One of the best features of Google Docs is the ability to collaborate with other Google Docs users on one document seamlessly. Any user added to a document in Google Docs as an editor can edit texts on the document and add comments to specific sections of the document.
While working on a document on the platform, comments can be quite distracting and if you’re collaborating with a user who leaves comments all over the place, things could get quite confusing.
That said, the good news is that you can actually hide comments in Google Docs easily, and if you landed on this article because you were searching for a way to hide comments on your document in Google Docs, then you’re on the right page.
In this article, we will be sharing various methods you can use to hide comments in Google Docs.
How To Hide Comments In Google Docs (3 Working Methods)
There are quite several methods you can use to hide comments in Google Docs, and below, we will be discussing each method in detail.
If you simply want to hide all the comments added to your document either by you or other users and show them later, then the best way to do that on Google Docs is by unchecking the “Show comments” option in the Google Docs main menu bar.
To do this, ensure that you’re on the right document in a Google Docs browser tab then go to the menu bar and click “View” then uncheck the “Show comments” option from the available menu items.
Alternatively, you can use a key combination of Ctrl + Alt + Shift + J (Windows) or Command + Option + Shift + J (on macOS) on your keyboard to hide/show comments on your document.
After unchecking the “Show comments” option in the Google Docs menu or using any of the keyboard shortcuts (depending on your device) you will notice that all comments that were previously visible on the right side of your documents are now replaced with little comment icons.
If you want to re-show the comments, simply click on any of the comments icons or go to the menu bar and check the “Show comments” option in the “View” menu.
Method 2: Switch to Viewing Mode.
Another way to hide all comments on your current document is to switch to “Viewing” mode on the Google Docs browser tab.
The “Viewing” mode is a better method to use if trying to hide comments on your document when you’re done with editing since it will hide the toolbar and some options on the menu bar which are very important if you need to edit.
To switch to viewing mode on Google Docs go to the far right end of the Google Docs toolbar then click on the mode selector and select “Viewing” from the available options to switch from the default “Editing” mode to “Viewing” mode on your document.
Alternatively, you can also switch to Viewing mode by selecting “View” > “Mode” > “Viewing” on the Google Docs menu bar.
Method 3: Temporarily resolve all active comments.
Another way to hide comments on your document in Google Docs is to resolve all the comments temporarily and then re-open them when you need them again.
This method is recommended if you simply want to hide comments on your document when there are only a handful of comments available.
That said, it is important to know that whenever you resolve a comment on Google Docs, the platform will notify the user whose comment was resolved that the comment was acknowledged and eventually resolved/accepted even if you resolved it simply because you want to hide their comments.
Resolving comments on Google Docs is quite easy. To resolve a comment on Google Docs, go to the right-hand side of the window where you can see a list of all un-resolved comments on the document.
Now move your mouse cursor over the comment you want to resolve then click on the “Mark” ✔️ icon to mark the comment as resolved and hide the discussion.
After clicking on the icon, you will notice that you will no longer be able to see the comment meaning that it has been resolved.
Repeat this step for all the comments on the document to resolve them all.
To re-open a comment you resolved, go to the top of the Google Docs window and click on the “Comment” icon which is by the left of the meeting icon, share button, and your profile picture.
After clicking on the comment icon, you should see a list of all comments available on your document and this should only include closed comments since you have closed all comments on your document.
Now click on the 3-dot icon on a comment then select “Re-open” from the available options to re-open the comment you selected.
And with that, you have successfully re-opened the comment you resolved earlier. Repeat this step for all the comments which you want to re-open to get them back on your document.
How To Remove Or Delete Comments In Google Docs Completely
If you want to remove a comment completely from your document on Google Docs completely, you can always delete the comment instead of hiding or resolving the comment as we have done earlier.
That said, on Google Docs, users can only delete or completely remove a comment they added by themselves i.e. you cannot delete a comment which was added to the document by another person.
If the comment you want to delete or remove entirely from your document was initially added by someone else who has edit permissions on your document, you will have to contact them personally to delete the comment from their end.
To delete a comment on Google Docs, go to the right-hand side of the Google Docs window where you can see all the comments available on the document.
Next, move your cursor over a comment you want to delete then click on the 3-dot menu icon and select “Delete” from the available menu options.
After that, the comment should be removed completely from your document and that’s how you can easily get rid of a comment on Google Docs.
To delete resolved comments, click on the “Comment” icon in the top right corner of the Google Docs window then move your cursor over the comment you want to delete, click on the 3-dot icon then select “Delete” from the menu options to delete the comment.
You can repeat this step for as many comments as you want to delete from your document on Google Docs. It’s quite easy!
If you don’t see the “Delete” option when you click on the 3-dot icon next to a comment, that is because you’re not the comment author and you cannot delete a comment you did not add.
In this situation, you can contact the comment author and they should be able to delete the comment on their end without any hassle.
Can Viewers See Comments In Google Docs?
When sharing a document with other users on Google Docs, there are 3 access levels – editor, commenter, and viewer. You might be wondering if a person added to your document as a viewer will be able to see comments.
Well, on Google Docs, users added as viewers to your document (with “Viewer” access) are not able to see comments on the document.
Only users who are added with either the “Editor” or “Commenter” access levels can see comments and also leave a comment on your document in Google Docs.
So if you’re worried that users added with “Viewer” access on your document might be able to see comments that you and others have added to the document, there is no need to worry as they simply can see the comments.
There is also (currently) no way to allow viewers to see comments on your document in Google Docs.
Wrapping Up
Google Docs is an all-around document editing tool available for free – you only need to create a free Google account to use. It also comes with many features one of which is the ability to collaborate with other Google Docs users extensively on your document.
On the platform, all users with editor or commenter access can add a comment or suggestion to the document, and in some cases, these comments can make the document look a bit bulky and less visually pleasing while editing.
Thankfully, you can easily hide comments on the platform, and in this article, we have discussed several methods you can use to hide comments on Google Docs.
These methods include unchecking the “Show comments” option from the Google Docs View menu, turning on Viewing mode, and lastly, temporarily resolving all active comments which you can re-open later.
If you’re the comment author, you can also get rid of the comment completely by simply deleting the comment from your document.
And that will be it for this article. If you landed on this page because you were searching for a way to hide comments in Google Docs, we hope you found this article helpful.
