When reviewing a presentation with many comments, the Comments pane in PowerPoint displays remarks in the order they were created. This chronological sorting makes it difficult to locate feedback for a specific slide. The Comments pane lacks a built-in sort button, which leads many users to believe resorting is impossible. This article explains how to force the Comments pane to group comments by slide position using a simple workaround.
Key Takeaways: Sorting Comments in PowerPoint by Slide Order
- Comments pane default sort: Comments appear in creation order, not slide position, making review inefficient
- Workaround using the Review tab: Close and reopen the Comments pane to refresh the sort when you switch slides
- PowerPoint Online alternative: The browser version sorts comments by slide number automatically, providing a cleaner review experience
Why the Comments Pane Shows Comments in Creation Order
The Comments pane in PowerPoint stores comments in a flat list ordered by the timestamp of when each comment was added. This design prioritizes chronological review over spatial organization. When a reviewer adds comments to slides 10, 3, and 7 in that sequence, the pane lists them in that order rather than by slide number.
PowerPoint treats the Comments pane as a conversation thread view, not a slide index. Each comment is tied to its parent slide through metadata, but the pane does not expose a column for slide number or a sort toggle. The only way to see comments grouped by slide is to use the Show Comments button on each slide thumbnail in the left pane, which shows only that slide’s comments.
What the Comments Pane Does and Does Not Show
The Comments pane displays the comment text, author name, date, and a small slide thumbnail. Clicking a comment in the pane jumps to that slide. The pane does not show the slide number, does not allow column sorting, and does not group comments by slide. This limitation affects users who need to review feedback for multiple slides in a linear sequence.
How to Force the Comments Pane to Sort by Slide Position
PowerPoint does not provide a direct sort option for the Comments pane. However, you can force a reorder by closing and reopening the pane while on a specific slide. This method groups comments by the active slide and all other slides in the order you visit them.
- Close the Comments pane
Click the X button in the upper-right corner of the Comments pane. Alternatively, go to Review > Comments > Show Comments to toggle the pane off. - Navigate to the first slide you want to review
Use the slide thumbnail pane on the left or press Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow or Down Arrow to move between slides. - Reopen the Comments pane
Go to Review > Comments > Show Comments. The pane now shows only comments for the active slide at the top of the list. - Click each subsequent slide in order
Select slide 2, then slide 3, and so on. Each time you click a new slide, its comments appear next in the pane. The comments for slides you have not visited remain at the bottom of the list. - Complete the full review sequence
After visiting every slide with comments, the pane displays all comments grouped by slide in the order you visited them. This creates a pseudo-sort by slide position.
Alternative Method: Use the Show Comments Button on Each Slide
For a faster review without reopening the Comments pane, use the Show Comments button on individual slide thumbnails. This button appears as a speech bubble icon on the slide thumbnail when that slide has comments. Clicking it opens a small pop-up showing only that slide’s comments. This method does not provide a single sorted list but lets you review comments slide by slide in the correct order.
If the Comments Pane Still Shows an Unsorted List
Comments pane does not remember the sort after closing PowerPoint
The manual sort method using the close-and-reopen trick is session-only. When you close and reopen the presentation, the Comments pane resets to creation order. You must repeat the process each time you open the file. To avoid this, consider using PowerPoint Online for the review session.
Comments from multiple reviewers appear interleaved
When two or more reviewers add comments, the pane mixes their comments chronologically. The close-and-reopen method still groups comments by slide, but the order within each slide remains chronological. To see only one reviewer’s comments, use the Filter button at the top of the Comments pane and select a specific reviewer.
Comments on hidden slides do not appear in the pane
PowerPoint hides comments on slides that are hidden from the presentation. To review them, unhide the slide by right-clicking the slide thumbnail and selecting Hide Slide again. The comment then appears in the Comments pane when you visit that slide.
PowerPoint Desktop vs PowerPoint Online: Comment Sorting Differences
| Item | PowerPoint Desktop | PowerPoint Online |
|---|---|---|
| Default comment sort | Creation order (timestamp) | Slide number order |
| Sort options available | None | None |
| Grouping by slide | Manual close-and-reopen workaround | Automatic grouping by slide |
| Show comments per slide | Yes, via thumbnail button | Yes, via thumbnail button |
| Filter by reviewer | Yes | Yes |
| Works offline | Yes | No |
For presentations with heavy commenting, PowerPoint Online provides a better review experience because it automatically sorts comments by slide number. The desktop version requires the manual workaround described in this article. If you need offline access, the close-and-reopen method is the only option.
You can now sort the Comments pane by slide position using the close-and-reopen workaround or switch to PowerPoint Online for automatic grouping. For future presentations, ask reviewers to add comments in slide order to keep the pane organized from the start. To quickly jump between comments on the same slide, press Ctrl+Shift+Period or Ctrl+Shift+Comma to move to the next or previous comment.