the comment bubble or the reply button. But note—deleting comments is reserved for the original commenter, so you can’t just remove them if you’re not the creator.
Shortcut Method to View Comments
Feeling lazy? There’s a shortcut that can open the comment panel directly. Just press Ctrl + Shift + Alt + A on your keyboard, and the comment sidebar pops up. Expand and filter your comments from there. Not sure why, but on some setups, this doesn’t work immediately or needs a page refresh. Weird, but it’s generally faster if you’re handling multiple comments all over the place.
How to View Comments on Google Docs App (Android & iOS)
If you’re on your phone or tablet, the process is a little different but just as straightforward. The interface is simplified, and you can see all comments by tapping around.
- Open the Google Docs app and load your document.
- Tap the Comment icon at the top; it’s usually a speech bubble or a chat icon.
- Scroll down to see all comments in the thread. If anything’s hidden, tap on individual comments to expand them.
- To respond, tap on the comment box and choose Add a reply. Type your message, then tap the Tick icon to send it.
- If you can’t see all comments at once, look for a View all comments option—sometimes it’s hiding below what’s visible on small screens.
Some Tips and Things to Keep in Mind
- You can view a comment directly just by clicking highlighted text in the document—click on it, and the comment should pop up.
- If you’re in Viewing mode, comments might not appear or be interactable. Switch to Editing mode by clicking the Pen icon on the menu bar, then select Editing.
- Of course, if the comment was deleted by the original person—sorry, it’s gone for good. No magic way to dig that one back.
- There’s an annoying quirk where sometimes comments or replies don’t show up immediately after they’re made, especially on slow connections. Just refreshing the page or toggling the comment view helps.
It’s kind of weird how Google Docs handles comments sometimes, but these tricks usually get most of them visible. On one laptop, everything displayed perfectly—on another, it took a few tries. Not sure why it’s inconsistent, but at least now there’s a way to keep track of what everyone’s talking about without digging through old email chains.