How to Track Who Inserted a Comment in Co-Authored Word

When multiple people edit a document in Word, comments can come from any collaborator. You might need to know who wrote a specific comment for review or accountability. Word stores the author name and initials with each comment automatically. This article explains how to see the author of any comment in a co-authored document and how to interpret the information shown.

How Word Tracks Comment Authors in Co-Authored Documents

Word stores two pieces of author information with every comment: the display name and the initials. These come from the user account that was signed into Word or Microsoft 365 at the time the comment was created. When a document is co-authored, each collaborator has a unique identity. Word records that identity in the comment’s metadata.

Co-authoring requires the document to be saved to OneDrive, SharePoint, or Microsoft 365. Word Online, Word for the web, and the desktop version all show the same author info. The author name appears in the comment balloon, in the Reviewing Pane, and in the comment’s date stamp.

Where Author Information Appears

You can see the author name in these locations:

• Comment balloon: In Print Layout view, each comment shows the author’s name at the top. The initials appear in a colored circle next to the name.
• Reviewing Pane: Open the Reviewing Pane (Review > Reviewing Pane) to see a list of all comments with author names.
• Comment card: Click any comment to open the comment card. The author name is displayed at the top of the card, along with the date and time.

Prerequisites for Seeing Author Names

To see the author of a comment, the document must have been saved with co-authoring enabled. This means the document is stored on OneDrive, SharePoint, or in a Microsoft 365 group. If the document was shared as an email attachment and edited locally, each person’s comments will show the name that was set in their local Word account. The author name may not match the file owner’s identity.

Steps to See Who Inserted a Comment

Follow these steps to view the author of any comment in a co-authored Word document.

1. Open the document in Word
   Make sure the document is saved to a co-authoring location such as OneDrive or SharePoint. Open it from there. Do not open a local copy.
2. Switch to Print Layout view if needed
   Go to View > Print Layout. Comment balloons appear only in Print Layout and Web Layout views.
3. Locate the comment you want to check
   Scroll to the comment marker in the document text. Hover over the marker or click it to open the comment balloon.
4. Read the author name in the comment balloon
   At the top of the comment balloon you will see the author’s display name. If the name is not visible, click the comment to open the full comment card.
5. Use the Reviewing Pane for a list of all comments
   Click Review > Reviewing Pane. Select either Reviewing Pane Vertical or Reviewing Pane Horizontal. The pane shows each comment with its author, date, and text.
6. Check the comment date and time
   In the comment card, the date and time appear below the author name. This tells you when the comment was inserted, not when it was last edited.

If the Author Name Shows “Author” Instead of a Real Name

If you see “Author” or “User” as the name, the document was likely created in an older version of Word or was saved without co-authoring metadata. To fix this, ask the person who inserted the comment to open the document in a modern version of Word signed in with their Microsoft 365 account. The comment will update with their real name when they save the document to the cloud.

Common Issues When Viewing Comment Authors

“Author” appears for all comments

This happens when the document was created in Word 2010 or earlier, or when the document was saved as a .doc file. To resolve, save the document as .docx. Open File > Save As and choose Word Document (.docx). After saving, comments will show the author name from the user account that created them.

Author name shows an email address instead of a name

Word may display the email address if the user’s Microsoft 365 profile does not have a display name set. The user can update their profile at account.microsoft.com/profile. After the change, new comments will show the display name. Existing comments will still show the email address.

Author name changes after the document is saved

If a collaborator edits a comment, the author name may update to the last person who modified the comment. Word records the original author and the last modifier. To see the original author, check the comment’s metadata by using File > Info > Document Inspector. Run the inspector and look for “Comments and Annotations.” The original author is stored in the document’s XML.

Word Online vs Desktop: Comment Author Display Differences

Item	Word for the web (Online)	Word Desktop (Microsoft 365)
Comment author display	Shows full name from Microsoft 365 profile	Shows full name or initials depending on view
Comment date/time	Shows relative time (e.g., “2 hours ago”)	Shows exact date and time
Reviewing Pane availability	Not available	Available in Review tab
Ability to see comment history	Shows only the latest version of a comment	Shows original author and last modifier in metadata

Word for the web displays comments in a simplified interface. You cannot open the Reviewing Pane there. To see the exact date and time, open the document in the desktop version of Word. The desktop version also preserves the original author even if the comment is edited later.

To check the original author of a comment that has been edited, use File > Info > Document Inspector on the desktop. Select “Comments and Annotations” and click Inspect. The inspector will list all comments and their original authors. This metadata is not visible in Word for the web.

If you need to track who inserted a comment in a document that was not co-authored through the cloud, ask the document owner to enable co-authoring by saving the file to OneDrive or SharePoint. Once saved, all future comments will carry the author’s identity. Existing comments from local editing may still show “Author” until the document is re-saved with co-authoring enabled.