Annotate Word Documents: Comments, Markup, Highlights, and Beyond

Types of Annotations in Word

Word offers several annotation methods, each with different purposes:

This guide covers each method.

Adding Comments

Comments are the most common annotation. They attach notes to specific text without changing the document.

Adding a Comment

Method 1: Ribbon

1. Select the text you want to comment on
2. Review tab → New Comment
3. Type your comment in the balloon
4. Click outside to save

Method 2: Keyboard shortcut

1. Select text
2. Press Ctrl+Alt+M (Windows) or Cmd+Option+M (Mac)
3. Type your comment

Method 3: Right-click

1. Select text
2. Right-click → New Comment
3. Type your comment

Comment Features

@mentions: Type @ followed by a name to notify specific people. Works in Microsoft 365 with shared documents.

Reply: Click on any comment, then click Reply to thread your response.

Resolve: Click the three-dot menu → Resolve Thread to mark as addressed. Resolved comments appear grayed out.

Delete: Right-click → Delete Comment to remove permanently.

Viewing Comments

Balloon view (default): Comments appear in bubbles in the right margin.

List view: Review tab → Reviewing Pane shows all comments in a list.

Hide comments: Review tab → Show Markup → Comments (uncheck to hide).

Highlighting Text

Highlights draw visual attention to text without adding comments.

Applying Highlights

1. Select the text you want to highlight
2. Home tab → Text Highlight Color (the highlighter icon)
3. Click the icon to apply the current color
4. Or click the dropdown to choose a different color

Continuous highlighting:

1. Don't select any text first
2. Click Text Highlight Color
3. Your cursor becomes a highlighter
4. Click and drag over text to highlight
5. Press Esc or click the icon again to stop

Removing Highlights

1. Select the highlighted text
2. Home tab → Text Highlight Color dropdown
3. Select "No Color"

Remove all highlights:

1. Ctrl+A to select all
2. Text Highlight Color → No Color

Or use Find and Replace with formatting options (more complex but powerful for large documents).

Using Track Changes for Annotation

Track Changes records actual edits as annotations that can be accepted or rejected.

Enable Track Changes

1. Review tab → Track Changes
2. Make edits normally
3. Insertions appear underlined (or in color)
4. Deletions appear with strikethrough

Track Changes vs. Comments

Best practice: Use both together. Track Changes for edits, Comments for explanations.

Drawing and Shapes

For visual annotations like circles, arrows, and callouts.

Adding Shapes

1. Insert tab → Shapes
2. Select the shape you want (arrow, circle, line, callout, etc.)
3. Click and drag on the document to draw it
4. Use the handles to resize and position

Shape Text

1. Right-click the shape
2. Select "Add Text"
3. Type inside the shape

Grouping Annotations

If you have multiple shapes that should move together:

1. Hold Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) and click each shape
2. Right-click → Group → Group

Ink Annotations (Drawing Tab)

For freehand markup with a stylus or mouse.

Enable the Draw Tab

If you don't see the Draw tab:

1. File → Options → Customize Ribbon
2. Check "Draw" in the right column
3. Click OK

Using Draw Tools

1. Draw tab → select a pen or highlighter
2. Draw directly on the document
3. Use different colors and thicknesses

Eraser: Removes ink annotations.

Ink to Shape: Converts rough shapes to clean shapes.

Ink to Text: Converts handwriting to typed text.

Ink Annotations on Touch Devices

On tablets and touchscreens:

1. The Draw tab is often prominent
2. Use your finger or stylus
3. Palm rejection helps prevent accidental marks

Text Boxes for Annotations

For longer notes or sidebar content.

Adding a Text Box

1. Insert tab → Text Box
2. Choose "Simple Text Box" or another style
3. Text box appears; type your annotation
4. Drag to position

Formatting Text Boxes

Make borderless:

1. Click the text box border
2. Format tab → Shape Outline → No Outline

Make transparent:

1. Format tab → Shape Fill → No Fill

Now it looks like floating text.

Programmatic Annotations

For bulk annotation or automated workflows.

Adding Comments via API

from docxagent import DocxClient

client = DocxClient()
doc_id = client.upload("document.docx")

# Add a comment to a specific paragraph
client.add_comment(
    doc_id,
    paragraph_index=3,
    comment_text="Please verify this information with the source.",
    author="Review Bot"
)

# Add comment with highlight
client.add_comment(
    doc_id,
    paragraph_index=5,
    comment_text="This needs legal review.",
    author="Compliance Bot",
    highlight=True  # Highlights the paragraph text
)

client.download(doc_id, "document_annotated.docx")

Batch Annotation

Annotate multiple documents with the same comments:

import os
from docxagent import DocxClient

client = DocxClient()

# Standard annotations to add to all documents
annotations = [
    {'paragraph': 0, 'comment': 'Document processed on 2026-01-29', 'author': 'System'},
    {'paragraph': -1, 'comment': 'End of automated review', 'author': 'System'},  # -1 = last paragraph
]

input_folder = "documents_to_annotate/"
output_folder = "documents_annotated/"

for filename in os.listdir(input_folder):
    if filename.endswith('.docx'):
        doc_id = client.upload(os.path.join(input_folder, filename))

        for ann in annotations:
            para_idx = ann['paragraph']
            if para_idx < 0:
                # Resolve negative index
                content = client.read_document(doc_id)
                para_idx = len(content['paragraphs']) + para_idx

            client.add_comment(
                doc_id,
                paragraph_index=para_idx,
                comment_text=ann['comment'],
                author=ann['author']
            )

        client.download(doc_id, os.path.join(output_folder, filename))
        print(f"Annotated: {filename}")

Conditional Annotation

Add comments based on content analysis:

from docxagent import DocxClient

client = DocxClient()
doc_id = client.upload("contract.docx")

content = client.read_document(doc_id)

# Rules for automatic annotation
annotation_rules = [
    {'trigger': 'indemnify', 'comment': 'Legal: Indemnification clause - verify coverage limits'},
    {'trigger': 'confidential', 'comment': 'Security: Contains confidential marking'},
    {'trigger': 'TODO', 'comment': 'Incomplete: Contains TODO placeholder'},
    {'trigger': 'expires', 'comment': 'Attention: Check expiration date'},
]

for i, para in enumerate(content['paragraphs']):
    text_lower = para['text'].lower()
    for rule in annotation_rules:
        if rule['trigger'].lower() in text_lower:
            client.add_comment(
                doc_id,
                paragraph_index=i,
                comment_text=rule['comment'],
                author="Auto-Annotator",
                highlight=True
            )

client.download(doc_id, "contract_annotated.docx")

Reading Existing Annotations

doc_id = client.upload("annotated_document.docx")
content = client.read_document(doc_id, include_comments=True)

# List all comments
for comment in content.get('comments', []):
    print(f"Paragraph {comment['paragraph_index']}:")
    print(f"  Author: {comment['author']}")
    print(f"  Date: {comment['date']}")
    print(f"  Text: {comment['text']}")

    for reply in comment.get('replies', []):
        print(f"    Reply by {reply['author']}: {reply['text']}")

Annotation Best Practices

Be specific

Bad: "This is wrong." Good: "The figure here says $50,000 but the contract on page 3 says $45,000. Which is correct?"

Use the right annotation type

• Questions/feedback → Comments
• Specific edits → Track Changes
• Visual emphasis → Highlights
• Pointing to something → Shapes/arrows

Consider your audience

If the document will be printed:

• Comments in margins may be cut off
• Use highlights and inline track changes
• Consider exporting comments to a separate document

Clean up before finalizing

Before the final version:

1. Accept/reject all track changes
2. Delete or resolve all comments
3. Remove shapes used for internal annotation
4. Check that no hidden annotations remain (Review tab → Show Markup)

Annotation Limitations

Comments

• Can only be attached to text (not images, unless you comment on the caption)
• Don't sync in real-time during co-authoring (may take seconds)
• Can be deleted by anyone with edit access

Highlights

• Limited color options (15 colors)
• Can't add notes to highlights (use comments instead)
• May not print well in black and white

Ink/Drawing

• Can cover text (making it unreadable)
• File size increases with complex drawings
• Compatibility varies between Word versions

The Bottom Line

Word provides multiple annotation tools for different purposes:

• Comments for feedback and discussion
• Highlights for visual emphasis
• Track Changes for suggested edits
• Shapes and ink for visual markup

For individual documents, the built-in tools work well. For bulk annotation, automated review, or programmatic workflows, DocMods can add comments and analyze documents at scale—something the Word interface can't do efficiently.